Anyone know of a robotics curriculum? I saw one somewhere and now can't remember

[Laurie4b]

I have a ds interested in engineering, who is part of an Odyssey of the Mind team. It incorporates robotics, but isn't only robotics.

Somewhere I have seen a course in robotics for around $300. I thought it was Timberdoodle, but it's not there. I also looked on Homeschool Buyers' Co-op. Now I'm stumped as to where I saw it.

Has anyone had a student do a robotics curriculum as part of school (I'm thinking of over the summer)? What was the name of it and where did you purchase it? How did it work for your student?

Thanks!

[Cindyg]

Here is an online class for junior high: http://registration.pottersschool.org/w/691.jsp

And here is an online class for high school:
http://registration.pottersschool.org/w/791.jsp

On both links, you have to scroll down or search for "robot."

[KAR120C]

It's not a curriculum per se, but we did First Lego League last year, which is robotics with Legos... The Mindstorms kit comes to about $200, and then there's a registration fee for the team which gets you the parts for that year's competition.

It's pretty good for robotics, IMO. The programming is click-and-drag parts, so it isn't too terribly challenging for a new programmer (but might be too simplistic for an experienced programmer)

My only quibble with FLL is that there are parts that are a little "fluffy" for my tastes... I'd rather just straight programming with just straight scoring without the research project and teamwork scores. I know what they're aiming for, and I appreciate the intent, but I'd like it a little more focused, if that makes sense... But overall it was a very good experience and a lot of fun.

[Laurie4b]

Here is an online class for junior high: http://registration.pottersschool.org/w/691.jsp

And here is an online class for high school:
http://registration.pottersschool.org/w/791.jsp

On both links, you have to scroll down or search for "robot."

Thanks, Cindy. Did any of your kids take this course? We can't afford the $$ for an elective course, but I would be interested in what curriculum they used if your students took it .Thanks for taking time to respond as well!

[Laurie4b]

It's not a curriculum per se, but we did First Lego League last year, which is robotics with Legos... The Mindstorms kit comes to about $200, and then there's a registration fee for the team which gets you the parts for that year's competition.

It's pretty good for robotics, IMO. The programming is click-and-drag parts, so it isn't too terribly challenging for a new programmer (but might be too simplistic for an experienced programmer)

My only quibble with FLL is that there are parts that are a little "fluffy" for my tastes... I'd rather just straight programming with just straight scoring without the research project and teamwork scores. I know what they're aiming for, and I appreciate the intent, but I'd like it a little more focused, if that makes sense... But overall it was a very good experience and a lot of fun.

Do you have to be part of a competition to get the benefit? (The OM and Robotics competitions overlap too much for ds to do both and OM is a better option for homeschoolers in our area. )

Is this the curriculum you're referring to? http://www.legoeducation.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=1303&bhcp=1

Thanks for your help!

[Herding Cats in NC]

Is this the curriculum you're referring to? http://www.legoeducation.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=1303&bhcp=1


I'm not Erica, but maybe I can help. My dh & I started an FLL team last year. As far as I know, there is no curriculum. Each year they issue a challenge (http://www.usfirst.org/community/fll/content.aspx?id=12870) (last year's was climate connections) which has two parts - the robotics (http://usfirst.org/firstlegoleague/community/TabbedPage1daa.html?id=1002) & a research (http://usfirst.org/firstlegoleague/community/fll/project.html) project. If you want to do things at home (as opposed to joining or starting a team), you could get a Mindstorms kit (I don't think you need the Education set - a regular kit is less $$ and would work) and a book like the Lego Mindstorms NXT: Mayan Adventure. I *think* these books have small challenges that you can work through. You could check your library - mine doesn't have the Mayan adventure book, but it does have other books with Mindstorm projects in them.

Hope this helps.

