Transcript Document

2012 REC Foundation Event
Partner Summit
Mr. Jason Morrella
President, REC Foundation
Mr. Paul Copioli
President, VEX Robotics, Inc.
Why Are We Here
1) Thank You!
2) Share
3) Feedback
4) Improvement
5) Network and Share
6) Make a Difference
Meet the Regional Managers
Meet the Regional Managers
• Miller J. Roberts III Maryland
• Rick Tyler – Washington
• Tonya Scott - Oklahoma
• Mike Martus - Michigan
• Marc Couture –
Wisconsin
• Liz Rayment – Colorado
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Roger Proulx – Florida
Brad Lauer - Connecticut
Tom Jensen - Nebraska
Cheryl Rausch –
Nebraska
• Nancy McIntyre California
Inquiries and Questions
• Collect index cards
– Start now!
– Collected until 4:00 PM Tuesday (tomorrow)
• Place your index cards in these vases
• All topics, large and small, to be reviewed
Robot Events & Web Topics
Rick Tyler
Quick Overview of New RE Layout
• Live Demo
Creating Events
• Event Partner Guide to VEX and Robot Events
– In http://www.vexrobotics.com/vrc_epdocs
– Everything you need to know about using Robot
Events to setup your tournament
• Talk to your REC Foundation regional rep
Creating Events Tips
– Read the Event Partner Guide to VEX and Robot
Events!
– Copy an old event and edit it
– Keep your “release date” in the future until you
are happy with your event
– Take a look at features of Robot Events (like email
registration confirmation) that you don’t normally
use
– When you get to the end, only “submit” once or
you will have multiple events!
Auto Results Upload
• In progress, goal to finish by end of August
• Automatic results and awards upload from
Tournament Manager to Robot Events
– “One-click” upload
– Provision for uploading results when you do not
have access to the Internet at your event
– You can still enter custom awards manually in
Tournament Manager, but they won’t be uploaded
automatically
Robot Events Registration Wizard
• Complete re-write underway to improve
reliability and performance with all common
browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer 8
& 9)
• Currently in development
• You won’t see any user interface differences,
but the registration system will work better
New REC Foundation Website
• New REC Foundation website
– Use robotevents.com for team and event
registration
– Use roboticseducation.org for information about
the Foundation and our programs
RECF Website Highlights
• Program information, news and links
– VRC
– TSA/VEX
– Skills USA
– Others
RECF Website Highlights
• Quick access links
– Register a team
– Search and register for events
– VEX tech support
– Curriculum
RECF Website Highlights
• “Seeker” information
– Starting a youth robotics team
– Attending an event
– Youth looking for a team
– Adult who wants to help
RECF Website Highlights
• Online Challenge information
• Robot video
• REC Foundation partnerships
– TSA
– PLTW
– Skills
– CREATE
RECF Website Highlights
• Current sponsors
• Potential sponsors
New Robot Events Feature: Camps and
Workshops for Teams
• Registration by team – simply create it as an
event and have registered teams sign up
• In admin.robotevents, select “create new event”
• “Event type” is “Tournament”
• “Program” will usually be the robotics program
you are part of (like VRC or TSA/VEX), but you
should “workshop” if it is not affiliated. This is for
search results.
Camps and Workshops: Individual
Registrations
• Instead of a team registrations, we want to
allow an individual to sign up
• Used for:
– Workshops where the organizer needs to know
the exact people and/or headcount number
attending
– Workshops with individual registration rather than
team fees
What Would You Like to See?
• Your ideas here…
– Send email to [email protected]
– Tell us here
• Robot Events
• Individual Workshop and Camp Registration
• Other technology/web needs and ideas
Key Event Partner Resources
Mini-Presentations
VRC Key Volunteer Training
Conference Calls
Agenda
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Identification of Key Volunteer Calls
Where To Find Information On Calls
Discussion: What Additional Calls?
Discussion: More Effective Methods?
Key Volunteer Calls
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Judge Training Calls
Referee Training Calls
Robot Inspector Training Calls
League Play Conference Calls
Volunteer Management Training Calls
Event Partner Information Calls
Finding Call Information
• Reminders sent frequently through email
• www.vexrobotics.com/vrc_epdocs
• Key Volunteer Training call document to be
posted at vrc_epdocs
Additional Topics
• Are there additional key volunteer training
calls that the REC Foundation should
organize?
• Are there specific topics that should be
addressed as part of the existing training calls?
Additional Methods
• Are there preferred methods of training?
• Would a recorded video training be helpful for
each topic (within reason)?
• Would online tutorials and quizzes be a
welcomed supplement to existing training
materials?
National Volunteer
Management Database
What is the National Volunteer
Database?
• Place where volunteers from around the
country can sign up to volunteer.
• Sign up page is similar to the World Volunteer
registration page.
How does it work?
