First Lego League Competition | kvue.com | KVUE News | Austin, TX | Breaking News

First Lego League Competition

by KVUE News

kvue.com

Posted on November 13, 2010 at 4:56 PM

Updated yesterday at 6:15 PM

It's decision day for many Central Texas students.  They have spent months designing and programing robots to make precision movements.  This weekend marks the annual First Lego League qualifying competition.  It will determine which teams will move forward to the next round. The goal is to get students excited about science, technology, engineering and math.

"We have engineers and mentors that come in and work with the kids after school.  so they get to work personal with an engineer in the fields that maybe they're interesting in pursing as a career in the future," said robotics teacher Norman Morgan.

Students ages 9 to 14 are able to take part in this program.  In addition to building the Lego robot, they are also required to complete a research project.  This year the topic was biomedical engineering.

via kvue.com

Westlake High School hosted a Central Texas FLL qualifier on Saturday, November 13 for 31 area teams. Our tournament was the largest FLL qualifier in the area.

We had a great group of judges and referees for the tournament. Team 2468 parents and team members volunteered in a variety of locations and positions. Our FTC team set up their course and demonstrated "Get Over It".
Team 2468 had our "Breakaway" robot as well. Teams were amazed to watch the mecanum wheels work on the robot.
All in all it was a great day for the team.
KVUE News was there as seen above.
TeamX from Hill Country Middle school took the top of the tournament for the day. They also had the highest score of the day at the tournament.

We will be hosting the Central Texas FLL Championships on January 15th at Westlake High School.

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Total recall first waste for us

We are now still in first but we had a waste gadget. Score is 1900 -currently for us.

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Total recall semifinal round

1344 points for our first round of semifinals. We were the only team to go without a six sigma in the pilot production.

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Total Recall - Round 4

We have completed 4 rounds so far. 

We packaged 52 gadgets and delivered an additional 56 were delivered.

That was a score of 1608 for that round.  We are in first place with a score of 6072. 

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Total recall team dancing and scores after three rounds

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Total recall first two rounds

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First round of TOTAL RECALL

Second Round - Total score of 1716 -  61 packaged,  50 delivered.

Total Score of two rounds is  3240. 

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First round of TOTAL RECALL

First round was a 1526. Excellent rn for us.

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Total Recall - Drive practice - Bob Bullock State Museum

Today we had drive practice.  It was good to see all the other teams there.  Many more teams seemed to have working and functional robots on Drive practice today.  

We had the opportunity to get on the field 7 or 8 times today.  Each time we were there for about 12 - 15 minutes.  We had eight different drivers today.  Each of them had a big learning curve when driving the robot.  We started the day trying to read the data port, move the MRT, deliver gadgets and return the waster to the material recall center.  We then decided to try and move as many gadgets as possible without regard to read the data port.  The second strategy was more effective since it took so long to align to the data port.  

Gadgets packaged	Gadgets Delivered but not packaged
35	61
56	17
38	88
55	9
56	53
62	55
90	0
30	56
40	76
60	50

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Total Recall - Drive practice is tomorrow and today's deliverables

Today, we had deliverables of team essay, website and Youtube video.  The webteam worked throughout the day on to complete the site.  Justin, Keren, Michael Watson and Linda McMahon worked late into the evening to get it complete.  The team essay and YouTube video was submitted late in the afternoon. The link to the YouTube is  

David finished the MRT hooks during 2nd period today.  The hooks worked very well in controlling the MRT around the shop.  They may have to be adjusted slightly.  The servos still vibrate quite a bit as we turn the robot on or move the servos.  Jonny came in and worked on the programming to tweak a few things.  The programming team has done a very good job of programming while not always having access to the robot.  Jonny got to test the data port reader on the and it worked.  The data read is communicated with the positioning of the MRT hooks.  The door works although we may need to speed up the speed on the door closing.  .  The MRT hooks work.  It is great to see it begin to come together.  Students put a wheelie bar under the robot to help with the tipping of the robot when it is loaded or begins to accelerate.  Grey and David worked on the rollers for the omni wheel.  A few of the students worked on tweaking the design of the arm grabber.  Currently we have some issues with the golf ball getting stuck in the slot of the bucket.  

David and Aaron did some practice driving during 8th period.  They were successful at loading and carrying over 80 gadgets but they also accidentally dumped a bucket full of balls.  The robot was able to carry a large load of gadgets as well as control the MRT at the same time although we will not be performing this task in the contest. 

Drive Practice will be held at Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.  Michelle worked on the Engineering notebook and printed it out.  We have a second checkpoint on it at Drive practice. 

Below is a video of the gadget grabber demonstrated by Sean and pictures of the omni wheels in progress.   

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VIDEO0027.3gp (4822 KB)

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Total Recal - Coming to the end of week 5

We are on the eve of a deadline for some deliverables for the contest.  The website and youtube video are due on Friday.  We have drive practice at Bob Bullock State Museum on Saturday staring at 9:00 am and continuing until 3:00 pm.  

The website team was very excited with the progress they made tonight.  Jack took a computer home to continue to update and clean up the website.  He and Keren are going to meet in my classroom at 8 on Friday morning to do some final checking for grammar, punctuation, etc. 

The display team received materials from Mr. Jordan and other mentors tonight.  Linda and Rebecca worked with the display team on the breakdown of what needs to be done and accomplished over the next few days.  They have made a diorama of the display to help visualize the final product.  

The robot team worked on a variety of parts this evening.  Projects included: 

• mechanical stop for the door at the top of the left slide
• plastic cover for the microswith at the bottom
• battery mount made of lexan
• epoxied two zipties together for a more sturdy and rigid connection between the door and the pulley
• New MRT hooks were made out of 1/4" material, drilled and mounted - we discovered the Data port reader gave virtually no room for error in driving to connect to the MRT.  
• Data Port was completed and mounted but had to be remounted one inch over to allow more access for the MRT 
• Bucket was ziptied to the robot deck
• All bolts have shortened on the standoffs, motor mounts, motors and door
• Angle pieces of clear lexan were made for the MRT hooks to assist in controlling the MRT.  The black foam rubber was added to the angle pieces for additional control of the MRT. These pieces need to be slotted and mounted still.
• The MRT will set against the Data Port and be held in place with the servo hooks.   
• The arm/grabber made great progress tonight.  
• The last Igus flange bearing was mounted for the motor shaft and axle
• The motor/shaft coupler was begun.  David M worked on one with the drill press but then David W. worked on with the mill. It has been cut, and drilled for the two different shafts and set screws but needs to be tapped still
• Bucket was cut out and bent last night
• Square angle piece was mounted to the front of the arm
• Pulley was slotted for the string
• Arm was mounted on the pulley but not with the axle through the arm.  The arm sets on top of the axle.
• Servo mount tabs were cut, drilled, tapped and mounted on the arm
• Aluminum extension was cut, drilled and mounted on the servo horn with 4/40 machine screws
• The extension was bent and then taped to the bucket for demonstration.  It works but the golf ball does get stuck in the apparatus sometimes. 
• We will have to put another wooden pulley on the opposite side of the arm for balance
• Jack worked on sanding the rollers for the Omni wheel using a 4/40 machine screw, the drill press and some sandpaper.  He got two of them sanded down.  We will look at using it as a support under the bucket for when we are loaded.  This will prevent us from dumping the gadgets on the floor. 
• Jonny came by to work on programming but did not have much time since he had a concert tonight.  He did confirm that we have a dead servo.  
• 
  

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Total Recall - Day 29 and Parent meeting

Good work day in the shop for the team.

