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In lugnet.robotics.edu, Merredith Portsmore wrote:
<snip>
>
> http://www.lego.com/eng/create/technicdesignschool/default.asp
>
> Course: Beams & Connectors
> How LEGO TECHNIC elements work together.
> Lesson 1: TECHNIC 101
> Lesson 2: Stability with LEGO TECHNIC
>
> Course: Gears
> TECHNIC on the Move!
> Lesson 1: Gearing 101
>
>
> Merredith Portsmore
> Tufts Center for Engineering Educational Outreach
> Legoengineering.com
Meredith,
Thanks for posting this. It is wonderful first shot at some of these building
topics.
I am concerned, however, about the Pythagorean triangles on the Stability link.
The figures show two Pythagorean triangles, namely the 3-4-5 and 6-8-10
triangles. The figures, unfortunately and arguably incorrectly, show the
lengths as 4m, 5m, and 6m and 7m, 9m, and 11m. The first course on beams
defines one 'm' to be the distance between the centers of adjacent holes. As
such, the figure labels of 4m, 5m, and 6m (and the 7-9-11) are misleading.
Agreed, there is discussion in the text of there being six holes but the
distnace is really 5m, but this has all the ingredients to send your typical
12-year-old packing. They can learn to count starting at zero or compute the
distance by subtracting one from the number of holes; we should work hard to
make sure that the explanations aren't internally inconsistent. The 3-4-5 works
with the Pythagorean theorem; 4-5-6 does not. Telling them that the distances
are 4-5-6 in the figure and then doing Pythagoras with 3-4-5 creates, methinks,
more problems than it solves.
(It might be helpful to show that 5-12-13 and 7-24-25 are Pythagorean triangles,
too!)
There are actually two further issues; although more minor, they nonetheless
should be addressed. First, the 'm' used in the figures is a lower-case 'm',
while in the text it is upper-case 'M'. Some standardization should be used.
Secondly, if one chooses to use lower-case 'm', one might want to address issues
in conflict with the SI base unit m, which is meters.
Since we are working with Lego, I might suggest using 'stud' as a unit,
eventhough it is not part of the SI lexicon, as far as I know! My understanding
of 'stud' as a unit of measure in the Lego context is that it is equivalent to
the 'module' defined on your pages.
Again, thank you for your postings on technic building techniques. I am sure
that they are of value to many of us who are trying to build better technic
structures. I just want to make sure that the newbies that read this kind of
thing are getting a straight scoop. We need to make sure we get the details
right.
Thanks,
Rafe
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In lugnet.technic, Mark Haye wrote:
> I am working with a couple FLL teams, building with the NXT.
> I am having a little trouble coaching them on studless building
> techniques, as it is still a bit of a new concept to me as well.
> I'm sure I've seen presentations or how-to's on the subject
> posted to LUGNET somewhere, perhaps as part of BrickFest
> or somesuch, but I have so far failed to locate any.
> If you know of some resources in this area, please post a link.
> Thanks.
>
> Mark Haye
> Professional programmer. Closed source. Do not attempt.
There are some good basics at the LEGO Technic Design School. They've been
slowly adding more
http://www.lego.com/eng/create/technicdesignschool/default.asp
Course: Beams & Connectors
How LEGO TECHNIC elements work together.
Lesson 1: TECHNIC 101
Lesson 2: Stability with LEGO TECHNIC
Course: Gears
TECHNIC on the Move!
Lesson 1: Gearing 101
Merredith Portsmore
Tufts Center for Engineering Educational Outreach
Legoengineering.com
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I am working with a couple FLL teams, building with the NXT.
I am having a little trouble coaching them on studless building
techniques, as it is still a bit of a new concept to me as well.
I'm sure I've seen presentations or how-to's on the subject
posted to LUGNET somewhere, perhaps as part of BrickFest
or somesuch, but I have so far failed to locate any.
If you know of some resources in this area, please post a link.
Thanks.
Mark Haye
Professional programmer. Closed source. Do not attempt.
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Hi, I am a newbie and would appreciate some help. My 11 year old has just
joined his school robotics club. He will be using set 9794 (Mindstorms for
School with ROBOLAB 2.5.4) and has to prepare a robot for a Tug-of-War
competition (based on FLL rules) in just 2 weeks time. This is really short
notice! I have
downloaded various pdf files from the net (artoflego, FLL guides etc.) as
well as buying a digital copy of the Ferraris' book. I am at a loss as to
how to help him beyond attempting to digest all this downloaded material as
fast as I can. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance,
Raj.
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Greetings All,
Here is a video of a FLL team that I coached:
http://homepage.mac.com/aklego/iMovieTheater29.html
The team was quite good and made it to the the World Festival in Atlanta last
month. In the five months leading up to the festivle, they were able to improve
their robot to the point where they could often get a perfect score.
Unfortunatly, the robot was camra shy and I was never able to capture a perfect
run. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.
Tom
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I try to keep to around not more than 5 children per mindstorms kit
(or per RCX if using Dacta), and not more than 8-10 per instructor.
Usually - once you get above about 8, it is good to have a couple of
other adults around to keep peace, so the main instructor can actually
teach and do group demonstrations. This also means the other adults
can help stuck children a bit.
