GEAR-Tech-21- Includes six to nine activity modules introducing robot design, building and programming for the LEGO NXT

Carnegie Mellon- Comprehensive FIRST LEGO League robotics and engineering resources can be found at the Robotics Academy site. The Robotics Academy also offers free online training and access to free materials for students who are members of the Robotics Academy’s Computer Science Student Network ( CS2N). The online trainings cover everything that teams need to know to be successful at programming their FLL robots. The Robotics Academy also offers free training for TETRIX robots.

NASA Educational Robotics Matrix This is a list of robotics and engineering educational materials, collected by NASA. Not all of the materials here apply to FIRST LEGO League.

Tufts Center for Engineering Educational Outreach - Encyclopedia of LEGO part names and uses, building and programming hints, and physics concepts. Also, about 40 classroom activities and ideas using LEGO elements and ROBOLAB to help teach subjects, from science and engineering to reading and art, are available for download. Another database of activities is below under LEGO Invent & Investigate Database.

Trifolioum Gears Lesson - A lesson plan about gear types and uses using LEGO gears to illustrate. Introduction to gears lesson.

How Stuff Works - Explanations of how things work. It is not a curricula, and not specific to FIRST LEGO League, but has very good explanations of general engineering concepts. For example, How Gears Work, How Gear Ratios Work, and How Differentials Work.

Participation Rules

Like other team activities, FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) has basic ground rules.  Failure to abide by these rules could result in ineligibility for awards at a tournament or other consequences deemed necessary by judges, referees, tournament organizers, FIRST LEGO League Partners, FLL headquarters, or their designated representatives.  Additional rules and awards criteria may be found through the links below.

Questions? Contact info@prfll.org

 General

Team members must make all decisions and do all the work on the Robot Game and Project.  This includes deciding on strategy, building, programming, researching, choosing a problem and innovative solution, and presenting at a tournament.

Anyone who works with the team (coaches, mentors, topic experts, parents, etc.) may teach team members new skills, handle logistics for the team, ask questions to get team members thinking, and remind them of the FLL rules.  Adults play an important role in coaching and supporting their team, but the team’s robot and project should be the work of team members.

Coach

An FLL team must have a minimum of two (2) screened Lead Coaches.

Team Members

 An FLL team must have a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of ten (10) children.  A team with more than ten (10) children will not be eligible for awards at an official FLL tournament.

    Children may be members of only one (1) FLL team per season.

    No team member may exceed the maximum allowed age in your region prior to January 1 of the year the Challenge is released.

Allowed ages in most countries: 9-16 years

        Allowed ages in U.S., Canada, and Mexico: 9-14 years

        For example, in the United States a student who turns 15 in May of 2014 would be eligible to compete in the Challenge released in August of 2014, whereas a

child who turned 15 in December 2013 would not.

Robot Game

Each team’s robot must be built in accordance with all allowable parts, software and other rules.  For complete Robot rules, visit the current Challenge page.

Project

 Teams must demonstrate completion of all three (3) steps of the  FLL Project (identify a problem, develop an innovative solution, and share with others) as part of their presentation, and fulfill any other requirements as defined in the annual Project document.  For complete Project rules, visit the current Challenge page.

Tournaments

    All teams must be officially registered and paid before they will be allowed to participate in official FLL tournaments.

    Many FLL regions have multiple levels of competition.  While teams may attend other events for fun (if space allows), they are only eligible to win awards at the first official event of each level attended during the season.  Teams may not receive multiple chances to advance to the next level of competition.  Please contact your FIRST LEGO League Partner with any questions about how this works in your region.

    FIRST teams should follow the Adult Supervision Ratios recommended in the FIRST Youth Protection Guide.  At a minimum, each FLL Team should have two supervising adults responsible for only that team.

    Teams must participate in the robot performance rounds as well as all three (3) judging sessions (Core Values, Robot Design, and Project) in order to be eligible for

any FLL Core Award.

    All team members present at an event are expected to participate in all three (3) judged sessions, in addition to showing up as a team for the Robot Game.