I discussed with the Robotics II classes about the importance of posting to Basecamp on a daily basis so we could see/track progress.  This is so important for other subteams who need information about the robot build but are not there each day or in the shop the entire time.  I also discussed the lack of students at the work sessions on Saturday and Monday evening and the fact that this class was no different from any other extracurricular class in regards to team meetings/work times.  They should show up to meetings when called even if they are on weekends and school holidays such as Monday. 

Progress on the robot included:

• Red deck had large wheels and caster mounted
• Large silver wheels had hubs and tread mounted
• Bolts were cut for the motor mounts, caster and wheels
• Began painting the bucket blue
• The bucket was cut to fit on the new deck
• Reinstalled the door support and slides
• Microswitches were soldered and installed on the slides.  The slide had to be drilled and tapped for a 2/56 machine screws. 
• The corner Lexan pieces were drilled for access holes for mounting.  They were also heated and bent at the top so that a gadget could not get stuck on top of it. 
• Jonny tested the code on the door.  It was very successful with the wooden door in place but not so with the Lexan door. See the attached video.  Two videos are attached.  The first one shows 60 gadgets being released.  The second shows 180 golfballs being released.  Notice in the second one that so of the golfballs release but then they get jammed.  Jonny has worked a drive code to help with this scenario but has yet to test it. 
• Fingers for data port were filed and sanded on the lexan piece
• Grant worked on laying out the drill pattern for the fingers to be mounted to the wire assembly
• Standoffs had a section that was not very strong, so we inserted wood wedges into the locations and glued them in place.  The excess was trimmed off with the bandsaw.  
• Standoffs were installed using the right angle brackets
• Servo mount holes were cut out in the standoffs
• The arm motor was mounted to the right standoff
• Tim Ousley came by to visit with the team and do some video of the omni wheels. 
• Grey sanded the lexan circles down so they would insert into the PVC pipe.  He then expoxied 2 lexan circles into each piece of PVC pipe. 
• Joe worked with Grey on cutting the outer plates for the omni wheels.  He got one small axle cut.  The wheel looks good.  It shows great prospect. 
• David M cut three arms from plywood and glued them together for the actual arm piece.  
• Brocklebolts were made for the pulley arms
• Aluminum disks were drilled for the motor/axle arm for the pulley
• Igus flange bearings were mounted with 4/40 machines screws that were cut off

We have some issues to work out that include weight balance since the door motor is located at the back end hanging over the back of the robot.  We will lighten the deck in the back beyond the wheels.  Jack B. suggested we use a wheelie bar or wheel to keep us from tipping over.  The bucket will have to cutout on the grabber side so the standoffs do not stick over the end of the robot. Scott McMahon asked many different groups/students about their work projects.  He asked questions for clarification as well as to make sure the students were aware of not only what they were doing but why as well.  This is a usual daily activity for him in the shop.  

The BEST award team met in regards to the notebook, display and notebook. Michael Watson spent some time with the Web team.  He communicated the importance of posting on Basecamp projects that have been done as well as the need to get all files on Basecamp so others have access to it. 

Joyce and Linda held a parent meeting to discuss WESTA and answer any questions about the team up to this point.  I visited with the parents for a few minutes about our past, our current progress in BEST, plans for the Spring and our future.  Funding continues to be a major hurdle we must be concerned with.    

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VIDEO0026.3gp (1672 KB)

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VIDEO0027.3gp (4822 KB)

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Total Recall - Day 29

The students did not have school today so we had a small group come in today.  Although the group was small, progress was made on the robot. 

Robot progress tonight:

• Door zip tie was attached
• Door frame mount was cut down to size and routered for weight reduction
• Painted the new wheels silver
• Painted the deck red with two coats of paint
• Drilled new wheels for the hubs
• Corner lexan inserts for the bucket.  This also replaced the support plywood as well as the washers inside the bucket. 
• Jonny used the mill to shave the ends down on the slide which will have the microswitches on it.  He used the drill press to drill for the 2/56 machines screws.  He got two holes drilled for the top microswitch. 
• David M worked on the arm 
• Claude updated the CAD drawings for the door motor and mount
• Jonny and Scott soldered the leads on the door motor 
• Daniel C cut on the fingers for the data port from the 1/4" lexan
• Grey and David brought in the outer panels for the omni wheels they completed at Tim Ousley's house on Sunday.

Michelle, Achi and Keren worked on the BEST award tonight.  Lauren came in after band to work on the display with Linda.  Linda and I discussed the layout of the display and how we could possibly save some money by not buying so much cloth.  

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WHS Staff Development, Carolyn Foote, WEB 2.0

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Westlake High Skype Training

 

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Total Recall - 4 weeks today

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VIDEO0023.3gp (3590 KB)

We had to compete with ACL, SAT test and Westlake Marching Festival today for shop workers, but we made very good progress today.

Work competed today included the following:

• Grey completed the new wheels, although one blank was cut from the wrong size so he had to make a third wheel
• New door mount board so we will have room to mount the door motor
• Door pulley pieces drilled for mounting to each other
• Motor hub for small motor was completed
• Motor mount block was cut, drilled and mounted on the new door mount board
• Door was reassembled and remounted to the robot. 
• Door motor mounted with pulley completed (spindles were drilled for attachment to each other as well as attachment to the hub)
• Zip tie was attached to the spindle
• The attached video shows the motor mounted to the bucket but we will have to work on center of gravity since the door assembly has loaded up the weight on that end outside the large wheels.  This will create some concern for drivers to be aware of.  
• Grant completed the data port reader (sanded the fingers and attached the fingers to the base piece with the springs and wire loops)
• Jonny tested the data port reader (this design was first intended to be on a swivel but had to be modified because it was not consistent)
• The decision was made to mount the data port reader permanently to the deck - this proved to be very consistent as long as the driver continues to drive forward into the data port
• Jonny made the decision to change the button required to read the data port so it would be easier to do
• Jonny mounted the Cortex on the side of the bucket
• David, Sean B., Claude and Chris worked on the final design of the gadget grabber.  
• David cut the board mount for the front of the grabber
• Sean B worked on the standoffs for the grabber.  He got the motor hole drilled, all the shafts holes and mounted the Igus flange bearings

Discussions were held about what projects need to be completed on Monday.  They included microswitches for the door, mounting the zip tie to the door, grabber completion including pulley and shaft system.  Painting of the robot was also discussed.  