Danny
On 7/3/05, Elizabeth Mabrey <emabrey@storming-robots.com> wrote:
> Hi Robo Educators,
>
> I would like to gather some opinions from the educators out there who teach
> their middle school classes using the LEGO MINDSTORMS + Robolab:
> 1) What is a reasonable class size in 2 to 3 hours session?
> 2) How about summer camp configuration? Since the summer classes runs 5
> hours a day, it involves additional science projects for an hour.
> Therefore, they really spend approx. 4 hours on robotics activities. I
> currently plan to have 12 middle school kids in the class with one adult
> instructor. Will this sound reasonable?
>
> Please advise!
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
> Best Regards,
> Elizabeth Mabrey
>
>
> --
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http://orionrobots.co.uk - Build Robots
Online Castle Building RPG -
http://www.darkthrone.com/recruit.dt?uid=V30311I30328J30379X30379E30260X30277
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Hi Robo Educators,
I would like to gather some opinions from the educators out there who teach
their middle school classes using the LEGO MINDSTORMS + Robolab:
1) What is a reasonable class size in 2 to 3 hours session?
2) How about summer camp configuration? Since the summer classes runs 5
hours a day, it involves additional science projects for an hour.
Therefore, they really spend approx. 4 hours on robotics activities. I
currently plan to have 12 middle school kids in the class with one adult
instructor. Will this sound reasonable?
Please advise!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Best Regards,
Elizabeth Mabrey
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Michael Obenland wrote:
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The starter kit is $300, which is a 50% pricier...
|
Sure, but it seems of not much value regarding programming. The
informations on the vex site are sparse and not easy to decipher, but I
think you will have to:
- pay aditional $99 for somethink called easyC, that is more or less nqc
- or pay some bucks for a genuine c compiler from microchip.com.
|
I think you’re paying not for the compiler, but for the “programmer” (a sort of
serial adapter with an integrated PIC that massages the data somehow). But
either way, yes, it’s an extra $100 to program the thing. And without the
ability to program it, it *is* pretty useless, so this thing is basically twice
the cost of Mindstorms.
But, it’s a lot more than twice the functionality. And of course, it’s only
twice the cost if you get only one -- if you get more than one, you still need
only one programmer, which brings the cost back down a bit.
I hear rumors of a new RCX coming... hopefully it will be closer to Vex in
functionality.
Best,
– Joe
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Hi Joe,
Their website seemingly offers a lot of other gadgets. However, I have
serious doubt about the programming platform though. Or, perhaps I have
not found much about the programming language which can interface with it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Elizabeth Mabrey
> -----Original Message-----
> From: news-gateway@lugnet.com
> [mailto:news-gateway@lugnet.com] On Behalf Of Joe Strout
> Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 5:19 PM
> To: lugnet.robotics.rcx@lugnet.com; lugnet.robotics.edu@lugnet.com
> Subject: Re: vex robotics kit
>
> In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
>
> > I wonder if anyone has had a chance to use the new VEX • robotic kit by radio
> > shack. I am trying to collect the info to evaluate this • product vs LEGO
> > RIS + robolab in terms of educational values.
>
> I haven't used it, but I thank you for pointing it out. (For
> others, the link is <http://www.vexrobotics.com/>.)
>
> I hate to say it, but this looks like it rather blows the
> socks off of standard LEGO robotics. The starter kit is
> $300, which is a 50% pricier, but comes with some really cool
> features out of the box that are very difficult or impossible
> to add to Mindstorms at all. For example, a radio
> transmitter and receiver, that lets you interact with your
> robot by remote control (in addition to its autonomous
> control via the programmable microcontroller).
>
> Additional parts are nicely available and well-priced, too --
> for example, $20 for a servo kit, $50 for a radio crystal set
> that enables four different frequencies, $13 for an extra set
> of gears (duplicating all the gears in the starter kit, plus
> two more), and $50 for a battery charger that can charge
> robot and transmitter batteries at the same time.
>
> The major drawback, of course, is that the dang thing isn't
> based on LEGO, so it's going to be a PITA to build and
> comparatively limited in the physical structures you can
> make. Looks surprisingly fun anyway, though.
>
> I found a review of the VEX system that may be useful:
> <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ZDM/story?id=817378>
>
> I haven't been able to find much detail about the
> microcontroller, except that it contains "dozens of ports for
> sensor plugs and jumpers." It's not clear exactly what that
> means, though. Nor can I find any information about how it
> is programmed -- apparently it comes with a preset program
> you can tweak in small ways via jumpers, but they also claim
> it's "programmable."
>
> I hope this gives some inspiration to both the engineers and
> the marketing guys at LEGO... I feel like LEGO robotics is
> falling behind, and has some catching up to do.
>
> Best,¬
> - Joe
>
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
| |
I wonder if anyone has had a chance to use the new VEX robotic kit by radio
shack. I am trying to collect the info to evaluate this product vs LEGO
RIS + robolab in terms of educational values.
|
I haven’t used it, but I thank you for pointing it out. (For others, the link
is http://www.vexrobotics.com/.)