[Laurie4b]

I'm not Erica, but maybe I can help. My dh & I started an FLL team last year. As far as I know, there is no curriculum. Each year they issue a challenge (http://www.usfirst.org/community/fll/content.aspx?id=12870) (last year's was climate connections) which has two parts - the robotics (http://usfirst.org/firstlegoleague/community/TabbedPage1daa.html?id=1002) & a research (http://usfirst.org/firstlegoleague/community/fll/project.html) project. If you want to do things at home (as opposed to joining or starting a team), you could get a Mindstorms kit (I don't think you need the Education set - a regular kit is less $$ and would work) and a book like the Lego Mindstorms NXT: Mayan Adventure. I *think* these books have small challenges that you can work through. You could check your library - mine doesn't have the Mayan adventure book, but it does have other books with Mindstorm projects in them.

Hope this helps.

I'm sorry. This is confusing to me. What would constitute a "regular kit?" I've gotten the idea it should have both software and hardware in it, but I really don't have a clue from the lists if they contain all that's needed, what age they are for, etc.

[Cindyg]

Thanks, Cindy. Did any of your kids take this course? We can't afford the $$ for an elective course, but I would be interested in what curriculum they used if your students took it .Thanks for taking time to respond as well!

No, we haven't used this course yet. But I'm considering it for when my son is older. He's pretty serious about computers.

[Kinsa]

I don't know if this is the kind of thing you are looking for, but as I type this, my kids are at the 4-H robotics right now. You could look into your local 4-H and see if they offer the robotics club.

[lwj]

We had been coaches for several years and our experience is that without the competition most kids lose interest in FLL. It is pretty exacting and an amazing learning experience but the amount of work to get good at it is great and the kids seems to need that adrenaline boost.
Lisaj

[KAR120C]

Do you have to be part of a competition to get the benefit? (The OM and Robotics competitions overlap too much for ds to do both and OM is a better option for homeschoolers in our area. )

Is this the curriculum you're referring to? http://www.legoeducation.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=1303&bhcp=1 (http://www.legoeducation.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=1303&bhcp=1)

Thanks for your help!
The competition has a set of challenges, and just in trying to figure your way around them you learn a ton about robotics -- it's not really a curriculum though. We did use the Mayan Adventure book with a younger group, and also one of the Lego engineering (not robotic) curricula, but like a previous poster said, the competition itself is more inspiring...

The "regular" set is the one that you can buy at toy stores or Amazon, or wherever. There are "educational" sets that are only available on Lego.com but you don't actually need the slightly different parts they offer....

If you want to just get your feet wet over the summer you can get a pretty good idea of how things work with just the kit and its instructions, and then maybe the Mayan Adventure book, but I think the competition is much, much better.

[Julie of KY]

...not a curriculum, but home science tools has some robotics kits.

[alegnab]

...Did any of your kids take this course? We can't afford the $$ for an elective course (TPS Logo to Lego), but I would be interested in what curriculum they used...

Ds#2 is taking that class. Not only is there the cost of the class, but there's about $300 worth of stuff to buy for it (with discount for taking the TPS class). He had to have the Lego Mindstorms Education NXT Base Set (http://www.legoeducation.com/store/detail.aspx?by=6&pl=10&ID=1263&c=0&t=0&l=0) and Terrapin Logo (http://www.terrapinlogo.com/terrapin-logo.php) . He said that the first half of the year was mostly robotics and the second half was mostly Logo.

Ds loved the class and will be taking HS Robotics with Lego NXT next year.

[Laurie4b]

Ds#2 is taking that class. Not only is there the cost of the class, but there's about $300 worth of stuff to buy for it (with discount for taking the TPS class). He had to have the Lego Mindstorms Education NXT Base Set (http://www.legoeducation.com/store/detail.aspx?by=6&pl=10&ID=1263&c=0&t=0&l=0) and Terrapin Logo (http://www.terrapinlogo.com/terrapin-logo.php) . He said that the first half of the year was mostly robotics and the second half was mostly Logo.

Ds loved the class and will be taking HS Robotics with Lego NXT next year.


Is there an emoticon for fainting? I wish we could do that, but....$$

[Margaret in CO]

http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H1827.html

Timberdoodle used to carry the fischertechnik robotics but no longer do.

[Laurie4b]

http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H1827.html

Timberdoodle used to carry the fischertechnik robotics but no longer do.


Thanks. I thought I had seen it in Timberdoodle!