The display team met with Linda and Rebecca to make some final decisions.  They also looked at the PVC frame and cloth from lasts years display.  Late in the afternoon, Linda and Rebecca went shopping and searching for display materials. 

David W., David M., and Grey are going over to Tim Ousley's house on Sunday afternoon to work on the omni wheels design.  

Scott McMahon received a strange call from a team in Denton. The Texas Academy of Math and Science called asking him about how to make an arm as well as some programming help.  They did not realize that Scott lived in Austin.  Scott worked with Sean B to make a few videos explaining how our arm worked on our robot from last year.  Scott visited with Sean about how we would share these videos as well as some programming help to this team over this next week. 

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Total Recall - Day 28 and another Surprise visit from a Superintendent

Today was not an after school work day but progress was made on the robot design as well as the BEST notebook and display. 

David worked on the servo mounts only to realize that if we mount them to the deck, they will be to low to attach to the MRT.  We also cannot mount them on the bucket door end because we could not grab the MRT on the narrow side.  Discussion then moved to mounting them on the grabber standoffs.  The servos will be mounted in the plywood standoffs with the hooks on the outside of each standoff.  

During the Robotics II periods, we continued to work on same pieces that were not quite completed on Thursday night.  Walker and Grant worked on the Data port reader.  They trimmed the fingers some more and cut excess off the ends of the finger board.  They also began work on attaching the two pieces of the data port reader.

Work began on laying out the cut out patterns on the new size wheels. The wheel blanks were cut out. Grey came in after school to complete the marking of one of the wheel patterns. He got the 3" pattern cutout very easily.  When he was cutting out the 1 1/2" pattern, the blank split on one side.  He tried another hole by drilling half way thru and then turning the blank over.  This was successful.  Grey decided he would complete the blanks on Saturday morning. 

During the football game on Friday night, I received a call from Linda Rawlings.  At first, I was very concerned about her calling me at the game.  I answered and she asked if I could met her at the shop in a few minutes.  My mind was racing with thoughts about what was wrong with the shop or what complaint she had received.  She said she had visitors from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.  I went to the shop to meet with Linda, Ellen Balthazar and the visitors.  I game them the same documents the visitors received on Thursday.  It was very interesting to me that the visitors from Thursday and Friday questioned the size of the shop and the facilities.  

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Total Recall - Day 27 and Visitors from Superintendent's Consortium

Today was a very good day in the shop. 

It started out with a group of visiting Superintendents from a Consortium of Successful school which Dr. Wellman participates in.  I had a chance to visit with them for a few minutes about our program and the importance/impact of robotics in the school.  They each received a a FIRST robotics pamphlet, a Chap Robotics team pamphlet and a document I prepared for them stressing the importance of our program.  The document is attached.  

The robotics team began during the class day.  Second period David worked on the servo mounts.  Claude, Grey and Bryce came in during their lunch (which they do nearly every day, by the way) to work on SolidWORKS drawings of various parts and assemblies of the robot.  Lauren and I researched videos on the internet about marble tracks and marble contraptions.  

During 6th and 7th periods, we worked on a variety of parts of the robot including:  new size deck, motor mounts for the small motors, plywood support strap for the inside of the bucket and pieces for the arm. Very few of these projects were completed so they continued after school.  Projects that were completed before the night was over were:

• Back door will raise and lower - it seems to work very well at this point
• Pulley for the door were cut from Lexan and Plywood
• Door motor mount was cut, drilled and bent
• New bucket was cut to fit on the deck
• Support struts were glued into place for the ramp inside the deck
• Tinned loop wires for the data port
• Springs for data port held in place with tinned wires and wood screws
• Data port fingers were cut, filed and sanded
• Data port fingers were drilled so that they would fit over the springs and wires
• Grey worked with Miguel on SolidWORKS Cosmos stress analysis on the wheel design so we can lighten the wheels
• Layout/drawings began on the standoffs for the arm
• Arm designs were refined and contemplated
• Sheet metal was cut for the front of gadget grabber
• One piece of the wooden arm was cut
• Jonny worked on reading the data port and was successful in telling what the port was stating

Work continues on the BEST award, display and website.  I am concerned about the display.  This group seems to be moving slower than I would like.  They seem to think that it will get done. Michelle and Grant have some designs for the T-shirt revolving around the Willie Wonka "Nerds" theme.  

Before we left the shop for the evening, the team tested the bucket door releasing 80 gadgets into the manual processing center.  The results were very exciting.  They also tested more gadgets but we had some difficulty with some getting stuck in the corners and getting lodged and not coming out.  

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Why Robotics.docx (17447 KB)

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VIDEO0022.3gp (2178 KB)

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Total Recall - Day 22

Today was a very productive day during the school day and right after school before I had to leave. 

Progress today before I left was:

• Bucket was released from clamps
• Connor and Iain got the motor cutouts on the bucket
• Proof of concept of the sliding door was made and evaluated.  It was made of 1/4" plywood, Igus slide rails, Igus slides and a piece of cardboard.  The door had rubber bands attached at the bottom to assist in the door returning to the down position. 
• Robert and Josh got the bucket door reinforcement was cut from 1/4" plywood and the door was cut from the piece
• Josh got the door cut from 1/4" plywood
• The slides for the door were cut from the Igus slide rails
• Jack got the ramp located in the bucket was trimmed down to size to fit into the bucket
• Several students worked on the supporting struts for the ramp were used cardboard in a tic,tac, toe formation under the ramp.  It was cut at an angle to support the ramp.
• Aaron and Kendall worked on the spindle for the door.  The motor mount will effect the size of the spindle.  We would like to 
• Walker and Grant worked on the Data port reader using springs from the clothes pin, a 1" X 4" wood plank.  They are working on a prototype for the data port reader.  It seems to be a good concept and could possibly a workable solution.
• Jonny and Robert began to work on code for the small motor to raise and lower the door along with microswitches located at the top and bottom to cut the motor off. 
• Karen posted a questionnaire on Basecamp for each team member to till out.  
• The BEST Award team worked on compiling more data.  
• Sean and David were going beginning to work on servo mounts and small motor mounts after school. 
• Claude and Grey worked on SolidWorks designs of the ball grabber and arm.  
• Grey was working on the SolidWorks for the door of the bucket.
• Sean was working on the ball sorter for the display.    

We discussed the design of the door motor mount, small spindle and the apparatus for raising and lower the door.  A discussion also revolved around extending the chassis 1" in the front where the balls come out of the bucket as well as extending 1" longer in the front. 