I hate to say it, but this looks like it rather blows the socks off of standard
LEGO robotics. The starter kit is $300, which is a 50% pricier, but comes with
some really cool features out of the box that are very difficult or impossible
to add to Mindstorms at all. For example, a radio transmitter and receiver,
that lets you interact with your robot by remote control (in addition to its
autonomous control via the programmable microcontroller).
Additional parts are nicely available and well-priced, too -- for example, $20
for a servo kit, $50 for a radio crystal set that enables four different
frequencies, $13 for an extra set of gears (duplicating all the gears in the
starter kit, plus two more), and $50 for a battery charger that can charge robot
and transmitter batteries at the same time.
The major drawback, of course, is that the dang thing isn’t based on LEGO, so
it’s going to be a PITA to build and comparatively limited in the physical
structures you can make. Looks surprisingly fun anyway, though.
I found a review of the VEX system that may be useful:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ZDM/story?id=817378
I haven’t been able to find much detail about the microcontroller, except that
it contains “dozens of ports for sensor plugs and jumpers.” It’s not clear
exactly what that means, though. Nor can I find any information about how it is
programmed -- apparently it comes with a preset program you can tweak in small
ways via jumpers, but they also claim it’s “programmable.”
I hope this gives some inspiration to both the engineers and the marketing guys
at LEGO... I feel like LEGO robotics is falling behind, and has some catching up
to do.
Best,
- Joe
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Hi
I wonder if anyone has had a chance to use the new VEX robotic kit by radio
shack. I am trying to collect the info to evaluate this product vs LEGO
RIS + robolab in terms of educational values.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Best Regards,
Elizabeth Mabrey Partner
of
Director
LEGO MINDSTORMS
3322 Rt. 22 West, Bldg 4, Ste 402 Robotics Community
Branchburg, NJ 08876
Ph: (908) 595-1010 ; M-F: 10-5; Sat: 11-4
Fax: (908) 891-2026
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
| |
Hi,
I am trying to look for a few lego end effectors configuration. I got the
one from CMU’s robotics educator. Suggestion will be greatly appreciated.
--thanks
|
Do you mean robot hands? If so, try the one from my robot:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=82738
It’s actuated with pneumatics at the moment but the two 24mm pulleys have bevel
gears linking them, to keep the fingers synchronised, so you could use a motor
and low gearing to power it from an RCX instead. The fingers use parallelograms
to stay parallel with each other, so that they can grip any amount of the
object. In this case the object is a 2x10 brick, held vertically (11.2mm
thick).
The actual grippers are rubber tyres from 12V train motors, though wide rubber
bands would do.
In this robot, the gripper cylinders are in parallel with two cylinders that
move a much bigger load, that of a bank of 5 switch valves on the back of the
robot. Therefore the gripper moves before the bank of switches.
There’s also a diagram of the pneumatic circuit in the folder.
Mark
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Hi,
I am trying to look for a few lego end effectors configuration. I got the
one from CMU's robotics educator. Suggestion will be greatly appreciated.
--thanks
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Sue,
I am currently running a learning center which does use the lego mindstorm
center (lmc) materials. It is not a franchise, but similar. If you are
interested, feel free to ask me questions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Best Regards,
Elizabeth Mabrey Partner
of
Director
LEGO MINDSTORMS
3322 Rt. 22 West, Bldg 4, Ste 402 Robotics Community
Branchburg, NJ 08876
Ph: (908) 595-1010 ; M-F: 10-5; Sat: 11-4
Fax: (908) 891-2026
-----Original Message-----
From: news-gateway@lugnet.com [mailto:news-gateway@lugnet.com] On Behalf Of
Suz
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 2:39 PM
To: lugnet.robotics.rcx@lugnet.com; lugnet.robotics.edu@lugnet.com;
lugnet.lego@lugnet.com
Subject: Mindstorms Centers
I would love to know more about this program and people's experiences with
it.
It seems like a franchise. I'm surprised there are so few centers in the US
on the map. Also, I notice that the URL is under FIRST LEGO League, but
there's no direct connection, is there?
Mindstorms Centers
http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=5
> From the above webpage:
"LEGOR MINDSTORMST Center activities are compelling hands-on robotic
challenges, guided by facilitators. They take place in specially designed
"cool"
environments. The Centers provide a forum for children from 8 years of age
to develop an understanding of - and extended interest in - the scientific
world."
-Suzanne
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Suzanne Rich Green wrote:
> I would love to know more about this program and people's experiences with it.
> It seems like a franchise. I'm surprised there are so few centers in the US on
> the map. Also, I notice that the URL is under FIRST LEGO League, but there's no
> direct connection, is there?
It appears to be a mirror from the Mindstorms site:
http://mindstorms.lego.com/centers/
-Rob.
> Mindstorms Centers
> http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=5
>
> From the above webpage:
> "LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ Center activities are compelling hands-on robotic challenges,
> guided by facilitators. They take place in specially designed "cool"
> environments. The Centers provide a forum for children from 8 years of age to
> develop an understanding of - and extended interest in - the scientific world."
>
> -Suzanne
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I would love to know more about this program and people's experiences with it.
It seems like a franchise. I'm surprised there are so few centers in the US on
the map. Also, I notice that the URL is under FIRST LEGO League, but there's no
direct connection, is there?
