FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Robotics Program FAQ A partnership of the Y of Central Maryland and City Schools

Transcription

1 What is FLL Robotics? FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Robotics is a hands-on robotics program for elementary aged students. Every year students are given a new real-world problem to solve and a related robotics challenge. They design, construct, and program a robot while researching the real world problem, developing creative solutions, and finding ways to share their ideas. Visit for more information. What is the goal of the program? To increase STEM interest and aptitude What do the students on an FLL team do? Research the real-world issue presented in the challenge and faced by real scientists and engineers. Solve the problem and present their solutions. Design, build, and program an autonomous robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS technologies. Compete in friendly, sports-like tournaments. Proudly celebrate their teams accomplishments. How many students can be on a team? 4-10 (we suggest 6) Who can participate? City Schools FLL program is for students in 4 th - 5 th grades o City Schools has a VEX robotics program for middle and high school students ( FIRST allows students aged 9-14 to participate so some of the other teams will include middle school students. 1

2 How many hours a week do teams meet? Teams will meet for at least 3 hours per week. Most award-winning teams meet for 4 or more hours per week. How is the program staffed? One teacher serves as the coach. Some teams are lucky enough to have an assistant coach as well. Parents and community members are welcome to help. The robotics coordinator from the Y will support schools by visiting each team at least once, organizing and preparing for off-site events, and communicating with teachers. What field trips/off site events are part of the program? Theme based field trip (optional) this trip will help students on their research project. Scrimmage teams will prepare for a regional qualifier by competing against other teams in head to head robot matches and presenting to a panel of judges. Regional qualifier teams will compete with other teams in the region. The top teams will qualify for an opportunity to attend the statewide tournament. What do other teams do for transportation? Parents/guardians arrange transportation for their child (free) Yellow bus (approximately $465/event) The regional coordinator from the Y can help schools find other schools interested in sharing a bus. How much will the program cost? City Schools will be providing $1,457 worth of robotics equipment for the school year. Since the equipment was purchased with general funds charter schools will need to purchase their own robot kits and software. Schools that complete the program and register an FLL team for the school year get to keep the equipment from City Schools (otherwise the equipment must be returned). Schools must provide for transportation to two events (see sample budget for various costs) and pay approximately $500 in annual expenses that includes 2

3 registration fees, the field setup kit, and supplies for attending tournaments (such as team t-shirts). What would a sample FLL budget look like for a school? description qty item cost subtotal FLL Team Registration Fee 1 $ $ MD FLL Event Registration Fee 1 $65.00 $65.00 FLL Field Setup Kit 1 $75.00 $75.00 T-shirts (team gear) 8 $10.00 $80.00 Transportation to Scrimmage (bus estimate)*.33 $ $ Transportation to Qualifier (bus estimate)*.33 $ $ Food at Scrimmage~ 6 $10.00 $60.00 Food at Qualifier~ 6 $10.00 $60.00 * Three teams can share one bus if the schools arrange it with the help of the regional coordinator from the Y. * If parents arrange transportation (carpools) for their children the school does not need to pay for a bus. ~ Competitions are on Saturdays so students can bring bag lunches or the school can choose to feed them. What is different for charter schools? Charter schools have to buy their own robotics kits and software ($1,220). description qty vendor part # price subtotal MINDSTORMS Education NXT Base Set 3 Lego Education $ $ MINDSTORMS Education Resource Set 3 Lego Education $99.95 $ MINDSTORMS Education NXT Software Lego Education $79.95 $79.95 Charter schools also have to pay the fee ($377 per teacher) to enroll in FLL Robot Works. How many computers will we need? You will need three computers for your team meetings since City Schools will be providing you with three robots to work with. You will need to install (or have ITD install) the accompanying software on at least one laptop that you can bring with you to the competitions. 3

4 How much space will we need? You can meet in almost any classroom, as long as you have access to three computers when you work on programming. You will need to have a place where you can store a practice table (approximately the same size as a folding table) and the robots. To what standards is this program aligned? Common Core Math Standards National Research Council/National Science Teachers Association Maryland State Curriculum How will gains be measured? A pre/post survey A pre/post assessment A comparison of grades and test scores with a control group Why has City Schools decided to Partner with the Y of Central Maryland? For the past two years, the Y of Central Maryland has successfully supported FLL teams across the state, many of which were located at Baltimore City schools in conjunction with the Y s programs. Through this experience, the Y has gained insight into the best practices for training and supporting rookie teams/coaches at our city schools and preparing them to compete on the state wide level. What support will the Y provide? The Jumpstart Training: o FLL s major components (project, game, core values) o An explanation of this year s theme and missions o Hands on programming practice o Best practices for running an FLL team The Y s Robotics Coordinator will co-facilitate FLL Robot Works with a City Schools teacher. The Y s Robotics Coordinator will visit team meetings (at least once) before the scrimmage. The Y will host the Scrimmage. 4

5 The Robotics Coordinator will schedule individual support meetings with all teachers following the scrimmage. The Y will host the Regional Qualifier. Where can I get more information? City Schools FLL Website: How can I contact other FLL coaches? fll@bcps.k12.md.us to send messages to all City Schools FLL coaches. What is the timeframe? July & August o Register an FLL Team and purchase the Field Setup Kit from FIRST o Register for the FLL Jumpstart Training o Register for FLL Robot Works o Register with City Schools (before August 26) September o FLL Jumpstart Training (9/7/2013) o Maryland FLL Coaches Training (optional) o Recruit students and have them take the pre-program survey and assessment o FLL Robot Works #1 (9/19/2013) o Build and program basic robot o Introduce the challenge and missions o FLL Table Delivery (9/27/2013) October o Discuss core values o Divide into three groups build/program/project o Identify order of challenges o FLL Robot Works #2 (10/17/2013) o Work on missions o Begin research November o Theme based field trip (optional) 5

6 o Continue to work on missions o FLL Robot Works #3 (11/14/2013) o Begin to work on presentation December o Practice for the scrimmage o Scrimmage/Jumpstart Training (12/14/2013) o Debrief following the scrimmage January o Practice missions o Practice talking to judge stand ins o Finalize presentation o Share presentations with community (school, teach, parents, etc.) o Develop team swag o FLL Regional Qualifier/FLL Robot Works #4 (1/25/2014) February o FLL State Championship (may be 2/5/2014) Only qualified teams may participate Everybody is welcome to come and see o FLL Robot Works #5 (2/20/2014) March o FLL Robot Works #6 (3/20/2014) April May o FLL Robot Works #7 (5/1/2014) 6