[TriLUG] Supporting robotics for middle school students in North Carolina

[Shane Trent via TriLUG]

Good evening,

I coach the FIRST LEGO League robotics team the Wharf Rats, FLL #5027, and
head up the robotics program at Magellan Charter School. I am also a Judge
Advisor for FLL in North Carolina. Following a TriLUG meeting last year, a
few members shared that they had previous experience with FLL and that they
were interested in supporting the FLL in our region.

One of the best ways to support FLL is to volunteer as a judge. The primary
goal for judging is to recognize the effort teams put into their season,
highlight the spots where they did well and perhaps offer a suggestion
about where it might be easiest for them to improve (online judge training
is provided along with on-site support during the event).
https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/fll

The Championship is held at NC A&T University and there are
available judging slots for both Saturday's and Sunday's events (there are
two tracks, each with a champion) on January 18th and 19th.
https://www.ncfllandftc.com/2019-2020-state-championship.html

The robots are built using EV3s that run a version of Linux. Here is a
video of the Wharf Rats' robot in action at last year's state championship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM3avctaxwM&t=43s

The FLL program teaches students teamwork and engineering skill via a
themed project (this year's theme is City Shaper), teamwork exercises and a
robot game. Judges get online training before the event (and onsite
support) along with a t-shirt, breakfast, and lunch. New judges are paired
with experienced judges, with a minimum of two judges per room, and
evaluate the team in Project, Core Values or Robot Design (robot
performance is evaluated through robot game scores). Teams are evaluated
using a rubric, linked below, for each judged area. On the morning of the
event, judges receive a prep pack for their judge area. The prep packet
includes interview tips and suggested questions for your judge area.

https://firstinspiresst01.blob.core.windows.net/fll/2020/first-lego-league-rubrics.pdf

Judging is a great way to support the students who will be tomorrow's
science and technology leaders.

You do not need prior experience with robots or programming, only a desire
to help. If you are interested, the best way to get involved is to email
the address below to get started. I am also happy to answer questions if
you would like more information.

judge at nc-fll.com

Thank you for your time. I hope to see you at the Championship!
Shane

-- 
[image: photo]
*Shane D Trent*
Patent Agent

919-348-0061 | shanedtrent at gmail.com

ShaneTrent.com | Skype: skype:shane.trent1
<#m_-6528534647020779238_SignatureSanitizer_SafeHtmlFilter_>
Raleigh, North Carolina
<http://www.linkedin.com/in/shanetrent> <http://twitter.com/sdtrent>
Create your own email signature
<https://www.wisestamp.com/signature-in-email/?utm_source=promotion&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=create_your_own>