Academic grounding
Families get a program shaped by university-level creative computing leadership, not a generic prompt-tool workshop.
A parent-friendly summer AI experience for high school students
Help your teen move from just using AI to understanding it, shaping it, and building with it.
This summer program is designed for families who want more than passive screen time and more than hype. Designed by Ira Greenberg — Professor and Chair of the Center of Creative Computation at SMU and CEO of gogentic.ai — the program helps students learn how AI works, where it helps, where it can mislead, and how to use it creatively, responsibly, and confidently in school and life.
- For rising 9th–12th graders
- No coding experience required
- Designed by SMU faculty leadership
- Creativity + ethics + real-world skills
- Supportive, project-based learning
Beginner-friendly
Human-centered
Project-based
College-and-career relevant
Built for real teens
Program leadership
Designed by Ira Greenberg
Ira Greenberg is Professor and Chair of the Center of Creative Computation at SMU and CEO of gogentic.ai. His work sits at the intersection of creative practice, computation, AI literacy, and real-world learning — which is why this program treats AI as both a technical shift and a human, creative, ethical one.
Practical AI fluency
Students learn habits they can use beyond summer: asking better questions, testing outputs, revising work, and explaining choices.
Why this matters now
Most teenagers are already using AI. Very few are being taught how to use it well.
Parents can feel the shift: AI is changing homework, creativity, communication, and future career paths. The real question is not whether your child will encounter AI. It is whether they will learn to approach it thoughtfully, critically, and with confidence.
Confidence over confusion
Students learn what AI is, what it is not, and how to question outputs instead of taking them at face value.
Creation over consumption
They do not just prompt tools. They make projects, solve problems, and turn ideas into visible work.
Judgment over gimmicks
We treat ethics, bias, authorship, and responsibility as part of literacy, not as an afterthought.
Momentum for the future
The experience can help students imagine future majors, internships, portfolios, and career directions.
The parent case in one sentence
This is a summer program for families who want their kids to be capable, thoughtful, and future-ready — not passive users of the next wave of technology.
Two ways to begin
Choose the summer format that fits your student.
Some students want a fast, inspiring introduction. Others are ready for a deeper creative and applied experience. This companion site presents both clearly for families.
1-week seminar
A fast, confidence-building introduction
Ideal for students who are curious about AI, creative technology, or future career pathways but are not yet ready to commit to a longer experience.
- Welcoming entry point for first-timers
- Hands-on activities from day one
- Clear explanations without jargon overload
- Great for students exploring interest and fit
- Ends with something students can show and talk about
Multi-week camp
A deeper creative and future-facing experience
Ideal for students who want more time to build, experiment, collaborate, and grow real fluency with AI tools, creative workflows, and project development.
- More time for guided projects and revision
- Stronger portfolio and presentation outcomes
- A richer sense of how AI connects to art, media, design, and emerging careers
- Space for confidence to build across multiple weeks
- More community, more mentorship, more momentum
What the room feels like
Serious, welcoming, and creatively alive.
The best version of this program feels less like a lecture and more like a guided studio: students ask questions, compare ideas, help each other, and discover that AI literacy can be social, creative, and deeply human.
What students actually do
This is not a sit-and-listen tech camp.
Students explore AI through making, discussion, critique, and presentation. They ask questions, test ideas, compare results, and build projects with real human guidance.
Demystify AI
Students learn how AI systems work, where they succeed, and where they fail.
Spot bias and limitations
They examine what makes AI helpful, risky, incomplete, or misleading.
Create with intention
They use AI as a creative partner for visual, written, and design-oriented work.
Apply it to the real world
They connect AI to community issues, future careers, and meaningful problem-solving.
Present what they made
Students leave with concrete work, stronger language for explaining it, and a new sense of possibility.
What students gain
The real outcomes parents care about.
The point is not to turn every student into an engineer in a week. The point is to help them become more capable, more thoughtful, and more confident in a world where AI will increasingly shape school and work.
Confidence with new technology
Students stop feeling behind and start understanding how to approach unfamiliar tools.
Better judgment
They learn to question, evaluate, revise, and not confuse fast answers with good answers.
Creative agency
They use AI to extend their own ideas instead of replacing their own thinking.
Communication and presentation skills
Students talk about what they made, why they made it, and what they learned.
A bridge to future opportunities
The experience can support later coursework, college applications, portfolio development, and career exploration.
Why families tend to respond to this
It meets teenagers where they are — and helps them grow beyond that starting point.
For the curious student
Maybe your child is creative, bright, and interested in the future, but unsure where to begin. This gives them a structured starting point.
For the hesitant student
Maybe they are intimidated by tech or assume AI is only for coders. This shows them they belong in the conversation too.
For the already-motivated student
Maybe they are already experimenting on their own. This helps turn scattered curiosity into stronger habits, projects, and direction.
Parent FAQ
Questions families usually ask before signing up.
Does my child need coding experience?
No. The program is designed so students can begin without a coding background. Curiosity matters more than prior experience.
Is this only for students who want tech careers?
No. It is valuable for students interested in art, design, writing, entrepreneurship, media, community problem-solving, and many other paths.
How is this different from kids just using ChatGPT at home?
At home, students usually get speed and novelty. Here, they get structure, context, critique, ethics, collaboration, and guided project work.
Will the program address AI bias, misinformation, and responsible use?
Yes. Students are taught to examine limits, bias, authorship, and responsibility as part of the experience.
What if my student is shy or unsure?
That is common. The learning environment is designed to be supportive, welcoming, and confidence-building rather than competitive.
What does my child leave with?
They leave with projects, vocabulary for talking about AI intelligently, and more confidence about how to participate in a rapidly changing future.
Next step
If this feels right for your child, let’s talk.
We can help you think through which format is the best fit: the 1-week seminar, the multi-week camp, or the broader AI literacy pathway behind them. The program is designed by Ira Greenberg, Professor and Chair, Center of Creative Computation at SMU, and CEO of gogentic.ai.