Every year in June,
ITP hosts ITP Camp (henceforth “Camp”) just up the street from
the Recurse Center at NYU. I’ve attended twice, and it’s been interesting to observe the similarities and differences between Camp and RC.
I think many Recursers would enjoy going to Camp (and I’d encourage it). I
also think many campers would enjoy and benefit from RC. Where they overlap
and how they differ result in them being very complementary experiences.
Before we get too deep into exploring the interesting ways the two are related,
I should note the dominant superficial differences: RC is 12 weeks and free for
attendees. Camp is 4 weeks (mostly nights and weekends) and has a sticker price
of $1300 (for the 2017 iteration), though there are discounts and stipends
available (for paying early and for leading sessions).
Both RC and Camp are interested in exploring alternative models of education.
RC is heavily influenced by unschooling, “an educational method and philosophy that advocates learner-chosen activities as a primary means for learning”. ITP Camp takes the form
of an unconference, “where presentations and discussions form in response to participants’ interests and projects”. In practice, ITP is
very session-driven but makes space for and encourages individualized and collaborative project work. RC (during my batch) is very focused on individual work, but
encourages collaboration and supports a variety of sessions.
Camp and RC both pursue a diverse community of attendees, across demographics
and experience, with the main difference being that RC is tightly scoped around
programming and as such has a floor for experience level. At ITP Camp, the
broad theme is makers, and so most campers are novices at much of what they
learn about at Camp. Of course, the same can be said for Recursers diving into
new topics at RC.
At both Camp and RC, you are constantly being introduced to things you’re
unfamiliar with, and you have the opportunity and the choice (and the support)
to explore them. Here’s a sampling of topics pulled from my memory of Camp and
RC:
RC: Haskell, Compilers, Elm, Elixir, React, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Operating Systems, Databases, Javascript, TDD
ITP Camp: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Microsoft Kinect, 3D printing, Wearables and soft-circuits, AR/VR, Circuits, IoT, Bio-hacking, Projection mapping, MAX/MSP, Processing/P5
I would guess that for most attendees, Camp is
more about breadth, and RC is more about depth. I say “no” to more things at RC,
despite having more time for the experience. At Camp, the goal is what you make,
not the details (or understanding) of the implementation. Javascript, Python,
NLP, and Neural Nets all make appearances - but
the focus is very much on making stuff. A lot of the relevant sessions look like
“X for Artists” (which is probably a subtle-ism). But a fascinating side effect of this is
that part of the experience of
attending camp for me is being repeatedly blown away by how easy and accessible
these seemingly complicated technologies are thanks to some incredible tools.
There’s topic overlap between the two, and there are projects that would very much fit in both environments.
Many of the best parts of the experience are shared. At both RC and ITP Camp, you’ll meet people whose specific interests are worlds apart from yours, but with whom you share a deep underlying passion. At both, you’ll be blown away by others’ creativity, their approach to problem solving, and their prowess at their chosen discipline. At both, you’ll be exposed to something amazing that you didn’t realize you are passionate about. Sometimes you’ll struggle to learn something new, and someone else will be there to guide you through it. And if you’re lucky, you’ll find people whose interests are close enough to yours that you get to build something cool together.
At times during RC I found myself wishing that it would bend more towards ITP Camp’s session structure. Not that I think RC should be session-driven, but I wish there had been more consistently scheduled sessions where Recursers presented a topic that they knew well. 1) to learn some stuff and 2) to see what other Recursers are most knowledgeable and passionate about (and sometimes it’s infectious).
For the most part, this has been written for an audience of Recursers, in whom I hope I’ve inspired some interest in exploring ITP Camp. But if any ITP campers are reading, I hope they’ll also be interested in attending the Recurse Center, for the opportunity to really hone in on programming to a level of mastery not pursued at Camp.
I’ll close with some choice descriptions of RC and ITP Camp, in their own words.
We’re creating a flexible structure, an Un-University, that is responsive and supportive to the group we select. - ITP Camp
the methods and systems we use to learn must be ones that fit our own goals, preferences, and learning styles. RC gives you the freedom to choose those that work best for you. - Recurse Center
We’re looking for people who are seriously motivated… to save the world, their industry, their career or just their sanity by being creative; who are dying to make something or just make sense out of what they are doing. - ITP Camp
The most important thing you’ll do at RC is push yourself as a programmer. […] You will pick projects at the edge of your understanding, […] go down rabbit holes, and learn things that you did not expect to learn. - Recurse Center
the atmosphere is playful, cooperative and collaborative but there’s a serious purpose - ITP Camp
Our goal is for RC to be an environment where you can thrive, push yourself, and do great work. - Recurse Center
[…]participants sharing their ideas, skills, criticisms and passions with each other in small, informal groups - ITP Camp
The RC community is full of smart, friendly people who can talk through your goals with you, help you pick projects and structure your time, answer your questions, give you code review, and support you emotionally. - Recurse Center
ITP was founded and is grounded in the belief that making is fundamental to thinking. - ITP Camp
RC is self-directed and built to give you as much control over your education as possible - Recurse Center