College of Science, Engineering & Technology

Community Engagement

I-SETInspired towards Science, Engineering and Technology

I-SET Robotics Coach and Mentor Training 19 May 2012

What is a team? Issues and reality

Outline

• What is a team?• What does a team look like?• Requirements of an FLL team.• Requirements of a WRO team.• How to start a team?• How to build a team?• Reality check

What is a team?

• A collection of learners.

• Working and learning together.

• From a school, community, family …

• Diverse talents, skills and passions.

• Different ages, genders, race, background.

What does a team look like?

• No fixed recipe!• Age, gender, size, IQ …. Shoe size!• Sense of humour ...

Teams 2012

Drama – how not to ...

Presentation/Training

Singing?

Strategy!!

Prizes!

Fun competition

And the team needs

• A coach (hands on teaching, technical)

Hints for the coach

• You do not need to be an engineer to be a coach.

• Your team must define team rules.

• Tell parents – especially that kids do the work!

• Keep asking questions – what of, why, how?

More hints for the coach

• Do not do it alone!

• Figure out funding.

• Committed to meeting schedule.

• Parents need roles too!

• Good time management.

• Keep it FUN Fun Fun.

And the team needs

• Mentor(s) (motivator, guidance).

• Any person that works with the team in an area of expertise.

• Engineer, student, graphic artist, programmer, marketing expert, drama teacher, carpenter ….

And the team needs

• Managers.

• Administration - registration, attendance

• Photography, sponsorship, media, transport, catering ….

• Website – design and read …

And the team needs

• PARENTS that support

• Especially in weeks around competition!!!

• Treats appreciated!

Where is the team?

Other team issues ...

• Team name.

• Team logo.

• Team roles and responsibilities - research, build, program, present, strategy, time keeper, marketing, documents ... .

Requirements of a FLL team

• Must work together from begin September to end October (at least).

• Max 10 learners. Aged 10 -16 years.• Must program and build robot to complete FLL

challenge missions.• Must research challenge, identify a problem,

suggest solution and present research.• Will be judged on TEAM WORK!

FLL - Gracious professionalism

• We are a team.

• We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.

• We honour the spirit of friendly competition

• What we discover is more important than what we win.

FLL - Gracious professionalism

• We share our experiences with others.

• We display Gracious ProfessionalismTM in everything we

do.

• We have fun.

Requirements of a WRO team

• 2 or 3 learners working together.• Challenge according to age group (elementary,

juniour high school, seniour high school, and open

• Many long hours and patience needed to practise, test and try designs for challenge.

• On competition day, work together to build robot in 2 hours!

How to start a team?

• Start with a group (6 to 10) of learners.

• Divide session into team building, robot building, programming and ‘free’ time.

• Encourage participation in all activities!

• Assign different roles and combinations.

2009 Team techno π

2010 Team Work Nationals

How to build a team?

• Read the manual.

• Link to manual ....

Quotes from the manual

• It requires no special expertise, just patience, dedication and a willingness to learn ALONGSIDE the team.

• You are never in this by yourself or for yourself.

How to build a team?

• Good to start with team building activity.

• Talk about team work.

• Talk ‘nicely’ to each other – it takes practice.

• Take lots and lots of photos of the teams and the robots

Team building activities

• Google ...

My team secret!

• Condensed milk!

Reality?

• The learners grow up and mature ….

• Life happens – and other things interfere!

• Teamwork does not happen naturally.

• Every one has a “bad hair day”.

• Not everyone on the team wants to build or program. The team needs researchers, speakers and artists too.

More reality …

• It’s the learners who are learning … let them do and try and think!

• Allow learners make mistakes – again and again!

• Guide do not dictate!

• There needs to be fun, laughter, and learning!

Africa Reality

Africa team reality

Good news

• Robotics in Africa

• Posted by Vu Nguyen on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 | 1 Comment

• We came across an article about a great initiative that’s happening in Africa. A program called AFRON, or the African Robotics Network, is “aiming to mobilize a community of institutions and individuals working on robotics-related areas, strengthening communication and collaboration among them.”

• You can read more about AFRON by clicking on the following link:

• http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/african-robotics-network

• …read more.

•

Thank you