Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiifi
Just FYI but the number events you can attend and the type of qualifying structure is based upon the Partner running FLL in your area. Make sure you do the research in your area to see what your partner is running.
I really like the project portion of FIRST Lego League, it really shows the inventiveness of kids and the ideas they can come up with. After judging a couple FLL events, I am simply blown away by the ideas and presentations these kids come up with. FLL also has the FIRST Global Innovation Award, which allows kids to basically apply for patents for the ideas they come up with.
With VEX IQ, I feel the project portion isn't as innovative as the one in FLL. This year the theme for VEX IQ is "Engineering" (a very broad topic) whereas the FLL theme is "World Class" or education based.
Overall, I would go with FIRST Lego League just for the benefits of the project portion. |
It's good to know that there are areas that do the qualifying structure for FLL differently as it gives me hope that we might change around here one day
I don't dislike the project (and in fact even enjoy coaching the project portion sometimes), but it frustrates me as a coach sometimes. It's so involved that I've found it's almost worthy of its own program separate from the robot (similar to Destination Imagination, if you've heard of that competition), and it requires a significant amount of coach and mentor involvement/guidance/encouragement and investment of time by all parties to generate a tournament ready product. The level of detail is what makes it valuable though, so it's a trade off, but I am sometimes relieved with VEX IQ that the project is less overwhelming. I don't want to toss out the FLL style project option completely however, hence running both programs. The kids that are particularly dedicated LEGO fans, have parents/mentors that can help coach to offset the increased need for mentors, are interested in the breadth of experiences offered by the larger scope, and have the time to dedicate to more hours per week can participate in FLL. Meanwhile, VEX IQ allows me to offer programs to a greater number of kids via lower resource requirements (money, time, mentors), and appeals to the kids that want to delve more deeply into the robot & technical aspects.
Also, I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I love the engineering notebooks in VEX IQ. So much so that I'm having my FLL teams keep an engineering notebook this year as well. I'm not sure how they'll be integrated into judging with FLL, but they are a formally recognized part of the IQ structure.