• Potential volunteer signs up
• Contact information is sent to Regional
Managers
• Regional Managers send the volunteer’s
contact information to area EP’s like you
Where will this be posted?
• The link will be located on the VEX Robotics
website and Robot Events website.
VEX Forum
Forum Used for VEX
• Youth learning about VEX robotics
– Construction
– Programming
– Engineering math
• People sharing technical information
– Test results
– “Best practices” of the person posting
• Sharing pictures and video
– Robots
– People
Forum Used for VEX Robotics
Competition
• Official questions and answers about the game
rules
– Also downloaded to PDF in event partner docs page at
http://content.vexrobotics.com/vrcqa/VRC-QAExport.pdf
– Download and take to events
• Students discussing past competitions
• People sharing game ideas
• Sharing pictures and video
Event Partner Subforum
• There is an event partner subforum not
accessible only by event partners:
• Create a user account at vexforum.com.
• Send an email to [email protected]
with your forum user name and we will give you
access
• We recommend that you use your real name so
that other event partners know who you are
Event Partners Can Also
• Promote their events to teams
• Read about current issues and concerns from
the community before your event(s)
All the User IDs You Need
• For robotevents and admin.robotevents (same
sign-on) for managing your teams and events
• For vexrobotics.com to see event partner
portal documents and to order things
• For vexforum.com to have access to the VEX
Forum
Panel Discussion
VEX Robotics Competition
Workshops , Camps, and Training
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Summer School/ Camp Program
Nancy McIntyre – RECF Regional Manager
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10 day program
Themed
Research Mars
Create landing surface
Design, build, program robots
Present to participants, parents, administrators, local
engineers
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Student Teacher Workshop
Nancy McIntyre - REC Foundation
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Equip student teachers with training and kits
Graduating teachers ready to include STEM
Partner Effort
Cover
• Organizing a team,
• Brainstorming ( game, robot)
• Design, engineering notebook
• Build
• Competition
• and more
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Boy Scout Robotics Badge Day
Nancy McIntyre - REC Foundation
Welcome
Introductions (We had a guest speaker)
Expectations for the day
We set up our event so that each badge requirement was in a
different classroom or lab.
• Our computer lab with Internet access was staffed
with an adult volunteer for Scouts who needed to
conduct some additional research.
• Our physics lab became a pit area where Scouts
could work on constructing their robots.
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Boy Scout Robotics Badge Day
Nancy McIntyre - REC Foundation
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One of our computer labs became the programming location
that was staffed with professors and local robot team
members where Scouts could work on either the flow chart
or the autonomous programming of their robots.
One of our classrooms became a room where several
engineers met with groups of Scouts to go over the safety
component of the badge.
Break for lunch (Local robot team helped supervise and
provided robot demonstrations.)
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Boy Scout Robotics Badge Day
Nancy McIntyre - REC Foundation
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Another classroom was used for presentations of robotics in
industry and staffed by an adult engineer/Scout leader.
Our media center was staffed with an adult and local robot
team that demonstrated their robot and talked about their
participation competitions.
Another lab was staffed with engineers and professors from
CSUN who could share their knowledge on careers in
engineering.
We closed our workshop in our media center announcing all
of the Scouts who earned their badge.
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Tom Settle
viaRobotics Apex, NC
Mission
To get robotics to as many students possible and to provide a
continued service on their path to Engineering and Technology.
Focus is on the student experience and how the different types
of students impact this.
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
10 week continuous course
Tom Settle - viaRobotics Apex, NC
Cons
Pros
parents/students like the sustained
activity, small doses overtime
takes longer period to ramp
students to competition
readiness/awareness and onto
team
students have time to get to know
one another and learn how to
interact with the various
personalities
continuous prep cycles and
communications
especially girls...they have time to
build and realize their confidence
with the subject matter
attracts some, simply interested
students *...can require extra
effort to manage in class
*simply interested means curious students with less than 50% chance of continuing with robotics,
potential behavior challenges
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
1 Day Workshop
Tom Settle - viaRobotics Apex, NC
Cons
Pros
traveling parents/students can
justify the effort (usually longer
than 30min drive one way)
opportunity to attract students
with many other commitments
narrowing content focus is easier
for new audiences
attracts higher rate of simply
interested students for
introductory programs...
must narrow content focus to meet
the anticipated needs of audience,
not able to satisfy everyone all the
time
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
1 Week Camps
Tom Settle - viaRobotics Apex, NC
Cons
Pros
can offer most experience to
students
attracts largest number of simple
interest students (pseudodaycare
option for some parents)
can likely hook parent/student to
the idea of competitive team
repetition > retention
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Most Successful
Tom Settle - viaRobotics Apex, NC
To date my most successful models has been
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Continuous Course
Challenge in camps is
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competition with other established entities
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drawing students away from my area
Suggestions for starting camps...
