FIRST Class?

[Booger]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

If you mean that instead of an afterschool activity, FIRST is a regular class, then I strongly recommend against it.

One of the great things about FIRST is that it is not school - its something different. You are not being graded or watched or measured on your participation and performance, you are being given an opportunity to work with engineers and other professionals to what careers in science and technology are like.

FIRST is not intended to be an educational program - its an inspirational program. How can you give a student a grade? Based on their level of inspiration?!

I dont have a problem with classes related to FIRST stuff, learning to program, learning about motors or mechanics, learning CAD tools or computer animation

but please dont take the FIRST experience and try to shoe-horn it into a HS classroom format.

i can see what your saying, and while i completely agree with you i feel that the resion for making the class is so a team can have more time to work on the robot during the six weeks thats just think.

[Kristian Calhoun]

Originally Posted by Booger

i can see what your saying, and while i completely agree with you i feel that the resion for making the class is so a team can have more time to work on the robot during the six weeks thats just think.

I agree 100% with Ken on this one. And from your viewpoint, you're saying that the purpose of the class is to have more time spent to work with the robot. Now if this was a semester course, it would probably start several weeks into the build season. So you're losing time there [if you want extra time], and then it is only going to be the length of one class peiod [~45 min -1 hr]. So where exactly are you going to be gaining that much extra time to work with the robot where it will make a huge impact, I 'm not so sure of.

On the other hand, if it were to be a full year course, then the majority of the time the class is in session would be spent during the off-season, and only 4 months with the bot [Jan-April], and then whichever off-season events you go to, but then again, those would be on weekends.

I really don't see an advantage that would either make or break a team based on whether or not the school had a class based soley on FIRST. It would be extremely hard to grade each student as Ken previously mentioned. Having a class would put FIRST into an entirely different perspective, which its purpose is not.

There are many more advantages to classes which teach students some skills which they can use whether or not they join the school's FIRST team. [i.e drafting/programming class] I know our school offers Computer Science coursees [Java] and CAD/Inventor classes. Now granted that not all of the kids from these classes did not join the robotics team [although a select few did], everyone benefitted from them. Our scouting program this year was developed and programmed by the AP Computer Science class, and it gave them a chance to apply what they were learning into a real life application. Now opposite of this, these classes also allow students who are on the robotics team to enroll in these courses in order to learn new things which they can effectively apply and contribute to the team.

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by calhounian

Our scouting (SW) program this year was developed and programmed by the AP Computer Science class, and it gave them a chance to apply what they were learning into a real life application.

wow! thats awesome.

I have heard of students taking photography and video classes following the FIRST team, and going to competitions, as an assignment for their class.

You could also do things like having students in a mechanical CAD class generate the drawings for a gearbox or motor mount - some type of part that might be a standard on the teams robot over several years. If the members of the FIRST team designed it, and the drafting class only made up the drawings then I think that would be within the spirit of the competition rules.

The more I think of this, the more examples of FIRST related science and technology that could be gleaned from the team, and incorporated into already existing HS classes.

As long as you dont make the FIRST team itself a HS course.