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=Welcome to RoboNotes!= (Which is slowly being updated. If you would like to add to the wiki, please email me at jo.vanvliet@gmail.com.)

Over the past several years we have seen a decline in the number of U.S. students majoring in engineering and computer science and other sciences. In fact, each year our colleges and universities provide only about 30% of the graduates in these fields that our businesses need. Parents, teachers, schools, and colleges are trying many different programs to engage students in these areas. Over the past six years, I've found that robotics is one great way to get students interested in science, engineering, and computer programming. I'd like to share some of the information I've gathered.

Topics addressed in this wiki include:
 * Robotics national education standards
 * Robotics curriculum and projects for middle school
 * Robotics competition options for older lower school, middle and upper school students.
 * Teacher or robotics coach training
 * Links to resources, contacts, and other sites
 * And a very cute movie of my 6th graders with their final challenges they complete just before the Great Robotics Race that ends the quarter.
 * (The school website is being updated and most of the video links here are not working. Please email me at** **jo.vanvliet@gmail.com** **and I will send you copies of the document, videos, etc.)**

Please email me at jo.vanvliet@gmail.com if you would like to join the wiki to make additions, comments, changes, etc., or if you want clarification about the information or if you encounter any problems downloading attachments.

**Robotics**

More than just playing with LEGOs or heavy metal!

"Robotics allows teachers to talk about design, innovation, problem solving, and teamwork at the same time they are talking about math, science, (especially applied physics) and technology; robotics puts academic concepts in context. Robotics also provides excellent teaching examples of the concept of systems and subsystems." Robin Shoop, CMU

Robotics and robotics teams can help you, as a student, learn, use, and improve your creative, analytical, team-working, and communication abilities

Brainstorming ideas for what you'd like your robot to do. Maybe you decide it should bring you the remote control for the TV on your voice command or sound an alarm if someone opens a door.
 * Imagine**

Defining and listing one-action step by one-action step what the robot has to do. Example: Go forward. Raise your robotic arm. Open robotic arm. Go forward a little more. Close robotic arm on remote. Turn around. Go forward to your person. Open your arm when person speaks. You set the standards for its performance. How fast should it bring you the remote? Does it have to return it to your hand or just the area of your chair or couch? How loud does the voice command have to be to start it on its mission?
 * Define**

Brainstorming again for as many possible functional design ideas for your robot as you can think of. Sketching the design options.
 * Design**

Examining all the ideas objectively based on sturdiness, ease of build, maximum functionality, practicality, etc. What sensors will your robot need. Light? Sound? Ultrasound? Touch? Other?
 * Evaluate**

Finding and using the right piece for the right place and the right sensor for the mission. Making it sturdy and elegantly functional.
 * Build**

Here's where you use that pseudocode ( single action step-by-step list that we wrote to help write the program for the robot to know what to do.) Creating the program, defining the properties for the motion, sensor and other command icons. Decide when loops (for repeating the same action) and forks (for decision making) are useful.
 * Program**

Running the robot and evaluating what worked correctly and what needs improvement.
 * Test**

**Redesign, Rebuild, and or Re-program** Deciding whether it's the design, build or programming that needs changing to improve the robot.

Reprogram until the robot functions just the way you planned. This can take a while!!
 * Repeat Test and Redesign, Rebuild**

The
 * SUCCESS**!!