Mindstorms Centers
http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=5
From the above webpage:
"LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ Center activities are compelling hands-on robotic challenges,
guided by facilitators. They take place in specially designed "cool"
environments. The Centers provide a forum for children from 8 years of age to
develop an understanding of - and extended interest in - the scientific world."
-Suzanne
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1) The Call for Presentation and Papers for the Annual ROBOLAB Conference
(August 15-17th, Austin, Texas) has been extended to APRIL 1st. Please
consider submitting a presentation or a paper for the conference. Details
are available at the conference web site
http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference
2) Registration forms for the Annual ROBOLAB Conference are now available
at the web site! Sign up Soon!
http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference
3) The Northeast Regional ROBOLAB Conference is a happening on April 8 in
Enfield, CT. The event will feature presentations by local educators,
ROBOLAB workshops and event a factory tour. Visit the web site for more
details and registration forms.
http://ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference/regional/northeast.htm
-----------------------
Tonya L. Witherspoon
Educational Technology Specialist
Center for Research and Evaluation Services Fellow
College of Education, Wichita State University
1845 N. Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0131
316-978-6242 (voice)
316-978-3302 (fax)
http://www.wichita.edu/education/twitherspoon
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I don’t work for the LEGO Company, but I felt that this announcement should be
posted in the official .lego group. -Suz
http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/rcx/robolab/?n=386
I’m reposting the announcement of a special event. This conference, at the
LEGO Enfield HQ, is a big deal!
For those who don’t know about ROBOLAB, it was
developed at Tufts University in
Massachusetts while the RCX brick was developed nearby, at the MIT Media Lab
(MIT made Logo-based software). RoboLab is built on the LabView engine and is expandable.
Here is a comparison to
Mindstorms software. You can download the quick
start guide to learn more.
You may recognize the names Ben Erwin and Chris Rogers. Ben wrote
Creative
Projects with LEGO Mindstorms. Tonya Witherspoon is another
super-amazing person. Follow the link at the bottom of this page to see for
yourself. These are just three of the key people involved in The LEGO Company’s
education sector of RCX usage.
This event is mainly for teachers. However, I believe it includes folks
interested in using the ROBOLAB software in their after-school programs and
workshops. If you’ve never used ROBOLAB or its accompanying LEGO
Educational Division products, you can try them out at the conference! This
is the place to ask questions of the developers!! I should mention that the
First LEGO League is not related to this event. Registration includes a
lunch, demos by Master builders, and an optional factory tour. Teachers and
event leaders will be there showing off what they have done with the
product.
I know I’m going!
-Suz
Tonya Witherspoon wrote:
Northeast Region ROBOLAB Conference
Date: Friday April 8th, 2005
Location: LEGO Americas’ headquarters in Enfield, CT.
Purpose: To gather teachers and educators who use or plan to use ROBOLAB
and LEGO Mindstorms to teach math and/or science in their classrooms and
for these teachers and educators to:
- Try out activities that use ROBOLAB to teach math and science in the classroom-learning environment
- Share successes, obstacles and ideas for ROBOLAB implementation into the classroom
- Ask any questions to master LEGO builders and master ROBOLAB programmers
To Register and Learn More:
http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference/regional/northeast.htm
Tonya L. Witherspoon
Educational Technology Specialist
Center for Research and Evaluation Services Fellow
College of Education, Wichita State University
1845 N. Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0131
316-978-6242 (voice)
316-978-3302 (fax)
http://www.wichita.edu/education/twitherspoon
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
> I tried to explain term firmware to middle school age children. The best
> that I can do without using the technical terms, like embedded software, ROM
> is this:
>
>
>
> "Firmware is a set of instructions which must be loaded into the RCX Brick
> in order for it to understand your programming language."
>
>
>
> This may work for a middle school kid. How about a 4th to 5th, ie. 9 to 10
> years old? Suggestion?
>
>
>
> --
>
> Elizabeth
Firmware is the Operating System for the RCX, the way Windows (or whatever) is
the OS for your PC. Firmware by itself doesn't do anything, it's just there to
run the programs that you write.
It's like the trays in the cafeteria that hold your lunch. You can't eat the
tray, but you can't eat lunch *without* the tray, either.
Tim (Smith)
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
> I tried to explain term firmware to middle school age children. The best
> that I can do without using the technical terms, like embedded software, ROM
> is this:
>
>
>
> "Firmware is a set of instructions which must be loaded into the RCX Brick
> in order for it to understand your programming language."
>
>
>
> This may work for a middle school kid. How about a 4th to 5th, ie. 9 to 10
> years old? Suggestion?
A program that runs on the RCX that makes it easier to program.
Kevin
>
>
>
> --
>
> Elizabeth
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I tried to explain term firmware to middle school age children. The best
that I can do without using the technical terms, like embedded software, ROM
is this:
"Firmware is a set of instructions which must be loaded into the RCX Brick
in order for it to understand your programming language."
This may work for a middle school kid. How about a 4th to 5th, ie. 9 to 10
years old? Suggestion?
--
Elizabeth
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One activity I've used w/a huge age range is "A chair for Mr. Bear"
http://130.64.87.22/robolabatceeo/k12/activities/23/activity-nostandards.html
Despite being listed as a k-2 activity, I've used it on pre-K through college
level. The challenge is deceptively simple--build a chair that can survive a
fall from knee height. The older students usually approach it w/cockiness and
are quickly humbled. The trick is to be mean when you drop it. Aim so it lands
on an edge or corner.