Grey, Bryce, Claude and I discussed lightening the wheels.  This will reduce the inertial mass of the wheels.  

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Total Recall - Day 22

The shop was very busy tonight with lots of students.  Many of the students present work and move forward in their progress while some others continue to seek out their position on the team. 

David, Claude and David met to discuss some of the decisions of the weekend drive practice and team meeting.  Decisions include:  

• an arm operated with a motor for up and down control, a servo grabber control
• servos mounted on the corners for control of the MRT
• sliding door on the bucket controlled by a small motor and a pulley on the motor shaft
• bucket will be two inches taller
• use the golf ball/lazy susan caster
• data port reader will communicate through the servos

Several designs were discussed in how to make the data port reader interface with the data port.  Lots of discussion around aluminum strips, clothes pins and the piano wire rolled into a wire spring.  

Karen and Michael visited about the structure of the website.  One focus of their discussion was on a biography feature of each teammate to possibly be included.  

Michael and I visited about his work with the Anderson team on Monday night.  We discussed the possibility of a student from our team going over to work with their programming team on the coming Saturday.  

Jonny and Tim worked on reading the data port interface.  Although we do not have the apparatus ready for the robot, Jonny has successfully demonstrated how to read the data and communicate it with a dial feature powered by a servo.  I had to rain on his parade and inform him you could not utilize paint or decorations in conjunction with the dial for communications purposes.  

Chris and Milo completed marking and cutting the layout of the new bucket.  David and Sean glued the bucket and clamped before leaving for the night.  David worked on the design for the servo mounts for the MRT.  

The FTC team continues to work on their design each day.  

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Total Recall - Week 4 Begins

I was sick today and did not attend the meeting or school today.  In robotics II, students who were present at the Drive practice gave reports on how our robot performed, times we recorded, evaluation of our time line and observations of other teams robots.  In the evening meeting, Scott gave a presentation on motors.

With less than 3 week until the contest day, I hope the students realize the sense of urgency to get things done. 

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Total Recall - Day 21

Drive practice at Roger Beasley Volvo in Georgetown, Texas was today.  We learned that our time line was on target.  We definitely need to work on the manipulator to control the MRT.  It took 40 seconds to load 60 golf balls.  Our caster design with the lazy susan and golf ball worked very well.   

The design of the robot will change to include the following:  an arm with the servo claw, a door that will raise straight up with the power of a small motor, two servos with hooks to manipulate the MRT.  The bucket will be made 2 inches taller but be made of one layer of cardboard but will still remain in the one square foot print. 

The design notebook was turned in for the original checkpoint.  We received very positive feedback on the progress and the general state of the notebook. We have high hopes for the design notebook this year.  

Before the team left drive practice, the team sought out a meeting place to discuss the days proceedings.   

Several of the students along with Scott, Linda and Tim went back to the shop to work on designs. Upon return to the shop, they worked on designs and ideas from the day of drive practice.  

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Total Recall - Day 20

Tonight we worked on the bucket for the gadgets.  It is now complete with all sides three layers thick and the door is hinged.  The ramp was installed as well.  We continue to work on the design of release mechanism for the gadgets.  The arm design has been put on the back burner until after drive practice as well as the omni wheels.  The data port reader still remains to be finalized in the design.  

The BEST award team continues to work on the design notebook and the display.  They had made great progress and will have something good to present on Saturday at Drive Practice.  The display will revolve around Willie Wonka.  Sean and Lauren continued to work with the NXT brick and the color sensor.  They have been successful at getting the sensor to distinguish between yellow, black and white balls.  They are also working on a sorting technique for eggs as well.  

Drive practice is Saturday at Roger Beasley with an initial check on the Engineering Notebook.  

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Total Recall - Day 19

Major Milestone today:  We have a driving robot.  Large wheels, golf ball and lazy susan caster, deck and programming.  Success. 

The programming incudes:  forward and backward, point turn, swing turn, change in speed and change in orientation of the robot's forward direction. 

Timed on the tile floor:  10 feet in 5.5 seconds with 7 pounds and 6 ounces.   

Turns very well  on the tile floor but still needs to be tested on the carpet.  

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Total Recall - Day 18

We continue to struggle with the design of the entire robot.  We understand the major strategy of our robot but have not fleshed out the fine details of the designs.  David M and I visited at length with Scott over lack of communications within the team.   The build team is working but not always in the same direction and often not on the same page.  For example, today some students sought out the dimensions of the chassis for the robot.  They communicated with some of the CAD team and got dimensions for the deck. They cut the deck to 18" x 20" and then routered the edge of the board.  This process took most of 6th and 7th period with the learning process of using the circular saw and the router.  After school, it was communicated that it was the wrong size. It should have been 16" x 18" instead.  This brought up a discussion of what and where are the dimensions of the robot and all assemblies.  On top of this, team members continue to ask me each day "What do I need to work on?".  We need the student leaders to step up, communicate and assign the assemblies of the robot.  

Kendall and Aaron finished the golf ball-lazy susan caster.  It is still in prototype mode but will prove beneficial for testing and evaluation.  The caster will be mounted on the back of the robot chassis.  The omni wheels designs continue to be worked in SolidWorks. Grey and David are very close in finalizing the design.  Tim Ousley continues to do some testing on the CNC mill.  

David W. finished drilling, bending and filing the motor mounts for the large wheels.  The hubs are so much better than we have made in the past.  The vertical mill has proven to be very beneficial in the manufacturing of the hubs.  David got the large wheels and front caster mounted on the deck.  He will work to get it all wired up on Wednesday in the class period.  Hopefully we will have a driving chassis on Wednesday.  

Non engineering teams continue to work in small groups on their individual projects. Michael Watson came in tonight to work with the Website team.  He says that all of the students are all experienced in HTML.  They are making progress in content creation at this time. 

The BEST Award team has continued to work on the notebook, display and documentation.  

Basecamp is beginning to be used more and more by the team.  We will see if it the use continues over the course of the season.  It provides a nucleus for all of our documentation and communications to reside, be shared and begin from. 

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Total Recall - Day 17

We had our weekly team meeting tonight.  Students began coming into the shop after school but the team meeting was not until 6:30.  Work was done in the following areas:  front wheel caster, bucket for gadgets, painting golf balls, website, community team, display and more CAD.  

Several students continue to complete lessons in SolidWorks.  The use of the printed lessons in the "CAD bible" has proven to be very beneficial.  This provides a method for the students to work at their own pace through the lessons and learn the software.  Grey has continued to show great interest in the use of the program.   He has been taking a SolidWorks computer home in the evenings to work on the design of the omniwheels.  Claude has a robot design with drive wheels, bucket and arm completed.  

Sean and Lauren work on the design of the display, more specifically the golden egg apparatus and marble sorter.  Sean has completed a bill of materials for the display. 

