On photographs and FVC competitions...

[MrForbes]

I've watched my sons learn about Vex over the past year, going from knowing nothing about it at all, to being able to build a competitive robot. In between was a LOT of playing...I can't call it anything else....starting with a modest goal, building something to see if it can accomplish the goal, and redesigning and rebuilding over and over to fix each weakness. The school robotics club started fall 2005 as real rookies, they bought a few Vex kits and had small friendly competitions among themselves. We also bought a couple kits for our family, and the boys worked with them as they felt the desire. The club bought more kits, and put on two Vex robotics camps over the summer, which I think really helped teach them the principles of design--the best way to really learn something is by teaching others!

So, look over the pictures, but realize that the only way to really get good at it is to try and try again, expecting to make mistakes and learn from them.