Good luck w/the class.
Tom
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In lugnet.robotics.edu, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
> Hi,
>
>
>
> I am going to hold an afterschool enrichment class designed for 3rd to 5th
> graders. The organizer made a mistake of taking in a lot of 2nd graders as
> well. Now, the class has 8 2nd graders, 10 3rd graders, 10 4th & 5th
> graders. Yes, I do have one instructor and two assistants. However, I
> just think including 2nd graders in the same curriculum is just too
> unrealistic.
>
>
>
> Now, since the organizer has already informed and accepted the enrollment of
> these 2nd graders who most likely very much look forward to the class, I
> hate to disappoint them by removing them.
>
>
>
> My next immediate solution is to move the 2nd graders to another class, but
> it leaves budgeting problem as far as making payment to another instructor.
> I wonder if I can borrow ideas of the most sensible solutions to this
> situation.
>
>
>
> Suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
>
>
>
> --
>
> Elizabeth Mabrey
Hi Elizabeth,
As a favor to a community services manager I took on a class of 1st graders last
year (usually I teach 3rd - 8th graders). It was a bit like hearding cats but I
learned a few things from the experience.
They're a bit young at that age to understand and really work with programming.
Some will get it but quite a few just don't have the attention span to handle
the back and forth that needs to go into solving a challenge. You are fortunate
to have some older kids in the class. The younger ones will watch the older ones
and learn by osmosis. In the end I was happy if they could tell me what steps
needed to go into the program.
I use Robolab and tailored most of their challenges so that they could solve
them in Pilot. Simple competitions like drag racing and tug-o-war will keep them
happy and allow you to sneak in gear ratio theory and some simple sensor work.
Older kids can also participate in the same events but use Inventor to make more
elaborate programs.
You could also take the approach of assigning a larger project like a minature
golf hole or building an amusement park ride. These don't need as much
programming but allow you teach things like gear trains and other simple machine
stuff.
Hope that helps. Good luck,
James
http://robotics.megagiant.com
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Liz,
I don't envy you. It'll be hard to keep the attention of such a diverse age
group. From my experience, the 2nd and 3rd graders will be the easy ones. The
4th and 5th graders, well, I don't envy you.
I am always impressed when I go to my daughter's hockey practices. Her team is
composed of girls from 2nd to 4th grade. The coaches keep them in a constant
state of motion. They are always involved in something, and they stay focused.
These girls actually like doing drills because the coaches make them fun.
That may be difficult in a classroom. Constant motion is probably not something
you want going on. But constant interaction and involvement may be achievable.
I do training for FLL, mostly building with LEGO. Originally the classes were
aimed at coaches and mentors. All adults. A group probably less experienced
with LEGO than your second graders. But there was a strong interest in allowing
kids to participate, so we let them in last year. I thought, Oh Great! How can
I make a class that will work with kids and adults. But it ended up not being a
problem. The magic formula ended up being:
1. Discuss a little theory.
2. Build something.
3. Repeat
Occasionally I would replace Build something with Show something. Want to
introduce the light sensor? Give a line following demonstration. Talking about
gears? Lift something heavy with a puny little motor. We also had a little
competition where the "teams" get to play around with gearing and wheel sizes in
an attempt to make their drag racer car (one of the build projects use to
demonstrate cross bracing) be the fastest at driving up an inclined dragstrip.
It was a lot more fun than adults only.
The real reward came when I judged the state FLL competition. I got to see how
the kids used their new knowlege to make some very fine robots. They didn't
copy the ideas I presented, but instead came up with their own interpretation.
To see a 4th grader who understands gears and the tradoff between torque and
speed! I nearly cried.
Dean Hystad
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In lugnet.robotics.edu, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
> I just think including 2nd graders in the same
> curriculum is just too unrealistic.
I'd agree with the other poster, strongly dependant on the individuals. I
worked with a group of 4-to-10 year olds for a couple years and got some useful
stuff done. The biggest hurdle was programming - the younger kids didn't seem to
have the ability to abstract that much. Note that the lower age limit was
actually set by me - I wasn't going to spend the time teaching if I couldn't get
my son in the class :-).
> My next immediate solution is to move the
> 2nd graders to another class...
Two options - a special role within the class structure (such as
finding/sorting pieces, or even using them as go-between negotiators between two
other groups: I used this to develop communication skills in both the older and
younger kids). A second option is special projects - the small kits sold by
Pitsco (gears, pulleys, levers, etc.) seem to work very well with the younger
kids. I could put two 4-to-6 year olds on a kit, and it occupied them and
educated them with *no* teacher required for about an hour or more. With four
kits ($100+ at $20 a kit, IMS) that will work with 8 kids (four teams of two)
for four classes (each team rotates through each kit).
> Suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
I've got a list of activities, if you want them.
--
Brian Davis
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<SNIP>
> Well, as the father of a 1st grader reading and doing match at the 3rd grade
> level.... I'd say let them do their best to keep up with the rest, they may just
> surprise you!