At the team meeting, David presented Basecamp to the team. It is our project management software for team.  Basecamp had donated the service to the team to implement.  Jonny had populated his programming team information in the program, so David used this as an example for the team to see.  Michelle and Karen spoke to the team about the importance of daily updates on progress and goals for each subteam.   Leaders are responsible for making sure these updates occur.  

Joe, Michael and Rebecca were able to make the meeting tonight along with Scott and Linda.  We had 43 students in attendance for the meeting and a few others who came in to work after school but could not stay for the meeting.  Next week Scott will be presenting Sensors for FIRST Robotics.  

Drive practice is less than 5 days away but no driving robot at this point.  The team is close to putting the drive base together though.  Drive wheels and hubs are completed, while we continue to work on the chassis, motor mounts and front wheel caster.  Hopefully we will get those completed on Tuesday. 

We received notification from National Instruments that our LabVIEW for Education has been FEDEX'ed to us.  It is a classroom install of 25 seats for the team and class.  We will move to LabVIEW in Robotics I very soon. In addition, I continue to see how we can resolve the SolidWorks software issues.  

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Total Recall - Week two wrapup

We have completed two weeks of the build season at this point.  We have made progress with the team structure and students working under student leadership.  The groups seem to be working but need redirection from time to time.  

Student leadership and decision making has been an aspect we have not had the past few years.  We had a few students who were willing to take on leadership roles as well as lead a small group in some decision making.  The mentors have all agreed we feel it is very important to have more student leadership and decision making on the team.  At times, the team works very within these confines but we still seem to be figuring out how to make it work as well as staying within that system.  Many times, students have approached one of the mentors to ask a question about a team decision only to be told, find the student lead who is responsible for that and visit with them. 

On Saturday, we had students working on the following groups: shop/robot, programming, CAD, website, media, video, BEST award, photography, outreach and the FTC team.  Lots of students working in the shop,  three different groups in the classroom and three groups in the hallway. 

Joyce Witowski visited with several of the group leaders on Saturday about project management and communications. Joyce arranged for us to get Basecamp for the team to manage projects this year.  Basecamp is the leading web-based project management and collaboration tool. David has sent out invitations to team members to set up accounts.  He will do a presentation for the team on Monday night about how Basecamp works and how it will be implemented on the team.   

The team has continued to struggle with what are the final dimensions and decisions on the robot.  On Saturday, time was spent on aspects that were discussed but never finalized.  This created a situation where we had to take time out of the day to discuss and make the decisions so that all the robot team was on the same page. We have two different groups who are working front wheel designs for the robot.  One of the design is a omniwheel, while the other design is a remodel of our golf ball caster mounted on the lazy susan.  Tim Ousley came by on Saturday to see the progress of the team.  He worked with a few kids on using the mill.  He also took some scrap lexan home to experiment with his CNC. We are planning on a few of the students going to his house to help mill the parts for the omni wheels.  Rear wheel size was determined to be 10" for the robot.  Wheel hubs are done, wheels are done with rubber tread, now we need the motor mounts completed so we can get the robot platform running around.  

Jonny and the programming team have prototyped code for all the aspects of the robot. They are awaiting the completion of the chassis for deployment and execution of the code.  

The media team worked on several different aspects on Saturday.  Austin and his group worked on ideas and storyboards for the Youtube Video submission while the website team worked on web structure, content creation and programming options.  

The BEST award team looked over winning notebooks from last year.  They focused on aspects that were present in all the notebooks as well as features that stood out in each notebook.  The discussion also revolved around possible themes for the display.  The display has discussed having a mechanical/robotic portion of the display this year. 

Mark Dutton came to visit with the team on Saturday.  He is attending Texas A&M.  It was good to see him in the shop visiting with the team.  He just came in and went to work with the team just like he had been involved with the team from the first day of school this year.  We visited about his classes and looked at two of his books from his classes. His design workbook has lessons very similar to what we are working with the robotics I students currently.  Mark mentioned it was very apparent to him the students in his classes who have had the opportunity to work on teams or projects prior to enrolling at Texas A&M.

On a side note, after discussions with the CATE Department Head, Pat Betzner, we will have more funding available for the team from the Carl Perkins Grant.  This news allows us to reevaluate the regionals we will attend in the Spring for FIRST.  Team leaders have decided we will attempt to attend two regionals this year:  San Antonio and Dallas.  San Antonio is a first week regional and a Bag and Tag event as well.  This means we will bring our robot to San Antonio with us rather than have it shipped.  We will ship it to Dallas which is a week four event.  

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TCEA LEGO Robotics Training - Third and Final Day

Today we will have our third and final day of training here in Austin.  Notes from the day will be displayed below.  If you are watching live, please tell us hello, where you are from and a little something about you.  I am also interested in how you found the blog.  Please share with the group.  Several people in the class are interested in how to develop a Personal Learning Network (PLN).  Most of the teachers in attendance here will be participating in a robotics contest for the first time, so drop them a line in the blog for any resources you think they could use in regards to LEGO contest, team management, lessons, resources and encouragement.  

 

I received an interesting quote today in my email, so I thought I would share.  

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

- John Quincy Adams

 

Made me think a little and wonder if you ever thought about it. 

• Who do you inspire? 
• How do you get inspire? 

1. Who inspires you? 

 

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Total Recall - Day 11

Students broke up into small groups in the shop to begin work on the robot.  Claude took the CAD team and made assignments to work on.  Six different students were working on CAD models of robot parts and or systems.  David showed several students how to use the mill while working on his wheel hubs for the large robot wheels.  David M. worked on casters/wheels/skids for the front of the robot with a few other students.   Several students worked on laying out the course dimensions on the carpet.  A large group of student use the GST to test how long it takes for Gadgets to travel down.  They were testing in different quantities. The MRT was completed and ready for testing.  Jonny and Robert continued to work on programming in RobotC.  They have made great progress in the programming of the different features of the robot.  Dustin and Brett were in the shop today working on the website and content for it.  

The FTC team continues to work on their design while the BEST team works at the same time.  

Today we received good news from Linda McMahon that our corporation for Westlake & Eanes Science & Technology Association came through today.  We still have work to do on the 501 (c) 3 non profit paperwork though.  It is great to see this happening and most of the thanks goes to Linda for all of her hard work and guidance.  

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Untitled

Day two training

 

The notes for the day will be below in the blog.  If you are watching it live, please comment or share any resources so we know who is watching.  Your comments will be approved 

 

 

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TCEA LEGO Robotics Training

Day 1 of the three day workshop was very informative and interesting.  We each received our LEGO Education kit and laptop.  Each of us had to organize our kits, build our first robot (DomaBot) and begin to play in the LabVIEW environment.  We learned and saved several basic drive programs.  Drive forward, drive backward, point turn, swingturn and loops were the main topics.  

