Techno Trends

TechnoTrends: cellphones, blackberries … what's not to like?

Andrew Ackerman

I suppose it was inevitable. In a society that increasingly prides itself as being always accessible--always "plugged in"--it was only a matter of time before campers started showing up at camp with cellphones and wireless e-mail devices (e.g., Blackberries). Is this really such a bad thing?

Actually, it is a problem on a number of levels:

* Child development Camp is a place where children gain independence and learn to stand on their own. A lifeline back to home can easily become a crutch.

* Breakage Let's face it, things break at camp. Camp by its very nature is a rough environment, and these are electronic devices that can cost several hundred dollars. Even if a parent understands that this is no fault of camp, there's still a lingering unhappiness.

* Homesickness Even the happiest camper has a down moment. Says Scott Fiedler of Brookwood Camps in New York, "So the kid has a bad day--twenty minutes later he's out playing ball--having fun. But if he has a cellphone, it's 'mommy take me home!' Now I have to spend an hour on the phone calming the mother down and convincing her not to take her son out of camp."

The good news is that most parents will understand all of this. But you can't "just say no." The expectation of instant access is still there, and if you don't find a way to address the underlying desire in a way that is compatible with camp, they'll keep trying to smuggle in those cellphones and blackberries. Fortunately, there are ways.

As camp consultant Bob Ditter, M.Ed., L.C.S.W., puts it, "Saying, 'well, we can't do that, but how about this?' is a way to move forward while maintaining your mission or values--yet giving parents something they can feel good about."

So what do parents really want to know? When all is said and done, parents want to know that their child is having fun. So why not just show them?

Bob Ditter often recommends that camps use online photos to show parents that their child is safe and having a good time. According to Bob, "A photo or video gallery can be a one way window into camp."

Photo/Video Gallery

Posting camper pictures is a great way to reassure parents without intruding on the camper's experience. Every parent who sees his or her son smiling by the waterfront or daughter enjoying archery is one less nervous parent phone call you have to field. Director Audrey Monke of Gold Arrow Camp in California uses online photography to share experiences with parents. "We're receiving lots of positive comments from our parents about the pictures."

Some camps like Camp Chi in Wisconsin have taken this a step further by posting video footage on their Web site. Online video is more work for the camp and requires more advanced technology, but there's no better way to make a parent truly experience your camp. Director Brad Finkel says, "Our video gallery definitely decreases the communication gap. Video really gives parents a chance to see their kids in action. Parents love it."

TIP For your campers' safety and privacy, camper pictures posted online should always be password protected.

Communication from Parents

An online photo or video gallery is only half the answer. These let you get information from camp to the outside world, but what about the other direction? How do you provide parents with a way to communicate from the outside into camp--to communicate with their children--without falling into any of the traps we discussed?

The simplest way is still the humble letter--but it lacks two features that are increasingly important in today's "wired" world:

1. Speed

2. Convenience

In general, a parent is lucky if a letter she mails today reaches her child at camp three days later. If your camp is particularly remote, mail can take five or more days. Sometimes this is just an inconvenience. For others, it can be much more. Numerous camps with one-week sessions have told us that regular mail is just not an option for them. The mail just does not get to camp in time to matter.

Furthermore, your parents have gotten used to the ease, speed, and convenience of e-mail. There are some parents who are lucky to find five minutes to spare in the middle of the day to simply type a letter--forget about a hand-written note. For them, the mere thought of finding a stamp, addressing a letter, and dropping it in a mailbox is challenging.

Giving campers e-mail access is not a solution. Few parents want their campers to be sitting in front of a computer reading e-mail. So, camps are increasingly being forced into accepting e-mail that they then print and hand out at mail call. This solution is far from ideal. Camps find themselves deluged with e-mail that they have to individually print, manually sort (and how do you route an e-mail from "Mom" to "David?"), and distribute. Add in 2 MB photo attachments of Fluffy the cat, unsolicited e-mail ("spam"), and various viruses--and pretty soon you need a staff person dedicated to incoming e-mail.

Fortunately, there are a number of one-way camper e-mail solutions. While details vary, these services are generally password protected, pre-sort the incoming e-mail for you, and often give you the option of charging parents per e-mail so you can recoup the cost of paper and toner. So now you can give the parent the speed and convenience of e-mail without the downside.

And when you combine pictures with (one way) parent to camper e-mail, the affect is especially potent. Imagine this--A parent logs onto your (password protected) photo gallery. She finds a great picture of her beaming daughter who has just won her leg of the Color War relay race. She immediately attaches that very picture to an e-mail to her daughter with her congratulations, and her daughter has that note and picture in her hands the next morning. What could be more effective than that?

The Future Is Available Now

Before you object that this is a techno-fantasy, you can do everything I just described above at no cost to camp--with no programming required. For instance, there is a service that lets parents send one way email from any computer with Internet access to camp. Parents can attach pictures or personalize the note with a decorative border. The camp receives a single e-mail the next morning containing the ten, twenty, or 100+ camper e-mails sent the night before, presorted by cabin and camper.

The bottom line is that you can meet the expectations of the Communications Age without surrendering control of the camp experience or conceding totally to the wishes of parents--but only if you satisfy your parents' underlying needs some other way. There are simple, cost-effective ways to provide the communication parents require.

And remember, a happy parent won't try hiding a cellphone in a can of his child's tennis balls!

COPYRIGHT 2004 American Camping Association, COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group