Blast it, I meant math, not match... by typo, bad! As a side note, both my 1st
and 3rd grade daughters are designing competition robots, so far the 1st graders
looks more likely to be successfully competitive.
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In lugnet.robotics.edu, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
> Hi,
>
>
>
> I am going to hold an afterschool enrichment class designed for 3rd to 5th
> graders. The organizer made a mistake of taking in a lot of 2nd graders as
> well. Now, the class has 8 2nd graders, 10 3rd graders, 10 4th & 5th
> graders. Yes, I do have one instructor and two assistants. However, I
> just think including 2nd graders in the same curriculum is just too
> unrealistic.
>
>
>
> Now, since the organizer has already informed and accepted the enrollment of
> these 2nd graders who most likely very much look forward to the class, I
> hate to disappoint them by removing them.
>
>
>
> My next immediate solution is to move the 2nd graders to another class, but
> it leaves budgeting problem as far as making payment to another instructor.
> I wonder if I can borrow ideas of the most sensible solutions to this
> situation.
>
>
>
> Suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
>
>
>
> --
>
> Elizabeth Mabrey
Well, as the father of a 1st grader reading and doing match at the 3rd grade
level.... I'd say let them do their best to keep up with the rest, they may just
surprise you!
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Hi,
I am going to hold an afterschool enrichment class designed for 3rd to 5th
graders. The organizer made a mistake of taking in a lot of 2nd graders as
well. Now, the class has 8 2nd graders, 10 3rd graders, 10 4th & 5th
graders. Yes, I do have one instructor and two assistants. However, I
just think including 2nd graders in the same curriculum is just too
unrealistic.
Now, since the organizer has already informed and accepted the enrollment of
these 2nd graders who most likely very much look forward to the class, I
hate to disappoint them by removing them.
My next immediate solution is to move the 2nd graders to another class, but
it leaves budgeting problem as far as making payment to another instructor.
I wonder if I can borrow ideas of the most sensible solutions to this
situation.
Suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
--
Elizabeth Mabrey
--
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The ROBOLAB Conference ( http://ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference/ ) will
be happening for the second year in Austin, Texas from August 15th - 17th.
The Call for Papers and Presentations has been extended until APRIL 1st. Please
visit the web site for more information on submission. Categories range from
K-12 education to College Courses to Teacher Professional Development - If you
have been doing work with LEGO Robotics we want to hear from YOU!
Registration forms are also available online and Details on the Conference are
forthcoming.
------------------------------------------------------
Merredith Portsmore
merredith.portsmore@tufts.edu
Education & Technology Program Manager
Center For Engineering Educational Outreach
http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu
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Northeast Region ROBOLAB Conference
Date: Friday April 8th, 2005
Location: LEGO Americas' headquarters in Enfield, CT.
Purpose: To gather teachers and educators who use or plan to use ROBOLAB and
LEGO Mindstorms to teach math and/or science in their classrooms and for
these teachers and educators to:
* Try out activities that use ROBOLAB to teach math and science in the
classroom-learning environment
* Share successes, obstacles and ideas for ROBOLAB implementation into
the classroom
* Ask any questions to master LEGO builders and master ROBOLAB
programmers
To Register and Learn More:
> http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference/regional/northeast.htm
-----------------------
Tonya L. Witherspoon
Educational Technology Specialist
Center for Research and Evaluation Services Fellow
College of Education, Wichita State University
1845 N. Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0131
316-978-6242 (voice)
316-978-3302 (fax)
http://www.wichita.edu/education/twitherspoon
--
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Subject:
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Errors while installing brickOS 0.2.6.10
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics, lugnet.robotics.cybermaster, lugnet.robotics.edu, lugnet.robotics.rcx, lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos, lugnet.robotics.rcx.nqc
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Followup-To:
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lugnet.lego, lugnet.org, lugnet.people.newbie, lugnet.people.teens, lugnet.technic
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Date:
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Thu, 2 Dec 2004 16:10:44 GMT
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Viewed:
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1442 times
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Hi,
I am a newbie. I have encountered some errors while installing brickOS 0.2.6.10.
http://brickos.sourceforge.net/docs/INSTALL-cygwin.html
Did anyone encounter the same problems before?
1. When I just start cygwin, it gives me an error message like this:
This application program can not be executed becuase cygintl-3.dll is
not found. Reinstall the program might be able to solve this problem.
Should I ignore it, or should I reinstall? Or how can I fix it?
2. When I build the Hitachi-H8 cross-compiler, there are some errors
message as well. Is this normal?
$ ./buildgcc.sh
Installing source code...
Fri Nov 26 14:06:27 2004 Source code installation start
tar (child): /build/binutils-2.10.1.tar.gz: Cannot open: No such file
or directory
tar (child): Error is not recoverable: exiting now
tar: Child returned status 2
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
tar (child): /build/gcc-2.95.2.tar.gz: Cannot open: No such file or directory
tar (child): Error is not recoverable: exiting now
tar: Child returned status 2
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
./buildgcc.sh: line 111: cd: /build/gcc-2.95.2: No such file or directory
Fri Nov 26 14:07:14 2004 Source code installation end
Building binutils-2.10.1...