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Consider pros/cons mentioned above
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Workshops
Tara Petersen – Omaha, NE
Adult
• Initial Workshop
• Programming Workshop
• Continuing Ed
Student
• 1 Week Camp
• Gifted & Talented Program
• Independent Study
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Ritch Ramey
PLTW Engineering and Robotics Instructor
Tri-Rivers Career Center
Background with VEX/robotics/education
• Taught engineering for 25 years at Tri-Rivers Career Center and
Marion Technical College
• Nationally certified PLTW CIM, DE and EDD teacher
• Used VEX Robotics for 5 years in my class
• Hosted teacher VEX, LEGO, Math Bots and BOEBOT week and 2
day trainings since 2004
• Received more than $600,000 in STEM grants since 2003
Current Offerings
• Staff VEX Robotics training
• Apple IPAD trainer training
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Ritch Ramey
PLTW Engineering and Robotics Instructor
Tri-Rivers Career Center
Camps
6 Different contests competed in and hosted 4 contests
Configurations of the camps
• Week Middle School Vex Robotics camp using EasyC
• 2 Day Sack Attack contest
• Week Middle/High School Vex RobotC Camp at Marion Technical
College through SME EF grant
• 2 Day Sack Attack contest
• Ohio State Fair demonstration contest with cmap robots and
anyone that registers to compete August 4th
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Ritch Ramey
PLTW Engineering and Robotics Instructor
Tri-Rivers Career Center
Best practices
• Used Vex to simulate manufacturing model for National Robotics
Award and won Honda Innovation award
• Advertising
• Activities
Costs
SME EF sponsored camps with $15,000 grant
Each school that sent students earned a robot to take with them for
their school
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
One-Day VEX Idea Factory
Rick Tyler - RECF Regional Manager Pacific Northwest, Western Canada
9:30 am Doors open
10:00am Welcome
Introduction to current Game.
Structured walk-thru of game rules with actual fields and elements
10:30am Build time
Fields open for ad-hoc use.
Coaches and senior mentors available for ‘consultations’
Getting Started training session for those new to VE X
12:00pm Lunch: bring your own or local options
12:30pm Demo time
Team demonstrations of prototypes built during the day
1:00pm
Strategy discussion
Group discussion on game playing strategies
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
One-Day VEX Idea Factory
Rick Tyler - RECF Regional Manager Pacific Northwest, Western Canada
Getting Started training session
• A section on competitions including the flow of the day, VEX rules (as
opposed to Game rules),how matches are played, the rounds, the
awards.
• Basic robot stuff for some would be good for many as VEX may be new to
some.
• Programming for competition (Autonomous vs Driver control)
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
A Fundraiser Model
Liz Rayment - RECF Regional Manager-Colorado
Loveland High School Robotics team runs 2 VEX camps for
middle school students as fundraiser. M-F 9 am – 4 pm.
$200 per student per week.
• 1 week basic
• 1 week advanced
• Students do all setup and work with campers
• 2 adults
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Loveland High Robotics Team
VEX Summer Camp Fundraiser
Activity
ideas
Games with past
game objects
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Other Models?
Questions?
Event Partners' Summit July 16-18, 2012
Dallas, TX
Regional Sustainability
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Resource Sharing
Roles of Different VEX Events
Tiered Competition Models
State and National Championship Models
Working w/ Colleges and Universities
Teacher Training
Vex Robotics Competition In A Trailer
Supporting regional activities through
shared resources
“14 foot” Enclosed Utility trailer
•4 Field perimeter stored in full 12’ lengths
•Contents placed in rolling “modularized” containers
•Everything is tied down
Wall mounting Field Perimeters
•Vertical steel uni-strut on walls
•1” Steel angle bracket above and below
•1” Aluminum C channel mounted on angle
brackets
•Perimeters slide up into upper bracket then
down into lower bracket
•Shock cord keeps pieces in place
Tile caddy’s
•1” angle iron frame
•4” swivel castors
•1” strips on sides
•Plywood base
4 small profile desktop computers
1 competition server
2 field displays
1 audience display
4 monitors (2 with field mount brackets)
4 keyboards
4 computer mice
3-50’ VGA cables (two for field displays, one for
audience display)
8-50’ CAT 5 cables
Power strip
USB hub
2 Vexnet match controllers
Assorted Ethernet cables (1 ft from CDW.com)
Computers, match controllers, USB hub, and power
strip do not leave the case.
Other items in trailers
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Referee shirts in assorted sizes
Judges shirts in assorted sizes
4 Vex net driver interfaces on uprights
Inspection box
– 3 Competition switches
– 2 Sizing boxes
– Inspection sheets
8 sets of cables for operator interfaces (plus spares)
4 sets of game elements
Vex crystal set
Assorted extension cords
First aid kit
Tool kit
Printer
Projector
Spare tire
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Teams pick up and return trailers for events
Volunteers shared between events
Volunteers are well fed (VERY IMPORTANT)
Cross training of volunteers