The workshop was very well organized and run by the three presenters:  Betty Justus, Peggy Reimers and Kathy Holberg.  Each of them demonstrated and worked with all of the teachers.  We each were given two task at the end of the day: work on "The Square" contest and our air conditioner interface drawing.  

The software did not seem as daunting as I had believed it would be.  The fact that I have used Mindstorms definitely helped me in utilizing the software.  I am looking forward to Day two. 

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Total Recall - Day 10

Week two began with a smaller group of the team meeting.  It was rather disappointing to see the turnout we had at the meeting, but the meeting was successful none the less. 

We began the process with where are we and what do we need to get done.  Sean and David reported on the progress of the robot design so far starting with an update on the progress from Saturday.  Designs of the robot were written down and discussed for each individual system.  We have chosen to focus on one game specifically.  This simplifies our strategy as well as our robot.  The robot will include two majors systems on the robot.  Demonstrations of these systems were given to the class with cardboard and/or paper prototypes. Questions revolved around specific details which clarified the design and its purpose.  

System one was decided to be multi functional.  This system will model a previous apparatus we have implemented in the past.  This system will be utilized in controlling the MRT, manipulating game pieces as well as Data Port communications. 

System two will be a utilized to control games pieces from the GST.  This system will undergo some refinement from the cardboard prototype.  These refinements will include location on the robot, release mechanism, elevation from the floor and material consideration.  

David presented team structure to the team on the Whiteboard.  Team leads and sub team leads were identified. Team members also identified what teams they wanted to work on.  After this presentation, Sean gave the group some tasks that needed to be completed by each team.  CAD of the robot systems is high on the priority at this time.  Some of the parts of the robot can go forward at this time.  Game field production can also begin on Tuesday.  

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TCEA Robotics Workshop

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Total Recall - Day 7 -- One week down, 5 weeks to go!

One week has gone by since Kickoff for Total Recall.  Progress continued not only on the robot design but in regards to some other areas as well.  We had students working on many different aspects of the contest today but still have many things to be nailed down at this point.  Progress was made in the following areas:  programming, robot piece design, game field pieces made, website, Solidworks and robot construction. 

Programming 

Jonny and Robert worked with Scott.  The team worked on a debounce feature which could implemented with the data port reading and relay of information.  Jonny did a very good job in working with and explaining to Robert what they were attempting to do.  Student mentorship is so important I believe in the success of our program.  Jonny also visited with design teams in regards to how programming would be involved with their designs.  

Robot Design

Students divided up into groups to work on systems of the robot.  We started out with the day with four different groups focusing on one specific aspect of the robot.  Each group worked on cardboard prototypes that were to 1:1 scale.  Several different iterations of each design were worked on and evaluated by each individual group.  Presentations were made at the end of the day by each group.  They demonstrated their prototypes to the team.  Team members offered feedback about the designs for clarification as well as ways to possibly improve the design.  Progress was made in eliminating some designs but final decisions still need to be made on several of the features.  

Game Field

Lauren and Michelle worked on the MRT construction while Sean R worked on the MPC.  Each group will complete their piece construction on Monday.  Tim Jordan worked on the calculations of the Scanning Tube since some of the dimensions do not seem to be correct.  The official Q and A has stated that an updated copy of the dimensions will be available soon.  The pipe and fitting were purchased for the Scanning tube to be manufactured.  

Website

The website team met with Linda and Rebecca today to begin to work on the structure of the site.  They discussed the evaluation rubric for the contest as well as did some work on looking at some other designs.  Assignments were decided upon to begin the initial creation of content for the site.  

SolidWorks and Robot Construction

Several students worked on SolidWorks of robot parts as well as working on tutorials.  Manuel worked with Grey on the SolidWorks File of the large motor. They were were working on the beginning of the motor mount.  David demonstrated making a drawing, printing, cutting and milling a block.  

Good progress was made for the first week of Total Recall.  A few of the systems are in the process of refinement while others still remain to be worked out.  

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Total Recall -- Day 5

The team continued to work on designs of the robot.  Teams worked in small groups.  Each team worked on the entire robot.  Supper was donated by Chipotle for the entire team.  Student leaders left around 5:15 to pick up supper.  They did not return until nearly 6:30 due to problems with the order not being ready.  This left team to work within their small groups without much direct instruction and/or redirection by student leadership.  The design groups seemed to have lost focus on the purpose of the activity.  After the meal, teams presented their designs.  Many of the designs were vague in many aspects while focusing very much on one or two aspects.

Lessons learned included

• Student leadership must be present to help with direction of the team
• The entire team should not be involved in the design of the robot
• Students are struggling with the concept of designing the robot to meet all the criteria in the scoring strategy
• I should work more on student leadership skills and expectations
• The numbers of the program will require restructuring in the future
• Student leadership structure should already be in place with subteams identified
• In addition, students should know what subteam they are working under

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Total Recall - Day 6

This day proved to be a little frustrating but progress was made on the design. Discussions of strategy have moved into designs but most of the designs still prove to be incomplete.  Many of the small groups have focused on one or two features of the robot rather than the whole robot.  Groups began to make prototypes of pieces with cardstock, tape and staples.  Several groups had to be refocused on a number of occasions due to getting off task.  Most of these behaviors were just seemingly random conversations that led away from the task at hand.  Some groups chose to utilize materials in the shop to do some testing to see how the game pieces acted in certain situations while others just made assumptions on how the pieces would interact with the robot.  A few students applied some basic physics to make some calculations to assist in designing and evaluating their design.  

Team structure was discussed between David and several of the mentors.  He has continued to try and place individuals in sub team leadership roles.  The structure is coming together.  He also moved from group to group to ask questions about their designs and to help keep them focused on the process of designing.   

Jonny worked with Scott on the RobotC installation. Sometimes this proves difficulty due to the school computer have DeepFreeze on them.  This software resets the image of the computer each time it is turned off to an original state.  The software must be turned off so we can install software and sometimes it interferes with how the software interacts with the programming interface.  Scott worked with Jonny on the controls and interface as well as the software on the computer.

In the presentations from the small design groups, many teams focused on one of two aspects of the game.  Both of those aspects proved to be third or fourth in priority for our scoring strategy.  Team discussion at the end of the evening revolved around what was done for priority one and two.  If we could not do priority one, we could not score a single point in the contest.  If priority two could not be accomplished, the scoring strategy becomes much less effective by making the jobs of all three workers in the system much more difficult and task oriented.   

The team will not work on Friday, although the robotics II students will meet in class.  Discussion in class will revolve around Saturday's activities and the evaluation of Thursday nights progress and setbacks.  

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Total Recall -- Day 3

Wow, what a day in the shop for Westlake Robotics.  It started in the class with discussion of the new possible strategy.  The assignment for the day was to discuss the three possible strategies we felt were available.  The classes were divided up into three groups.  Each group was to evaluate a specific strategy.  The evaluation included a timeline, expected score with the strategy, how easy it would be to build a robot for this strategy, how easy would it be to drive as a driver, pros and cons of the overall strategy and any other key notes or ideas. 

