Developing a Winning Notebook Introductions: Introduce yourself & session How many of you have competed in a BEST robotics competition? How many of you are new to the BEST robotics competition? (Yay!) The purpose of this presentation is to provide you with some insight as to what you are going to be evaluated on in this category of the competition, to walk through the score sheet, and to be able to ask any questions that you might have. All of the information that we are going to be talking about can be found in your teacher’s Kick-Off packet or on the NDSU BEST robotics website in the Awards & Judging Documents and in the score sheet. If you have any questions, you may contact our Awards & Judging Coordinator, Nik Kukert. Bison BEST Kick-Off Session 2016

BEST Award The competition is comprised of two segments Robotics Competition The BEST Award (optional) Note: The Project Engineering Notebook is required along with the robot for the robot competition The BEST program is split into 2 categories – the Robotics Competition and the BEST Award. The BEST Award is optional for teams to compete for. The Team Exhibit & Interview points contribute to the BEST Award. NOTE: The Project Engineering Notebook is required for EVERY team competing at Bison BEST! Even the teams that are not competing for the BEST Award.

BEST Award All teams are eligible for the BEST Award Judging is based on five criteria (100 points possible) Project Engineering Notebook (30 points) Marketing Presentation (25 points) Team Exhibit and Interviews (20 points) Spirit and Sportsmanship (10 points) Robot Performance (15 points) The Project Engineering Notebook is worth 30 of the 100 points for the BEST Award

Purpose Tool for documenting the process used to design, build, and test the robot The purpose of the Project Engineering Notebook is to be used as a tool for documenting the process used to design, build, and test your robot.

Guidelines Standard 3-ring binder with 2” max rings Binder & cover/title page must identify the school, team name, teacher contact, and team number 32 Typed, single-sided pages or less Title & Table of contents page not included in 32 page count Double-spaced Single spacing acceptable in tables and outlines 1” margins 8.5” x 11” Standard paper Times New Roman Font (preferred) 12 point font Go through guidelines (no changes from previous years)

Notebook Due Dates NDSU College of Engineering NDSU Bison BEST Due by 10 AM on Friday, October 21st You may bring it to the designated area at the Check-In table or mailed ahead of time to: NDSU College of Engineering NDSU Dept. 2450 Engineering Administration Room 210 P.O. Box 6050 Fargo, ND 58108-6050

Score Sheets

Notebook Evaluations Team Demographics Form (paper form) NEEDS to be submitted before you will receive your Robot Compliance Card – turn into the Team Check-In table on Friday, October 21st. Failure to include this form will result in ineligibility to participate in the competition Implementation of the Engineering Design Process Research Paper Brainstorming Approaches Analytical Evaluation of Design Alternatives Offensive and Defensive Evaluation Safety Support Documentation Overall Quality and Completeness of Notebook

Scoring Breakdown Research Paper – 4 points Engineering Design Process – 17 points Overall Quality & Completeness of Notebook – 9 points Total of 30 points towards the BEST Award

Research Paper Research Paper Description of how the current year’s game theme is related to current technological practices or scientific research (Refer to you’re A&J Policies for further clarification) 2-5 pages (is included in the 32 count) Needs to be designated as a separate section The research paper is another key piece of your notebook. This 2-5 page paper is worth 4 of the 30 total points for your notebook score!!! Your research paper will be judged on the following: - Correlation between the game and how this science/technology is being used in this region (Upper Midwest) - if you look at the rubric on your score sheet – if you don’t tie the research back to our region, you are only looking at 1-3 points in a 10 point possible category! HUGE! - Related information of the game theme – history, famous inventors, major milestones, etc. - How you creatively link the game to the appropriately researched science content - Proper formal writing (it is a research paper, not a novel, not a personal narrative, not an essay… a scientific research paper) - watch for misspellings, grammatical errors - Proofread… Proofread… have someone else Proofread… 

Engineering Design Process Define the Problem Research the Problem Brainstorm Possible Solutions Choose the Best Solution Build a Model or Prototype Test your Solution Communicate your Solution Redesign as Needed Your notebook is going to be judged on how well your team documents several key engineering categories. How did your team implement the Engineering Design Process over these past 6 weeks? Provide clear evidence that the process was effectively used. Evidence that you have identified the process explicitly is worth 17 points of the total 30 Project Notebook BEST points! Talk through the steps… From Technology Education Department; Richfield School District; Richfield, WI

Engineering Design Process Evidence that it was effectively used Brainstorming approaches Analytical evaluation of design alternatives Offensive and defensive alternatives Software design and simulation Safety Support documentation As you look through the subcategories under the “design process” heading of the score sheet, you can see the following: Evidence that it was effectively used Brainstorming approaches Analytical evaluation of design alternatives Offensive and defensive alternatives Software design and simulation Safety Support documentation Software Design & Simulation – there is a separate award given for this as well… we will talk a little more about this a little later…

Supplemental Appendix Teams may include a supplemental appendix No more than 20 pages front and back (40 total pages of information) Include support documentation Drawings or photos Organization charts Minutes of team meetings Test results

Supplemental Appendix This material should directly support the process described in the primary document and NOT reflect activities related to community or promotional efforts, spirit development, or team-building

Poor Notebooks Do not include every section in the guidelines Are not well organized Are not typed or have poor formatting Do not document the entire process Are thrown together at the last minute Are a result of too much focus on robot performance and not enough on process Includes excess, unnecessary material The last 9 points of your 30 point Notebook BEST score… is for Overall Quality and completeness of the Notebook…

Tips For Success Assign a notebook manager Include everything that is required No less, no more Use the project requirements and score sheets as a checklist Take advantage of the appendix This is a great place for miscellaneous evidence of the engineering process not included in the main paper

Tips For Success We have a lot of notebooks to judge, organization is key Table of contents Appendix Engineers like to see the process as much as the final result Document all activities throughout the process If you thought of it, document it Use the notebook as a working document

Software Design and Simulation Software Design and Simulation Award: Presented to the team that is able to best describe and articulate their software design process, techniques, and experiences Intended to show that “programming” is an essential part of overall robot design Winners of this award will be eligible for a BEST-wide drawing for a $1,000 cash award. Winners will register online to be entered in the drawing following the conclusion of all hub events. There will be 3 total cash awards paid by BRI directly to the teams selected in the drawing. Presented to the team that is able to best describe and articulate their software design process, techniques, and experiences Intended to show that “programming” is an essential part of overall robot design and requires just as much though as the mechanical / electrical design Winners of this award will be eligible for a BEST-wide drawing for a $1,000 cash award!!! Winners will be registered and entered in a drawing to win 1 of 3 $1,000.00 cash prizes! There is a separate score sheet for evaluating this portion of the notebook.

Questions? Questions? If there are any that you can’t answer – they can always ask Awards & Judging Coordinator, Nik!!  Best of luck this season!!  See you in 6 weeks!