Some news announced today from VEX and Project Lead the Way, more information is available in the full press release here.
Project Lead The Way Announces Innovative Partnership With VEX Robotics
PLTW to Offer Rigorous Hands-on, Project-Based Robotics Lessons for Middle School and High School Students – Classrooms may Begin Using VEX Robotics Equipment in 2011-2012; PLTW Students Gain Access to VEX Robotics Competitions Throughout the Country
CLIFTON PARK, NY – Project Lead the Way (PLTW), the nation’s leading provider of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, announced a new partnership with VEX Robotics, Inc. today that gives current and future PLTW schools new, exciting and cutting-edge opportunities both inside and outside the classroom.
Under the agreement, the VEX Robotics Design System will be the exclusive robotics platform offered to PLTW schools by PLTW, bringing exciting new opportunities for students including the chance to take PLTW’s courses that have been updated with rigorous hands-on, project based robotics lessons. It is nearly impossible in today’s society not to come into contact with a robotics device and PLTW’s robotics lessons provide students with an introduction to this important STEM field and offer students more advanced and innovative solutions to their classroom projects. PLTW schools may begin using VEX Robotics equipment during the 2011-2012 school year.
In addition, every PLTW classroom will have access to participate in the VEX Robotics Competition, the largest and fastest growing middle and high school robotics competition in the world, allowing students to apply their robotics knowledge from the classroom in a unique, problem-solving environment.
VEX will be integrated into PLTW’s Gateway to Technology Middle School program and Principals of Engineering, Digital Electronics, Aerospace and Computer Integrated Manufcaturing at the high school level.
I would read this as a replacement of the BOEbots and some FischerTechniks.
Yay.
I never really cared for the BOEbots, I think the VEX platform certainly handles everything the BOEbots were designed to do in DE and AE - only better, more robustly, and with a programming language much less archaic.
Regarding FT, I hope the VEX implementation will be similar to the new lynxmotion robot and tiny mill - lower-cost options for schools that haven’t already purchased the larger and more expensive SCORbot and ProLight. It would be possible to recreate the marble sorter, SMET, and factory simulations in POE and CIM using VEX, but hopefully the curriculum will be flexible enough to allow us to continue using FischerTechnik should we see fit.
Good for both programs, this has been a long time coming. I personally have used VEX in both CIM and AE with good results in the past.
Would this mean that only the PLTW courses would be required to use the Vex system, and not the whole school’s courses which may require a robotics system?
This is great! Having taken 4 PLTW courses in high school, I can say that every time I have attempted to use fischer technik I have been frustrated by how they break and don’t do what they are supposed to…ever. Clearly vex offers much more durable and applicable products for the purposes of the PLTW courses. Any word on if they will introduce a PLTW robotics class, b/c that would be really cool.
