1. 2011 Coach/Mentor Workshop Kevin Reed kevin.reed@firstwa.org

2. Type Questions Here Raise Hand Here

3.  FIRST  FLL  Coaching  Tournament Day  Resources  Not much on the challenge or project topic Two hours (usually less)

4. “… to create a world where science and technology are celebrated…where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.” Dean Kamen, Founder, FIRST  F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international organization with a mission of promoting interest in science and technology.  Our goal is to encourage students to consider careers in engineering and science.

5. FRC FIRST Robotics Competition1992 High school 14-18 yrs FTC FIRST Tech Challenge2005 Middle and high school 13-18 yrs FLLFLL FIRST LEGO ® League1998 Elementary and middle school 9-14 yrs Jr. FLL FIRST Junior LEGO ® League2006 Elementary school 6-9 yrs 501 (c) (3) Non-profit organization 501 (c) (3) Non-profit organization Founded 1989, by inventor Dean Kamen Founded 1989, by inventor Dean Kamen International HQ in Manchester, NH International HQ in Manchester, NH 85,000 volunteers 85,000 volunteers 3,000+ sponsoring companies 3,000+ sponsoring companies

6. FIRST LEGO League FIRST Tech Challenge FIRST Robotics Competition K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Jr. FIRST LEGO League

7.  We are a small group of enthusiastic volunteers who organize and promote all FIRST programs:  FIRST Junior LEGO League  FIRST LEGO League  FIRST Tech Challenge  FIRST Robotics Competition  A division of the Seattle Robotics Association  The SRA is a 501c(3) non-profit corporation  100% volunteer effort  www.firstwa.org www.firstwa.org

8.  Define problem  Brainstorm solutions and select one  Keep it simple  Plan and create a flowchart and take measurements

9.  Divide program into small steps- use comment boxes  Program one step at a time  Action should be consistently repeatable (3x in a row)  Use my blocks (saves memory)  Pick a simple mission first that is close to base.

10.  FLL Core Values  Coach Promise  The Timeline

11.  We are a team.  We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.  We know our coaches and mentors don’t have all the answers; we learn together.  We honor the spirit of friendly competition.  What we discover is more important than what we win  We share our experiences with others.  We display Gracious Professionalism™ and Coopertition™ in everything we do.  We have fun.

12.  Respect your team members at all times  Respect others as demonstrated by your actions  Recognize that friendly competition and mutual gain are possible on and off the field  Make a valued contribution with special knowledge that society entrusts us to use responsibly Woodie Flowers, FIRST co-founder and MIT professor

13.  Friendly competition  Help other teams  Handle stress with grace

14.  Team name  Team logo

15.  Mid-May thru Mid-Sept  Team formation and registration  Early September  The challenge is released  Mid-end of September  Registration closes  Sept-Oct-Nov  Teams work on the robot and project  December (first weekend)  10+ Local Qualifying Events  January  State Tournament  Mid April  FLL World Festival  FLL Regional Open

16. Your FLL team is expected to:  Explore the challenge theme in depth  Share the fun of team based technical problem solving  Get exposure to technical and professional career paths senior solutions

17. Your FLL team will spend 8-12 weeks working on: Robot Game Core Values Project Project research, presentation preparation, practicing Robot design, programming, construction, and testing Learning FLL Core Values, team building, and organizing

18.  Teamwork  Working together to do a complex task  Risk taking  There is personal risk in being creative  Experimentation  Learning by trying  Dealing with failure effectively  Learning by failing and recovering

19.  During the regional qualifiers, your team is evaluated on the three primary elements:  Project Presentation  Robot Design and Construction  Core Values (formerly Teamwork)  Evaluations are subjective and are done by a panel of volunteer judges  Awards are assigned by the judging panels  Judges use rubrics: READ THEM! http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

20. Regional Champions Robot: Performance Project: Research Project: Innovative Solution Project: Presentation Robot: Mechanical Design Robot: Programming Robot: Strategy & Innovation Core Values: Inspiration Core Values: Teamwork Core Values: Gracious Professionalism Judge Award Performance Alternate (optional)

21.  Your team must:  Select a problem related to the topic  Create a solution  Share it with the community  Present a summary of the project to the judges that tells the story and demonstrates your team research results  Presentation format is up to your team. Use humor, skits, and other engaging elements to tell your story. Examples include newscasts, plays and songs  Watch presentation examples on the coach DVD and online.

22.  Live performance for the judges  Practice, Practice, Practice  Video tape practice sessions  Honest critical feedback  Beware audio/visual equipment and setup time  Your team is evaluated against a rubric http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

24.  Your team must:  Create a strategy to maximize points in 2.5 minutes  Build a robot that interacts with mission pieces  Program the robot to accomplish missions  The robot is judged for its design quality  The robot ALSO gains the team points during the mission competition  There are hundreds of NXT tutorials online. Check FLL Team Resources and FIRSTWA FAQ FLL Team ResourcesFIRSTWA FAQ

25.  Your team is interviewed by a judging panel to discuss the design and construction of their robot.  This is an interactive interview, we don’t expect a formal presentation  Your team is evaluated against a rubric http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

27.  New this year are formal judging sessions for Core Values (formerly called Teamwork).  The judges are evaluating your team with an activity during the Project session.  The judges are also observing your team at random times during the day.  Input from referees, volunteers and other teams IS accepted!

28.  The most prestigious award goes to the team who demonstrates core values and highest achievement in all categories:  Project Presentation  Robot Design  Teamwork  Robot Performance

29.  Regional Qualifiers  8am to 5pm  Three main activities for teams  Pit area and practice tables  Technical, Presentation and Core Values Judging  Robot Contest  Award Ceremony mid afternoon  State Championship January 14th, 2012 (Sat)

30.  Team Information Sheet  Three copies, one for each judge panel  Consent and Release form  One for each student and adult  Extra robot batteries and charger (if rechargeable)  Laptop computer for program changes  Food, drinks and snacks (unless otherwise noted)  Extension cord and power strip  Field setup kit pieces and mat (to share with organizers if needed)

31.  The Pit is where we come to find your team for all activities.  Each team has a single table  Practice rounds and final tune-up of robots is common

32.  Technical, Presentation, and Core Values judging starts in the morning before the contest. A schedule for each team is posted on contest day.  Teams are retrieved from their pit table and returned by volunteer runners.

33.  The contest is held in a main gym or large area  There are 3 rounds of robot contest  Best single score determines winner  Teams are retrieved by runners, and queued up to 3 matches early  Teams are returned to the pits after the match

34.  Awards are presented at the end of the tournament  Only one judged award per team  Robot Performance is a separate award and is  based only on score  Robot performance is the only award a team can win in addition to a judged award

35.  Two Championship tournaments in Washington  East and West  Five teams from each regional go to Championships  Championship teams chosen by judges  Top teams in each of the three categories  Weighted to teams with great Core Values  Performance Alternate is given when a team wins Robot Performance award AND another judged award that sends them to the championships

36.  Much help is available online for you  wafll@yahoogroups.com is our email list wafll@yahoogroups.com  www.firstwa.org has information related specifically to our WA State program www.firstwa.org  www.usfirst.org is the international FIRST website and links to everything related to FLL www.usfirst.org  www.legoeducation.us is the U.S. LEGO Education site that has NXT parts and other stuff for LEGO robots www.legoeducation.us

37.  Minnesota has a very well developed FLL community. They have spent tons of time producing fantastic online help for you. www.hightechkids.org  FLL Training Downloads http://www.hightechkids.org/for-teams/coaches-library