FIRST LEGO League

1. FIRST LEGO League The Unpublished Manual Linda WhipkerFormer FLL Research Coach Current FRC Coach Fiona Last-Powell Current FLL Coach FRC Non-Engineering Mentor Sponsored by: FRC Team PyroTech FLL Living Electric Wake Robotics, Inc.

2. Kevin & Fred FLL Volunteers Ben FLL Alumni & Volunteer Ed & Keith Current FLL Members Introductions

3. FIRST For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology

4. "To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.“ Dean Kamen, Founder

5. THE BLACK EYED PEAS FRONT MAN WILL.I.AM AND INVENTOR/FIRST® FOUNDER DEAN KAMEN TEAM UP FOR A GROUNDBREAKING, ONE-HOUR SPECIAL CELEBRATING EDUCATION, ROBOTICS AND SCIENCE Sunday August 14, 7:00 ABC

6. Gracious ProfessionalismTM • Defined by each team member! • CoopertitionTM • Teamwork • Science and technology Overall Values of FIRST

7. Age 6 7 8 9 || 9 10 11 12 13 14 || 14 15 16 17 18 Junior FIRST ®LEGO®League FIRST ®LEGO® League FIRST ® Tech Challenge FIRST ®Robotics Competition FIRST Programs

8. FIRST Programs

12. Student Perspective Best parts of FIRST?

13. FIRST LEGO League 9 to 14 year olds

14. We are a team. • We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors. • We honor the spirit of friendly competition. • What we discover is more important than what we win. • We share our experiences with others. • We display Gracious Professionalism in everything we do. • We have fun. FLL Core Values

15. Teamwork • How well the students work together, brainstorming, listening to each other, taking turns leading, how decisions are made, how they work through challenges, student roles on the team • Technical • Robot design, attachment design, programming complexity and understanding of what they did and why • Research • Creative solutions, research, outreach/getting solution to the community, full participation of each student in some way, presentation • Robot run • Purely based on score • 3 to 4 rounds of 2 ½ minutes each – highest score wins 4 Pillars of FIRST LEGO League

16. Implementation and logistics of the team is very individual • Use it as: • An “extra curricular” club • A team activity • A social, fun time • Your science program • Plan for one year or multi-year achievement (1st year often a “Survey of FLL) • Same students vs pulling in new students each year FLL is Customizable

17. Story of the Microbots

18. Fall 2006 Year 1

19. Year 1: • No experience with FLL at all (parents or students) • No programming experience • Some students had no LEGO experience • No idea what “Nanotechnology” was • By the competition weekend after Thanksgiving, completed no mission successfully but tried for 4 missions • Research: • How to find a “problem”? How to find a “solution”? Who to share with? • A great field trip to NCSU to learn about Atomic Force Microscopes • 1st place: Creative Presentation Fall 2006: Nanoquest(9-11 yo)

20. “Survey of FLL” year • Go through the process to find out the pacing, how to work in a stressful situation with other students • Focus on 1 or 2 missions to do well • 9 yo’s are often still in the “puppy” stage • Lots of LEGO building not-on-task Year 1 Take-Home

21. Fall 2007 Year 2

22. Worked through 3 different years’ missions for practice • Ocean Odyssey • Mars Mission • Nanoquest Year 2 Prep (SPRING/SUMMER)

23. Season • Better programming but still limited ability • A bit more strategizing • Better attachments • Completed more runs • Research • Field trips: • Progress Energy, State Energy Office, NCSU Solar House, Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant, NC Sustainable Design Competition • PowerPoint presentations to each other about alternative energy sources; 6 week coop class on Alt. Energy • Energy Audit of Garner Town Hall with presentation to the Garner Town Council • 1st place: Research 2007: Power Puzzle (10-12 yo)

24. These are the more committed team members who have been through the process once and can take more responsibility • Make sure everyone starts learning different roles and skills Year 2 Take-Home

25. Then, the students took a trip to the World Championships in Atlanta in April It changed the course…

26. Spring/Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 Year 3

27. Extensive scientific research about climate • Students presented research reports to each other once a month • Some students did an 8-week “Climate” class • Many field trips before September • National Weather Service • NC State Climatologist • Town of Cary – water sheds, water conservation • Integrated water systems • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences • Environmental Protection Services (EPA) • Water Sense Home Year 3 Prep (SPRING/SUMMER)

