pic: LEGO Legal?

[LightWaves1636]

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[ttldomination]

Uh, I'm sure you know this. But Just as a heads up, the metal is supplied by Pitsco, and would not be a legal Lego part.

Nice joke though.

[Andrew Bates]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

Uh, I'm sure you know this. But Just as a heads up, the metal is supplied by Pitsco, and would not be a legal Lego part.

Nice joke though.

Pitsco makes the Lego parts though, I think...

[jmanela]

I am a new FLL coach. I am confident with all that I am doing. I know what to do and how to do it. I just have a question, what advice would you give for a first-time coach?

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by jmanela

I am a new FLL coach. I am confident with all that I am doing. I know what to do and how to do it. I just have a question, what advice would you give for a first-time coach?

Although this is a topic for either a new thread or something you could search *hint hint*, just remember to let kids be kids and to let them keep it as their project.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by jmanela

I am a new FLL coach. I am confident with all that I am doing. I know what to do and how to do it. I just have a question, what advice would you give for a first-time coach?

Congratualtions! First, don't be surprised when the students take the robot apart and start all over from scratch. They are learning that their original design didn't cut it. However, when you are getting close to your regional dates, don't let them take that path without agreement with the rest of the team and a full explanation to you. This will guarantee you have a robot to field come competition day.
Remember that the age of this group changes the way you need to deal with them. (vs high school students) If it is wide age group, 6th graders won't easily work with 8th graders and girls will be intimated by boys, but it will work out in the end with your GP guidance. One or more of them is going to cry each week, it jusst happens. Losing a regional can be heartbreaking. Prepare them for it now. A win means they get to play another day and get another piece of hardware, that's about it. If they lose they should pick another team to cheer for. There will be some robots that do not look or function as if they were built by middle school kids. It happens.
Check the rules used in your state. Be aware of the rubricks used for judging the different sections of the event. Mark important dates on a calendar so you won't miss the.
Lastly, don't forget there is a lot of help out there for the asking. There are a lot of people who have experience and know how who want your students to have a great time.

[Qbranch]

But you didn't use any of the new (accelerometer, gyro, compass, color sensor) sensors!

-q

[LightWaves1636]

Originally Posted by Qbranch

But you didn't use any of the new (accelerometer, gyro, compass, color sensor) sensors!

-q

Oh they're on there, it's on a vertical sensor tower. We're still working on the demo bot.

[Laaba 80]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

There will be some robots that do not look or function as if they were built by middle school kids. It happens.

There are also robots that dont look like they were built by middle school students, even though they actually were built by students. In 2003 I was on the Martian Exchange Students, and in Atlanta that year we were the first team to get 3 perfect scores in competition. We had to put up with all of the garbage of people telling us we didnt build or program our robot, or that we did something against the rules. We did everything ourselves, and made sure any strategy we used was legal before we committed to it. We had a kid on our team who was 14 years old but looked older, he had to bring his birth certificate to prove to some people that he was 14. Never assume. Our team met every day for 3-4 hours because we wanted to be the best. It is not as fun when people try to tell you you did not do the work.
Joey

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Joey,
Agreed! It is just a fact that some parents bring a lot more to the table then mentorship. It is not hard to tell when a robot is built by students and when it is built (or partially built) by someone older. All one has to do is talk to the team and they will remove all doubt. A team built robot is built by students, who like yourself, have put a monumental effort into making it work perfectly and can tell you exactly how they arrived at their design or progam. Acting as an FLL judge or mentor, I have come to realize that there are some outstanding young people coming through FLL. It is to these students that I can point to with pride as the bright future of our country.

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by Laaba 80

There are also robots that dont look like they were built by middle school students, even though they actually were built by students. In 2003 I was on the Martian Exchange Students, and in Atlanta that year we were the first team to get 3 perfect scores in competition. We had to put up with all of the garbage of people telling us we didnt build or program our robot, or that we did something against the rules. We did everything ourselves, and made sure any strategy we used was legal before we committed to it. We had a kid on our team who was 14 years old but looked older, he had to bring his birth certificate to prove to some people that he was 14. Never assume. Our team met every day for 3-4 hours because we wanted to be the best. It is not as fun when people try to tell you you did not do the work.
Joey

Agreed!! I got the feeling that a programming judge one year didn't really think I had written the program I was showing him. Due to poor version control I realized the program I was showing him was not the up-to-date copy on the 'bot. I proceeded to mention this and explain the exact differences between the two programs. I think that convinced him that I wrote it

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by jmanela

I am a new FLL coach. I am confident with all that I am doing. I know what to do and how to do it. I just have a question, what advice would you give for a first-time coach?

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781593271855/

Looks like a good start. I just found this link to this book today.
I haven't read it yet though, so results may vary! lol

Here's a sample of the book with some good info to start with:
http://www.nostarch.com/download/FLL_sample.pdf

[LightWaves1636]

Originally Posted by corpralchee

Pitsco makes the Lego parts though, I think...

Yeah, I believe that they even helped start the NXT Education kit.

[qnetjoe]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

Uh, I'm sure you know this. But Just as a heads up, the metal is supplied by Pitsco, and would not be a legal Lego part.

Nice joke though.

Last I checked Pitsco was owned by the Lego Group and The Lego Group owns a majority in HiTechnic. So you could easily argue that they are Lego Parts :-)

[LightWaves1636]

Originally Posted by qnetjoe

Last I checked Pitsco was owned by the Lego Group and The Lego Group owns a majority in HiTechnic. So you could easily argue that they are Lego Parts :-)

Yeah, unfortunately the zip-tie holding the batteries is not from LEGO and the compass sensor is not allowed.