Robodogs season is underway! Lego EV3 and Learning

I have been meaning to get everyone updated on another great season of First Lego League. Our team has made some major changes to this season creating a massive learning curve for both students and us coaches. Here is a quick breakdown of the changes.

• We have moved to the new robot EV3. This is creating a new learning curve to our programming and building. We have our experienced members learning the material new as well as trying to help the young members who are brand new to robotics. Our whole mentorship approach to our team is not as smooth yet as everyone is still in learning and experimental mode.
• We have a new room. I will share pictures in a bit, but after several years of working in tight spaces and rooms of other teachers we finally have our own place. It just needs to be finished so we can decorate it a bit.
• We have moved to two teams. We have twice as many kids this year. We are sorting through the handling of two teams, how to properly divide, as well as coming up with two robots and two projects.

These are big changes. The great thing is that we are being challenged in all aspects so regardless of the outcomes we are all learning invaluable lessons in design, teamwork, and application.

This is what our room looks like

We have since divided the boards up to separate parts of the room because we just were not getting enough done with all kids together in one spot.

Before any student could place a robot on the board and begin to strategize they had to solve these four tests first using the new software




We had some close calls to the minifig






We also had several ways to go in a 360 turn


I will add all the test boards we created using duct tape on our robot website soon.http://robodogs.wikispaces.com/

We need to update our site for this season. Please check it out later this week with all updates.

Robodog Summer Camp Has Arrived!

I have spent all day putting the finishing touches on the next batch of robot missions for our Robodog Summer Camp.

This year we have more students than ever before. Two full sessions of 32 students ready to learn, experiment, and challenge themselves.

I decided to challenge myself and set out to create my very own mission boards. I found some boards in my room and began to brainstorm. I have been brainstorming for quite some time now, but just was not sure what angle to take.

This morning I finally laid out all ideas and came up with a plan that I think will work. I am excited to see how the students go about solving the challenges.

We have everything from easy to very difficult to see how they go about dealing with different issues as this all part of the season of First Lego League. What do you do when you simply don't know the answer?

Check out our Robodog website for more information - http://robodogs.wikispaces.com/

Robodogs Robotics Camp

I am one of two Robodogs Robotics coaches for Bettendorf Schools. We have operated a summer camp the last few years where from this camp we create our FLL team. As I continue to share what we do and how we do things I thought it would be important to share our camp form.

We are working to change things up a bit. Each year we build and design new robot challenges so that the people who have attended the camp in years prior do not have an advantage. We also opt to not have an advanced class as people have asked us about. We keep everyone together because we like to see who has mentor-ship and leadership skills. Can the students who know how to operate a robot lead and be part of a team concept? Those skills are just as vital as knowing how to program. We look at thought process, problem solving, and speaking skills. There is so much to ponder and consider. The robot really is just the gimmick to see the whole child.

Anyways, here is our form in case you are interested in the camp or want to see how we set things up. If you have questions or want to know more please let me know.

Our robotics page is http://robodogs.wikispaces.com/ if you want to know more.

First Lego League: Global Innovation Award - PLEASE VOTE FOR US!

Who: Bettendorf Robodogs #7473

What: First Lego League Global Innovation Award- The Tongue Lift

Where: http://fllinnovation.firstlegoleague.org/tongue-lift

When: Monday, Feb. 11- Friday, March 1 starting @ 11:00 Central Time

Vote Every Day! Vote Often! Vote for Bettendorf Robodogs!
Thanks for your help! 

Here is our Robodog website where you can learn more about the team - http://robodogs.wikispaces.com/

FLL Senior Solutions - Intro Video For My Robodogs

I created this short little intro video for our Robodogs Lego Robotics team for the Senior Solutions season. The package came yesterday so I thought it would be fun to create a short little video to get them ready. We meet as a team with parents next week to figure our our schedule and groundrules and then we begin!