    FLL expects teams and those associated with the team to uphold and display FLL Core Values at all times, not just during Core Values judging sessions.

    Only tournament officials (judges, referees, and other tournament workers) may direct team members while judging sessions and robot matches are in progress.

Any other person instructing, prompting, heckling, or otherwise interfering with a team or tournament worker during judging sessions or robot matches may be asked to leave by tournament officials.  In severe cases, these activities may also affect the team’s eligibility for awards and/or participation in the tournament.

We provide these resources to help you start your Project research, but do not limit yourselves to the list below.  Remember that your library, school, local government, museum, park district, or activity center may have a lot of information to share about learning.  Contacting professionals is also a good way to learn about the topic.  Read more in the Ask a Professional section.

Some of these resources were designed for adults.  Do not be afraid to ask a Coach or Mentor for help if some of the material does not make sense or some vocabulary is too difficult.  Discussing the work of others can help everyone understand the topic better – team members and Coaches alike.

Examples of Kids Teaching Others

Think about the topic these kids are teaching and the method they use to teach it.  Do they use a specific tool to help them teach?  Do they combine technology and discussion?  Also, think about who they are teaching – what is the best method to reach that audience?

Sylvia’s Super-Awesome Maker Show teaches viewers how to make simple technology and craft projects.

Thomas Suarez gives a brief introduction to how he develops and publishes apps at 12 years old.

Quin Etnyre teaches Arduino building and programming.

Video

Re-imagining school: TED provides a playlist of videos from different perspectives about how to improve education.

Sir Ken Robinson, education researcher and speaker, is interviewed by a group of students about his ideal school in this 3-part video.

Tech2Learn: Success Stories of Technology Integration in the Classroom: This video series from the George Lucas Educational Foundation looks at ways that teachers use technology in their classrooms.

Learner Express Modules for Teaching and Learning: The Annenberg Foundation provides short video lessons and resources for teaching in science, math, and English language arts.

Technology in Learning

Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation (AALF): AALF provides information and advice about how technology can contribute to a meaningful education for students.

Digital Media and Technology in Afterschool Programs, Libraries, and Museums: This report looks at how kids can learn with technology outside of a classroom.

EdTech: Focus on K12: This magazine looks at technology use in schools for teaching, learning, and administration.

Internet4Classrooms: Resources by Subject and Topic: Find learning resources by grade, subject, or learning need on Internet4Classrooms.

Learning Curve: The radio show Marketplace takes a year-long look at how technology has been used in education.  The site includes an interactive timeline of education technology history.

Mission: Math… Sabotage at the Space Station: This iPad game provides an example of one way to make learning fun.

Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): The ISTE magazine Learning & Leading with Technology gives ideas for using technology to teach.

Technology and Learning

Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI): This site explores learning resources from around the world.

Early Childhood Education Topics: The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) provides information about teaching children through age 8.

Lawrence Hall of Science: 24/7 Science provides different types of online and in-person learning ideas for science topics.

The LEGO® Foundation: The LEGO® Foundation publishes reports on education and play.

National Education Association (NEA) Tools and Ideas: The NEA website contains resources for teaching many subjects.

National Science Foundation (NSF): This list of resources from the NSF is designed to help both teachers and students.

Books

How do I build the Mission Models?!

Sort the LEGO® element bags (found in your Field Setup box) by bag number. They are labeled 1-10.

Match the bag numbers with the corresponding bag numbers below. Note that there are English, French, and non-verbal versions of the building instructions. You only need to pick one.

Open the correct pdf files and have an awesome time assembling the models. We strongly recommend opening one set of bags at a time so elements are not mixed up.

Once all models are assembled, go to the FLL WORLD CLASS℠ Challenge to put the field together and find out what the missions are.

Have fun!

Missing LEGO® elements?

Visit LEGO®.com, identify missing element(s), and order.

Or call 1-800-422-5346 and a rep should be able to help. Team must mention FIRST® LEGO® League.