28. Within 20 minute after the challenge was announced, decision to tackle global water conservation, in Cary & Brisbane, Australia • Online survey (550 responses – 300 from Cary, 80 from Brisbane Australia) • Presented to Environmental Advisory Board of Town of Cary • Created website (http://water4tomorrow.org ) • Built a huge LEGO water conservationhouse (3000 pieces) Year 3 Research

29. http://water4tomorrow.org

30. Programming • Better • Discovered more things that impacted the consistency of the robot • Scored 240 out of 400 at NC Championship (2nd highest) the 1st week of December • Teamwork • Lots of huge positive strides forward in teamwork and knowing how to work with each other • NC Champions Award • 2nd Place Robot Performance • Took apart robot between Dec and May – no back up, no program back up, scored lower in May than in December! • US Open National Championship in Ohio in May • 1st Place Teamwork Year 3 Outcomes

31. Fall 2009 Year 4 (Ben & Clark No-compete)

32. Ben and Clark’s goal: to be the first team to post a 400 run on youtube by the 1st weekend in December • Focus on engineering skills • Extensive planning, programming, testing, consistency runs • 2nd perfect run posted on youtube internationally and 1st in the US – Dec 6 • Referees at 2 local events • Volunteered 75 hours with local LEGO and FIRST events in the year • Summer 2010 – core students in starting an FRC team Fall 2009: Smart Move

33. FLL 2010: Body Forward Living Electric Growing Outside-the-Box (LEGO)

34. Rookie Year • No matter how well you prepare, a rookie year is a rookie year and it’s OK • 7 students on the team • 1 with previous FLL experience • 5 students with “Intro to FLL” & “Mindstorm Programming” with ViaRobotics • Did lots of research on diabetes for Body Foward Some comments about Living Electric’s Year

35. FLL 2011: Food Factor “Keeping food safe”

36. Can FIRST® LEGO® League teams improve the quality of food by finding ways to prevent food contamination?   In the 2011 Food Factor Challenge, students explore food safety and examine the possible points of contamination our food encounters – from exposure to insects and creatures, to unsterile processing and transportation, to unsanitary preparation and storage – then find ways to prevent or combat these contaminates.  2011 Food Factor ChallengeKeeping Food Safe

37. Some guesses for the Food Factor challenge (http://fllblog.wordpress.com/)

38. 2011-12 Schedule

39. TIPS

40. Coaches

41. Lots of discussion about the coach’s role • For FLL, the coach is supposed to guide – the students do the work • Coach can ask questions • Students learn by making mistakes • Off-season is for teaching • However: • Varies in how it’s interpreted • Judges will check to make sure the students actually have done their own work • Make sure your team agrees on the balance – students and parents • The balance is an ever-moving target Coach’s Role

42. Need 2 coaches minimum – unless you have highly motivated older students who have the organizational skills and strong desire to do it on their own • 2 coaches help by: • Reducing stress • Providing someone else to take over when you’re at wit’s end • Lets someone else mediate • Split robot programming and research responsibilities Number of Coaches

43. If lots of parents want to be involved: • Programming/Technical (2?) • Research (2?) • Team building (2?) • Need someone to organize tshirts, buttons, travel? Coach and Other Roles

44. Team Organization

45. Handbook suggests taking roles • Positives: • Allows specialization • May be more time effective • Negatives: • Role may not fit your child but they’re locked in • No one else gets to learn that role – or to feel qualified to do that role • Makes the season more boring for some, depending on how it’s split Team organization

46. Year 1: 2 Builders, 2 programmers, 2 runners • Year 2: More of a group activity to learn all the different roles • Year 3: As a team, decide on robot characteristics, the base robot, and the strategy of the runs • Then split runs and pairs are responsible for the entire run (building attachment, programming, getting timing down, placing the robot) Team organization for Microbots

47. Know what you want to achieve

48. How does this fit your homeschool? • Is this part of your curriculum? • How much priority does it take for your student and for the rest of the family in the bigger picture? As the coach and/or homeschool parent, what do YOU want to achieve with FLL?

49. Talk over with the students what they want to achieve • Be realistic • 1st year? • Amount of time • How old the students are • Experience going into the season • “Satisfied” vs. “Excited” vs. “Thrilled” • Develop a plan to hit that level What does the team want to achieve?

50. Posted in the Coach’s Manual or online • This is what the judges will use • Go over it with the students Know your rubrics