School was out and the madness began.  It seemed as if the room were going to explode with the number of students that came into the room.  In addition to the students coming to work on the BEST contest, the FTC team came up to work on their contest as well.  

Groups broke up into the three independent strategies to continue the evaluation and discussion of the strategies.  We had groups in the shop, the classroom and in the halls.  Excitement was in the air as the groups begin to form and discuss their strategy.  Each grouped use the game Excel Spreadsheet to assist in score prediction. 

The entire group was brought back together in the classroom.  Students were in chairs, on table tops and the floor while the presentations were given.  Each group gave a presentation which included a timeline on the whiteboard, expected score as well as an explanation of the difficulty of building the robot and learning to drive it.  After each group had presented, the entire group asked questions in regards to the presentations of each strategy.  The group began to discuss and list Pros and Cons of each strategy on the board with each point being discussed.  

The team worked until supper arrived.  Parents delivered the meal for the 50 or so people who were present.

After the meal, the team decided upon the one strategy we would pursue with our robot.  It was fairly easy to come to a decision based on the presentations of the evaluations provided by the teams.  The remaining students broke up into design groups to begin to develop ideas for the robot to perform the strategy.  

At the end of the meeting, a group of the student team leads discussed leadership positions with the team. The team will be divided into three sub teams:  Robot, Media and Community.  Each of these teams will have a leader who will place leadership positions under them for each additional sub-team.  

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Total Recall -- Day 3

The team did not meet officially today due to Open House at Westlake HIgh School, but students chose to meet and discuss the contest.  I had students coming into the classroom starting at the beginning of 8th period and it continued up until Open House began at 6:30.  One group of 10 students stayed in the shop to discuss, debate, brainstorm and theorize about the contest.  If was great for the parents and the high school administration to witness the students choosing to work on their own for the contest and the team.  The group in the shop was composed of students that represented all types of students on the team:  

• First year Robotics I students from this year with no experience on the team or in robotics
• Robotics II students - the contest is an extension of the class and a required participation
• Ex Robotics II who are not enrolled in any robotics class this year but are very active in leadership roles, one of which is the first four year student in our program
• Robotics III students - students who are enrolled in ISM with mentorship from mentors on our robotics team
• Non Robotics class students who have chosen to participate on the team

These students primarily spent time discussing strategy and potential designs to fit each strategy.  The discussion included drawings on the windows with erasable markers to demonstrate ideas to each other.  

No decisions were made in regards to strategy or design of the robot but respect was earned by some of those individuals with student team leads.  It was also very apparent to the parents that the students was engaged in the process and very motivated as individuals.  

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Total Recall - Day 2

 We met this afternoon since we will not be able to meet on Monday night.  Monday night is Open House for Westlake High School.  David and Lauren ran the meeting and discussions. David made a small presentation to the group concerning team structure, student leadership and purpose of the meeting for the day.  

The group discussed any questions they had on the games rules and descriptions.  It was hard to keep the team focused on the task at hand.  Several times, someone would bring up a design feature or description of the robot.  Lots of discussions of rules interpretations and definitions.  Definitions of game pieces and the field have seemed hard to keep clear at this point. The group focused on a strategy and what we would attempt in each round along with a time line.  The formula for the scoring was discussed at length to explain the importance of each portion of it.  It became very clear using the scoring sheet what we felt was best for us to attempt in each round. 

Grant proposed a scoring strategy with a time line.  Discussions arose over how long it would take for each part of the round.  I volunteered to be the robot for demonstration purposes for Grant and the team.  The team designated landmarks in the classroom that represented the course. Grant gave me instructions to perform that represented actions of his scoring strategy.  The time was recorded for each me to complete each action.  After each action, discussion ensued about the time taken and how effective our robot would be in performing the action.  Students from last year team had good input on the time it would take based on observations of last year's robot in the contest.  Shelby recorded the actions and the predicted times for each action.  The team discussed how the score would change according to different scenarios as well as the order of the steps of the robot actions.  The scenario gave the team the ability to evaluate the game and contest in a visual way as well as comparing it to the time in the round.  The actions of the robot strategy were decided upon.  David and Lauren led the team in the Robot Will, Robot Might and Robot Will not activity.

Students were given the task to begin to work on designs that fit the strategy of the robot.  These designs should be done in small groups rather than as an individual.  The designs should also include the motors, servos, methods of performing each task, etc.  

David is going to write up the Robot Strategy the team decided upon and share it in Google Docs with the team.  David closed the meeting with having a small meeting with students who are interested in working in team leadership positions.  

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2010 BEST Robotics Contest Kickoff - Total Recall

The countdown has begun.  Day one Today was the beginning of the BEST Robotics Kickoff for 2010.  Total Recall is name of the game this year. The kickoff was held at Pfluegerville Connally High School.  The kickoff consisted of workshops, game reveal and kit of parts pickup.  Scott McMahon, our lead Mentor, delivered a workshop on RobotC for VEX.  We had the largest number of students in attendance Westlake has ever had. The event last nearly all day since the workshops were 2 hours long.  The game was setup all day for teams to look at.  There was lots of speculation. This year represents the 10th anniversary for Capital BEST.  Capital BEST was responsible for designing the game this year.   

Teams took a break for lunch and returned for Kit of Parts Pickup and Inventory.  Lots of changes this year in store for the BEST Contest.  The control system is the VEX Cortex Microcontroller and VEXnet Joystick.  Teams will be able to program with EacyC or RobotC as well as use MathLAB Simulink.  Teams also received the SolidWorks  for 5 months along with InspirTech SolidWorks curriculum software.  In addition to the VEX control system, the Kit of parts also has some changes.  Our kit has new motors, motor interface connectors and numbers of servos.  

The game was revealed after a short video explaining the contest and a guest speaker.  Teams were introduced to the game concepts in the video and then moved to the filed for the demonstration as well as Q and A.

Our team loaded our materials up and headed back to the shop for discussion.  Each member of the team received a packet of rules for the Game as well as the Generic rules.  We spent time reading over the rules, discussing the rules and definitions.  The game has a large number of terms to keep straight and learn.  David and Sean lead the meeting with the students.  Sean reiterated the fact that reading the rules is so very important.  

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Girl Scout Organizes Robotics Camp For Underprivileged Youth - Community News Story - KSAT San Antonio

Girl Scout Organizes Robotics Camp For Underprivileged Youth

Teen Runs Camp For Gold Star Award Project

Eileen Gonzales, KSAT 12 News Reporter

POSTED: Friday, August 6, 2010

UPDATED: 5:22 pm CDT August 6, 2010

SAN ANTONIO -- While most teens have summer dreams of beaches and shopping malls, 17-year-old Haley Demos had the vision of organizing a robotics camp for underprivileged children.