Fri Nov 26 14:07:15 2004 Binutils configuration start
./buildgcc.sh: line 119: /build/binutils-2.10.1/configure: No such file or direc
tory
Fri Nov 26 14:07:15 2004 Binutils configuration end
Fri Nov 26 14:07:15 2004 Binutils build start
./buildgcc.sh: line 122: make: command not found
Fri Nov 26 14:07:16 2004 Binutils build end
Fri Nov 26 14:07:16 2004 Binutils install start
./buildgcc.sh: line 125: make: command not found
Fri Nov 26 14:07:16 2004 Binutils install
Building gcc-2.95.2...
Fri Nov 26 14:07:16 2004 GCC patch start
./buildgcc.sh: line 131: cd: gcc-2.95.2: No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `gcc/config/h8300/h8300.c': No such file or directory
error ept0034: Neither command line parameter specified is an existing directory
.
mv: cannot stat `gcc/config/h8300/h8300.h': No such file or directory
error ept0034: Neither command line parameter specified is an existing directory
.
Fri Nov 26 14:07:17 2004 GCC patch end
Fri Nov 26 14:07:17 2004 GCC configuration start
./buildgcc.sh: line 141: /build/gcc-2.95.2/configure: No such file or directory
Fri Nov 26 14:07:17 2004 GCC configuration end
Fri Nov 26 14:07:17 2004 GCC build start
./buildgcc.sh: line 144: make: command not found
Fri Nov 26 14:07:18 2004 GCC build end
Fri Nov 26 14:07:18 2004 GCC install start
./buildgcc.sh: line 148: make: command not found
Fri Nov 26 14:07:18 2004 GCC install end
Done.
Done.
:-------------------- End Fri Nov 26 14:07:19 2004 --------------------:
3. I am not able to install the brickOS files after download the one
on the project web. All I get is error message. I tried different
directories, but it still didn't work.
$ cd /
$ tar xvfz brickos-0.2.6.10.tar.gz
tar (child): brickos-0.2.6.10.tar.gz: Cannot open: No such file or directory
tar (child): Error is not recoverable: exiting now
tar: Child returned status 2
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
$ cd /brickos-0.2.6.10.6
$ tar xvfz brickos-0.2.6.10.tar.gz
tar (child): brickos-0.2.6.10.tar.gz: Cannot open: No such file or directory
tar (child): Error is not recoverable: exiting now
tar: Child returned status 2
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
4. In the try it! section, I think we should change current directory
to brickos-0.2.6.10.6; otherwise, it can not work. However, I got
another error message after I type in ./configure; make
$ cd /brickOS
bash: cd: /brickOS: No such file or directory
$ cd /brickos-0.2.6.10.6
$ ./configure; make
Welcome to the brickOS Makefile configurator.
Attempting to find the Hitachi gcc compiler. (This may take some time.)
No hitachi gcc compiler found, please install compiler and try again.
bash: make: command not found
$ cd util
$ make strip
bash: make: command not found
$ ./firmdl3 ../boot/brickOS.srec
bash: ./firmdl3: No such file or directory
$ ./dll ../demo/helloworld.lx
bash: $: command not found
I appreciate your help and thanks for you time answering my questions.
Sincerely,
Dennis
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx.java, Roger Glassey wrote:
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Hi Anders In lugnet.robotics.rcx.java, Anders Gaasedal wrote:
| |
My problem is the communication speed from the PC to RCX, it takes about 0.5
sec before the IR tower sends the message (1 byte) to the RCX. I use the
lejos software and the pcrcxcomm.jar and I use the RCXF7PORT for
communication.
|
I could not repeat your experiment exactly because I don’t have a joy stick.
So instead I wrote a pair of programs that send single byte messages between
the PC and the RCX. The RCX adds 1 to the incoming byte and immediately send
it back. The PC then echoes it back to the RCX. I am using the LeJos
RCXF7Port, InputStream and OutputStream. I count about 4.2 round trip
messages per second. The PC side code sends the first byte in response to a
mouse click. The delay between the mouse click and the tower light coming on
is too short to observe. The light then appears to stay on continuously.
Perhaps the delay you are seeing is not in the communications, but somewhere
else in your code? Good luck, Roger
|
Hi Roger,
Thank you for your help, it is a bit strange that you dont see any problems,
since it is the same protocols we are using. I dont think the joystick is the
problem since I have the same problem with inputs from keyboard or mouse, but I
will try to review my code again, and see if I can find any bugs. I would be
very glad if you will send your example to my email.
Thanks, Anders
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Hi Anders In lugnet.robotics.rcx.java, Anders Gaasedal wrote:
| |
My problem is the communication speed from the PC to RCX, it takes about 0.5
sec before the IR tower sends the message (1 byte) to the RCX. I use the
lejos software and the pcrcxcomm.jar and I use the RCXF7PORT for
communication.
|
I could not repeat your experiment exactly because I don’t have a joy stick. So
instead I wrote a pair of programs that send single byte messages between the PC
and the RCX. The RCX adds 1 to the incoming byte and immediately send it back.
The PC then echoes it back to the RCX. I am using the LeJos RCXF7Port,
InputStream and OutputStream. I count about 4.2 round trip messages per second.
The PC side code sends the first byte in response to a mouse click. The delay
between the mouse click and the tower light coming on is too short to observe.
