My take on the world of technology education.
The theme for the 2008 FLL Challenge is Climate Connections. There is not a lot of info on it yet but FLL has posted a brief summary about it in the US section of the FLL web site (http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=70).
Registration for FLL 2008 opens May 1, 2008. You can register online on the FLL Registration site (http://www.register4fll.com/).
As part of my robotics club we have a challenge that students complete in groups to decide a club championship. This year’s challenge was called the Corn Toss. Here is a video of the robots and the challenge:
How about using the NXT to launch a paper plane. It looks like a plane flying off an aircraft carrier.
For more details head on over the to the nxtasy.org blog.
NXT Step blog posted links to a fascinating story and video about Segway’s (Dean Kamen’s company) efforts to create a robotic arm for disabled people.
Here is the link to the video report about it on IEEE Spectrum Online:
Here is an idea for a design challenge using NXT robots:
Some people will build a NXT robot for any purpose. Here is a couple for the bathroom:
Why not a FlushBot:
There are a couple of new NXT blogs that look like they are worth a look:
Enjoy!
Norm and I held an in-service on NXT robotics today. I mentioned several resources and I wanted to post some further information.
I mentioned the following web sites:
You will find information about the book, Lego Mindstorms Nxt: The Mayan Adventure by James Floyd Kelly on The NXT STEP - LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Blog.
There will be an opportunity on February 8th, for teachers in the Eastern School District to attend a training session about using the NXT LEGO MINDSTORMS kit in the classroom. Here is the info:
Title: Introduction to LEGO NXT robotics
Date: Friday, February 8, 2008
Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Location: St. Francis School - Tech Ed computer lab
Trainers: Thomas Sheppard and Norm Littlejohn
This session is designed as an introduction to using the NXT MINDSTORMS robotics kit for use in the junior and senior high technology programs (The new kit was introduced in 2006 and is replacing the RCX-based MINDSTORMS robotics kit).
Topics will include the basics of building and programming an NXT robot using sensors and attachments. The priority will be on integrating robotics into the curriculum to accomplish course outcomes.
The info about the expenses is explained on the registration web site:
http://register4fll.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=33
Here is my estimate:
FLL Team Registration (Required): Can. $235
FLL 2007 Field Set Up Kit: Can. $78
FLL Robot Set (NXT): Can. $435
TOTAL: $748+tax($104.72)=$852.72
I am not happy about the increased costs, but there seems little we can do about it. It is relatively inexpensive when you compare it to other robotics competitions, but that does not make it any easier for public schools where money is not always available. I fear the smaller and more rural schools will have great difficulty coming up with the money for this.
Hosted by Edublogs.