Watch Eileen Gonzales' Report

"I figured that I would hold a camp for young kids to get introduced to science technology, engineering and mathematics for kids who can't really afford it," she said.

Demos organized the camp as part of her Girl Scouts Gold Award Project. It's the highest ranking for a Girl Scout and equivalent to the Boy Scouts' Eagle Scout ranking.

The project had to benefit the community and she had to do every bit of planning herself.

"I've been working on it for two months, probably (for) more than 250 hours, (in) every spare moment that I have," said Demos.

During the five-day camp, kids build and program robots using science, engineering and math skills, she said. They then put the the robots to the test on an obstacle course.

Judging from the response, it was a big hit.

"It's been really fun," said 10-year-old Alyssa Snow. "I really like this because, one, I get to meet new people and two, I get to do math and science which are the two things I love about school."

"I really like it," 8-year-old Adrian Langley said. "I want to be an engineer when I grow up."

Demos said she sacrificed her summer for the project. She said it almost didn't happen, however. She said her appendix burst two and half weeks ago, but she recovered just in time.

Next, she said she'll present the project to a Girl Scout council for approval.

However, she said she feels she's already received a lasting reward.

"It's all been worth it just to see the smiles on the kids' faces," she said.

Copyright 2010 by KSAT.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

via ksat.com

Great story from San Antonio passed on to me from Joel Adkins, Technology Director for Kerrville ISD in Kerrville, Texas.

We need more students to take charge such as Haley Demos has done in organizing a robotics camp for underprivileged students. I wonder where she got the itch for STEM?

Please pass this onto students who you know are looking for projects, ideas and/or programs to participate in. Do you think colleges/ universities will be interested in a person such as Haley?

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"You Gotta Learn to Love These Times..." quote by John Gruden to high school football players

"You gotta learn to love these times like right now.

When you are hot, when you are sore, when you are exhausted, those are the times that you gotta love.

That is what I miss most about football! Is times like this!

You gotta love misery. You gotta love being together right now. You take your misery out on your next opponent you play.  Right guys?

I am proud of you guys!  And Keep it going."

This is the after game comments he made to the high school football players he is volunteering to work with this summer.

ESPN is following John Gruden as he volunteers with his son's high school football team this summer.  The video clip on Sportscenter showed his team competing but struggling with the results of the competition. His words struck a chord with me.  What is that makes being part of a team so special.  Of course, we all remember the wins and the good times but is that what molds us and transforms us. 

• Going to practice
• Sacrifice for the good of the team
• Work hard
• Improve despite the obstacles
• Learn from our mistakes
• Encourage others

What are the things you remember about being on a team?  It does not have to be a sports team.  We are all part of a team.

Sidenote

I admire John Gruden for volunteering his expertise to the team he is working with. Granted his son plays for the team so that is a big motivation for him but how is he impacting besides his son?  The coaches have talked about how much they have learned in the process.  What impact will this have not only the current team and players but in the future?  This is a great example of a mentor thinking about giving back to the community  We need more mentors to follow John Gruden's example.

What impact or legacy are your leaving?  Who are you mentoring?  Have you considered becoming a mentor?  I know we have special talents and skills we can pass on to our community.  Reach out and touch someones life, you never know what it will lead to. 

If not for my mentors, I cannot imagine where or what I would be doing. 

• My parents were my first mentors in so many ways: school, get up and try it again, do your best, be patience, help others, do not be afraid to talk to others.
  
• Mark Adams, my college basketball coach, believe in yourself; Go Get Your First Job as a Head Basketball Coach; If it is to be, it is up to me; hard practice makes the game easy.
  
• Dean Phillips, friend and substitute teacher: Be yourself, challenge yourself, share your stories, love life
• Clifton McNeely, previous head basketball coach at Westlake High School: No Pearl Harbors or in other words be prepared and try to have not surprises
• Paul Gothard, previous Superintendent at Irion County High School: You will not always have the best talent and it is not always about winning but do your best anyway with what you have.  
• Dale Blaut, played college basketball at West Texas State University and worked with me on as a basketball player:  Break it down into simple steps, practice each step and put them together. 
  
• and many others.
  

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GEAR-Tech-21 teaches robotics, GPS and GIS Technologies

About GEAR-Tech-21

GEAR-Tech-21 teaches robotics, GPS, and GIS technologies through building and programming a robot, navigation, and mapmaking activities.

We help you with step-by-step guides and resources. It’s real learning with real adventures! Your club can even compete in virtual competitions with teams located across the country.

GEAR-Tech-21 is based on the Nebraska Robotics and GPS/GIS in 4-H: Workforce Skills for the 21st Century program and is funded by the National Science Foundation.

The program includes:

• Innovative curriculum and educator’s guide for 300 instruction hours set over a two-year period.
• Summer camps with camp-in-a-box organizational resources, coordinated by Nebraska 4-H and local programs across the country. Camp programs are available for beginner and advanced levels.
• Annual national 4-H robotics virtual competitions.

GEAR-Tech-21 is current in its second National Science Foundation grant to “scale up” the project, and increase participation to be nationwide.

Parents, volunteers, and youth - you can start your own GEAR-Tech-21 group in your area or coordinate a GEAR-Tech-21 summer camp.

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via 4hset.unl.edu

More and more resources are becoming available for teachers to implement and use. Many universities and clubs are getting involved in the STEM movement for schools and students.

Posted via email from Reflexions

High Schoolers to the Rescue - Reverse Engineering Gun Mounts

High Schoolers to the Rescue

Posted on June 21st, 2010 by ASEE

As the Navy’s main combat search-and-rescue gunship,  the Sikorsky HH-60H Seahawk is a workhorse of a helicopter that’s been in service since the mid-1980s. That means that the “Rescue Hawk,” as it’s known, sometimes needs updating. Now, help for the new redesign is coming from an unexpected quarter — a San Antonio high school.

According to the San Antonio Business Journal, local engineering firm J.M. Waller Associates has been contracted by the Navy to reverse engineer the Seahawk’s Gatling gun mounts,  redesigning them to “overcome a diminishing parts supply.” So, the company has enlisted students from the STEM RAM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Richard A. Middleton) Academy to give a hand. The project requires J.M. Waller’s engineers to redesign the mounts using 3D solid models and prototypes, and the STEM RAM students will be at the heart of the modeling and design effort.

“We are very excited about working with the STEM RAM Academy on this project,” Scott Gray, the company’s vice president, told the Journal. It will, he says, give the students a “hands-on engineering opportunity.”

via teachers.egfi-k12.org

San Antonio High Schoolers are going to help the United States Navy redesign machine gun mounts with 3D solid models and prototypes. Do you think these kids will remember what did in class 20 years from now? I think they will.
Great example of industry working with education to help each other out.

Posted via email from Reflexions