The light then appears to stay on continuously. Perhaps the delay you are
seeing is not in the communications, but somewhere else in your code? Good luck,
Roger
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Hi everyone,
Im working on a project with controlling a large Container Crane by 4 RCXs.
I have implementet some controlling and a lot of functions in the model,
including a userinterface made in Java for a laptop. The crane is controlled by
a Joystick through the PC.
My problem is the communication speed from the PC to RCX, it takes about 0.5 sec
before the IR tower sends the message (1 byte) to the RCX. I use the lejos
software and the pcrcxcomm.jar and I use the RCXF7PORT for communication.
Are there any other method I can use which do not includes 0.5 waiting time, or
do you know how to get around the problem?
Please visit my homepage to see the project, I have put a lot of pictures in
there. http://www.gaasedal.dk
Thank you for your help.
Best regards
Anders Gaasedal
LEGO Mobile Cranes
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Hi guys!
Some weeks ago I was trying to build a remote controlled (web page) camera
using my RCX and .NET. I tried many libraries and no one worked ok. Then I
decided to built my own .NET library, and It worked perfect.
Now I'm sharing this with you.Take a look and let me know any comments:
http://www.geeksco.com/rcxnet/index.htm
The programming interface is very similar to spirit's, but It does not
expose all its functionality. (Just drop me an email if you need some
additional method :-) )
enjoy!
David
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In lugnet.loc.il, David Arnon wrote:
hehe
| |
I want more details!
From the number of kids in the pictures I assume it was for kids (right?)
What age?
|
something between 9-12
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How did those children earn this special treat?
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easy, they payed for it:)
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Did the university employ you as tutor?
|
yeah, but only for the course for now
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What did you cover in the course?
|
building technic, sensors, motors and Robolab
| |
What are the robots in the pictures suppose to do?
|
well some of the basics there are from the original instructions
few others unique ideas:
1. holds a plastic knife with a conveyor belt which suppose to move a cucumber
and the knife to cut it (the knife wasn’t strong enough to cut it though).
2. a robot that can draw, uses the thouch sensors as remote.
3. a robot that suppose to bring a a cola can from one to another.
4. a rail for some sort of a train (from the instructions) but the rail was
redesigned to spin left at the end.
5. a robot that shoots rubbers
also some kids made a dreidel (only from gears) with launching base which worked
brillient, don’t have pictures of it though, but I’ll might upload instructions
for it soon.
| |
Where (and how) did you get the LEGO for the course?
How much LEGO did you get?
|
The University paid for it, something like 6 Mindstorms kits, and like 10 RCX
overall, several extra parts
| |
Where did you buy it from? (and how much did you pay...)
|
Don’t know the entire details but it was from US, and I guess it was quite a
lot.
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Nice to see you:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=669476
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thanks
| |
Who is with you in the picture?
Is she also tutoring the course? (Another Israeli AFOL?)
|
Well she did helped me with the kids and everything, she is not an AFOL, and I
think that after this course the last word she wants to hear is LEGO:) (only
kidding), she’s not a LEGO fan, she likes computers and programming so she
helped mainly with Robolab.
| |
Sorry for asking so many questions, feel free to ignore any of them!
David
|
not really a problem
I think most of the kids really enjoyed the course. I know I sure did:)
Yaron “Webrain” Dori
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|
| |
In lugnet.loc.il, Yaron Dori wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> 2 weeks ago I finished teaching the first course of Mindstorms in Tel-Aviv
> University - Israel and wanted to share pictures from the entire course.
>
> <http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=73067
> <http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/irod/Misc/Israel/Course/thumb/p1010104.jpg_thumb.jpg>>
>
> Enjoy
>
> Yaron "Webrain" Dori
Excellent.
I want more details!
From the number of kids in the pictures I assume it was for kids (right?)
What age?
How did those children earn this special treat?
Did the university employ you as tutor?
What did you cover in the course?
What are the robots in the pictures suppose to do?
Where (and how) did you get the LEGO for the course?
How much LEGO did you get?
Where did you buy it from? (and how much did you pay...)
Nice to see you:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=669476
Who is with you in the picture?
Is she also tutoring the course? (Another Israeli AFOL?)
Sorry for asking so many questions, feel free to ignore any of them!
- David
|
|
| |
Hi all,
2 weeks ago I finished teaching the first course of Mindstorms in Tel-Aviv
University - Israel and wanted to share pictures from the entire course.
Enjoy
Yaron “Webrain” Dori
|
|
| |
As part of a Widening Participation project, the UK Open University have
produced a 10 week/10 hr per week distance education undergraduate short course
on Robotics and the Meaning of Life:
http://robots.open.ac.uk
and follow the link for T184: Robotics and the Meaning of Life.
As well as reviewing the history of robotics, and considering the social impact
of robots in both fact and fiction (through a reading of some of Asimov's I,
Robot short stories) the course also teaches introductory programming using
either a PC based simulator and/or Lego Mindsotorms - the same program will
control both the on-screen simulated robot and an RCX controlled robot.
We are currently exploring the possibility of using the course as a focus for
family learning workshops, particularly 'Dads and Lads' type programs.
If you would like more information, please email: robofesta@open.ac.uk
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