Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneYoung
This is the part of the question that I would like to learn more about. It would be nice to have more of the students from the VRC and FTC teams contribute to the discussion.
|
Jane,
While more student feedback would be awesome, I think that getting a handle on the student perspective of fun/learning alone won't tell us what we really need to know due to the largest intangible of all ... the teachers/mentors involved.
The right adult leadership can make carrying a full refrigerator up a muddy mountainside a tremendously fun and enriched learning experience. I've been fortunate enough in my life to be around a few of these folks. So, the questions then become,
"What is the "energy/resource expense" for those adult leaders involved over time?"
"How long can the adult leaders involved sustain that effort?"
"How many students are inspired/positively touched each year through that effort?"
Like I've said in the past, it depends on what you want to achieve with your program and what experiences you have. If you're already deeply invested in equipment and training in Tetrix/NXT then you'd probably think about staying the course. If you're already deeply invested in equipment and training in VEX then you'd probably think about staying that course.
If you're running teams only and aren't looking for larger amounts of equipment to affect curriculum, then the FTC program seems like it might work well.
If you want to embed robotics in curriculum, VEX wins hands down right now. FTC currently lacks curriculum resources and affordable bulk purchasing options to put the hands-on experience in the classroom at an acceptable level IMHO. Even with FTC curriculum resources being developed at two wonderful places right now, without the ability to deploy affordable equipment to schools, such curriculum with go underutilized.
Couple that with the fact that you need a laptop/workstation for every FTC robot and management software to run multiple robots simultaneously and you have a confluence of hurdles that can stifle even the most energetic of teachers and classroom situations. COMPARE that to VEX in the classroom setting where up to 9 robots can be run simultaneously, right out of the box, without intensive programming, for a mild investment in two $50 crystal kits.
I'd love to stand here and tell you that the "FIRST program" is the best option of these two. Most of you have no idea how many sleepless nights I've spent thinking about what "might have been" and how often I've regretted not being able to get some folks to see a few things.
However, right now, if you're a BRAND NEW team looking at these two options, VEX is without a doubt your best investment. Right now, if you're a brand new school deciding between these two platforms to use in curriculum, VEX is the best choice by far - three purchasable curriculum options, gobs of free curriculum resources available over the web, an enriched Inventors Guide, etc.
In the end, we're all serving EXACTLY the same mission, so I begrudge no one's efforts in any direction at all. However, when anyone asks my opinion, I always talk about positively affecting the largest number of students possible and right now VEX is the better, more flexible, more affordable way to get it done on the "intermediate" scale. I love my FRC team, and FIRST's ideals, so to me the FRC/VEX combination in a school-based model is tough to beat pound-for-pound on learning, fun, and inspiration.
namaste