MentorMaps - Connecting Teams With Mentors In Their Area

FIRST General Forum
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FRC Team 3309 the Friarbots are happy to announce an all new web utility designed for both mentors and teams: MentorMaps! (URL is http://www.mentormaps.net/)

What is MentorMaps?
MentorMaps is a website to search for specific mentors based on what type of skills their team needs from a database of mentors who use the program to find teams close to them.

How does that work?
When teams or mentors register, they have the opportunity to specify what type of mentor they are by selecting from a list of skill sets (i.e. electrical engineering, business, scouting, CAD, etc.). This thereby guarantees that teams can find mentors to fill a necessary niche.

Why?
Finding mentors right now is a bit of a pain. It takes connections, determination and lots of research! MentorMaps makes it simple by bridging the gap between potential mentors and the students that need the guidance to become future engineers.

Our team created MentorMaps to make it easier on both teams and mentors to connect without the mystery. MentorMaps clears the fog, letting both groups find each other.

**Can I have a list of features? **
Well, Iā€™m glad you asked, kind stranger.

Here you go:

Dashboard with all of the teams/mentors you are interested in.

Google Map API so that you can easily see what teams/mentors are in your area.

Customizable search settings so that you can find exactly what type of team/mentor you are looking for.

Driving Directions on the Map page to find out how easy/hard of a commute it is to get to a team of interest.

Account-free Access to see what the UI and the service is like.
More to be added later.

Anything Else I Need to Know?
Yes, just a few more small details:

Adults 18 or older are allowed to sign up with MentorMaps

When it comes down to it, MentorMaps is a social media website in that it only functions when people are using the service. If you are upset that you didnā€™t find the ideal team/mentor right away, donā€™t be. This is a new tool and it will still take some determination from both parties to utilize MentorMaps to itā€™s fullest potential.

There will be new features coming out soon, so be on the lookout!

Any Questions?
Feel free to ask by replying to this thread! Weā€™d love to answer them.

Extra Note
Make sure to check your spam folders for your verification email. It seems that some people are getting their verification emails sent to their spam folders. Sorry for the inconvenience. We are working on a fix right now and will hopefully be rolling it out soon!

1 Like
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Awesome website !
I signed up my team and myself on the site.

All teams and mentors should signup to this site to help build the mentor community.

Maybe Frank can help spread the word to get coverage beyond Chief Delphi !

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This is really cool! I added myself and the team as well!

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Added myself as well.

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So, I just added my team, Rosie Robotics 839, to the site. I started poking around to see who is using it and I notice Ellen McIssac is registered as a mentor. I click on her name and nothing. How does one contact a registered mentor? Am I missing the obvious?

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Similarly, I can see Rosie Robotics on the map, but I canā€™t tell whether they are looking for new mentors. All I see is their name and team number.

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There is a icon that pops up next to a car icon on the bottom of the map page. If you click on that, it should bring you to the mentorā€™s profile page where contact info is stored.

You also have the option of saving mentors of interest to your dashboard which can be accessed by clicking the menu button which looks like three horizontal lines on the top nav bar.

My apologies for the confusion :slight_smile:

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Try again. No car icon. No icon next to Ellens name. No saving Mentors of Interest either on the Menu Bar.

I am using IE 11.

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Iā€™m using Firefox 40.0.3. I also do not see a car or an icon at the bottom.

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I like the idea and was in the process of signing in, but there is no security on the form with passwords. Iā€™m not comfortable entering a password without https security.

Dave

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We are in the works of getting our SSL certificates finalized now.

Completely understandable. Check back soon for an update

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Maybe also think about adding functionality for STEM in general. Here is a GREAT application with multiple maps for Geospatial Technology (That could easily be modified for Robotics/STEM) that has been going since 2009-2010.
Tabs:

  1. Schools with GIS from ConnectEd
  2. Educators seeking assistance
  3. GeoMentors

You could include a tabs for current robotics teams, schools needing assistance, student interest in starting a team, and mentors willing to help.

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That would add a very cool layer to the service, and I wouldnā€™t mind figuring out how to add it (although that would have to be added in a later update down the road).

I am curious as to how we would be able to find those students/schools who need assistance. That would be the toughest part for sure.

Thanks for the suggestion and I hope you are liking MentorMaps :slight_smile:

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The more the merrier with MentorMaps!

Also, that would be amazing if Frank were able to spread the word. Does he have a contact for teams to email him about things like this?

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frcteams@usfirst.org

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Well, now I can log in, but thereā€™s a bunch of bugs. I canā€™t see the map, and I donā€™t see any of the lists of teams or mentors. Maybe Iā€™m just doing this wrong, or itā€™s hitting a firewall somewhere?

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What browser are you accessing MentorMaps from? And if possible, what version?

It is possible that you entered an invalid address so the map will put you at the equator (which would be in the middle of the ocean, and therefore blue).

Did you sign in as a team or a mentor?

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Iā€™m signed in as a mentor; I was able to verify my account via email.

Browsers:

  • Firefox (41.0)*]Chrome (45.0)

Firefox:

Chrome:

  • When not logged in (http://mentormaps.net/map.php?opt=noaccount), the map shows a number of mentors and teams, and things appear to work somewhat correctly (except for the Update List button, which shows a message stating ā€œyour account was not paired in the database so the compatability algorithm will not workā€).
  • When logged in, the map page shows the same thing as on Firefox - a blank grey map whose URL points to NaN for the coordinates.
  • The unbiased map appears to work the same in Chrome as it does in Firefox, as well - no teams/mentors on the left, but the map and markers appear in the center. Filtering still does nothing.

There are a number of other style and alignment issues on the Maps page, as well, specifically on the right-side toolbar. Icons and text arenā€™t lining up right, and things are falling off the edge of the screen.

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Fixed, and saving mentors of interest is within a user profile, not on the menu bar.

Fixed.

We now have an SSL certificate and I also reassure that our security is safe ļŠ

Iā€™m going to say what is fixed in chronological order for this comment:

  1. Fixed (What you described is supposed to happen)
  2. Fixed
  3. The unbiased map isnā€™t meant to have filters, same with the map accessed without logging in.
  4. Fixed (What you described is supposed to happen)
  5. Fixed
  6. The unbiased map isnā€™t meant to have filters, same with the map accessed without logging in.
    We are working on the style issues for Firefox currently and will be pushing another update soon.

Thanks for helping improve MentorMaps

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If anyone has been experiencing map issues and/or geocoding errors, we have pushed a bug fix which re-added missing latitude and longitude valuers that were not entered when we switched from http:// to https://

Sorry for the inconvenience