StRUT

Preparing for FTC/RobotC training

2011-12-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

A HUGE thank you to Dale Jordan, Field Tech Advisor with Oregon Robotics Tournaments and Outreach Program (ORTOP) for helping me over the phone today. There sure is lot to know about the RobotC programming language and overall layout of the motors/sensors/etc in order to get the robot to do what you want it to do, and it's good to know that we have folks like Dale that have seen firsthand how much our young people benefit by having this opportunity, and are willing to lend a hand. Thank you, Dale.

RobotC online resources

2011-12-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

I came across a couple online resources that really have helped me learn the RobotC programming langauge:

http://www.robotc.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=3448
(I used this one for troubleshooting why the Logitech joystick wouldn't link up with StRUT's tetrix)

And this site is helpful when troubleshooting all sorts of problems; I used it for figuring out how to configure servos:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98191

FTC (tetrix) training

2011-12-15T16:37:00.000-08:00

Oregon StRUT is putting together a robotics training geared towards First Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics coaches/mentors. We're planning to hold this training during the second week in January. The focus of this training will be on RobotC and Robot Construction.

If you are a High School Robotics coach, or are interested in mentoring a team, and would like to participate in this training, please click on the following link to sign up:
https://docs.google.com/a/strut.org/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dHhNZEVveHhMcmViZndsUkgxaDN6Zmc6MQ#gid=0

Intel OR FIRST LEGO League Columbia Gorge Qualifying Tournament - Wy'East Middle School

2011-12-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

On December 11, StRUT's program manager, Marty Willie, had the opportunity to co-emcee the regional FIRST Lego League (FLL) qualifying tournament held at Wy'East Middle School. Teams from all parts of the Columbia River Gorge competed. This was the 3rd such event in just 8-days! "It was a lot of fun and I'm thankful to of had the opportunity to be a part of an event that rewards young people for reaching their potential - These young people are our engineers of the future. The new Performing Arts facility at Wy'East Middle School is really spectacular to say the least; it reminded me of Omsi's Omnimax. My co-emcee was a First Tech Challenge (FTC) student from Hood River Valley High School and she did an outstanding job announcing the play-by-plays for this event - Nice job, Sophie! I also went to the Saturday FLL tournament held at Wy'east; my role was robotics enthusiast and lead cheer leader. During lunch break I had the opportunity to meet several students with the HRVHS FTC robotics team. They actually taught me how to program StRUT's tetrix robot using the RobotC programming language. Exceptional kids doing amazing things, and always willing to help out - I'm not sure it gets any better than this."

Also during this event, one of the robotics coaches from the Lyle/Dallesport Community team (Transformers) told me: “we would not have put together a robotics team this year had it not been for the July student robotics event that StRUT hosted.”

I want to relay my appreciation to the generous engineers from Google, Sagetech, Insitu and robotics teacher from The Dalles Wahtonka High School, Bev Frommeing for making StRUT's July student robotics event a reality!

Intel OR FIRST LEGO League Columbia Gorge Qualifying Tournament - The Dalles

2011-12-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

On December 3, StRUT's program manager, Marty Willie, had the opportunity to emcee the regional FIRST Lego League (FLL) qualifying tournament held at The Dalles Middle School. FLL teams from all over the Columbia River Gorge attended - Mosier, The Dalles, Sherman County, South Wasco County, Goldendale, and Wishram. "Everyone had a great time, and the students did exceptionally well. It was obvious to me how hard the coaches and students had worked to prepare for this exciting event. It was one of the most incredible opportunities I've had in 11 years working in education. The Gorge Technology Alliance (GTA) did a terrific job with bringing this event together."