Provincial Tournament

Extra Meetings II

Extra Meetings I

Regional Tournament

Crunch Time

Weeks 8, 9 and 10: Moving On

After the crisis meeting, the coaches were still on strike, and the kids didn't mind one little bit. Accordingly, they had the next three meetings on their own: none of us coaches paid any attention to them at all. Once in a while, I'd stick my head in and ask if they wanted any help in setting direction or keeping on task. The reply was always a resounding NO.

I'd like to report that they made incredible progress in this span of time. Unfortunately they didn't.

However, they did develop enough humility that when I helped them set the agenda for the next meeting, they didn't object. When the meeting ended, they had allowed Chaz and me to remain in the meeting and ask them the questions that would keep them moving forward.

By this point I had them running time trials at the beginning and end of every meeting. I announced the pairings, and they didn't balk. I announced that the pair with the best record in practices would get 2 out of 3 guaranteed runs at the tournament. And they didn't argue with that either. They simply sat down and started figuring out how to improve their scores.

Of course, one week before the tournament, and all sorts of technical problems started emerging. Putting the programs into the program manager

Monique (our project coach) never did return to meetings, although she helped out behind the scenes as the kids reworked major parts of their research presentation. Two of the boys had vastly different opinions on the introductory sequence, and this was hashed out during several phone calls.

The Crisis Meeting: October 24

Knowing that time is getting tight, and motivation was high, this was scheduled to be a double-meeting. We planned to work on robotics in the morning, looking at all the things that need to come together for the tournament such as the interviews, the pit display, programming the missions into a single integrated program, and making sure the attachments for various missions can all work together on the robot.

Having a longer meeting? That was a really bad idea.

Trying to get the kids to focus on all the non-robot aspects of the tournament? That was an even worse idea.

They were totally not engaged, not interested, not focused, and disrespectful. Sure, some interesting ideas came out, and sure, they determined their areas of responsibility for the tournament and yes, they figured out an order for the missions and how the attachments can work together. But it was like pulling teeth and it came at the cost of the team's spirit.

The project half of the meeting, in the afternoon, was cut short abruptly when yelling erupted and the idea of continuing seemed hopeless. The project coach basically said she will now be there only as a resource for them, but they will have to show the initiative and decide what needs to be done for the tournament, and what they need from her to help them get there. She has tired of offering direction and advice when it is dismissed so rudely.

I don't blame her a bit, and I feel the same way. It's hard to feel that it's worth your while when the kids are making faces and turning somersaults during the meetings.

What's gone wrong? We don't know. The same kids are focused and engaged in many other group activities throughout the week, and all of them have said that robotics is the most fun of all these activities. Part of the challenge is the stressful nature of what it involves - accomplishing such difficult challenges under pressure of time. Part of it is perhaps how the emotions come out when kids take ownership of ideas and then have to let go of them as the ideas evolve. Part of it is surely having the kids' own parents as their coaches, particularly when those parents bring such high intensity of their own. Yet another factor is the history of having done so well as a rookie team last year, and feeling like they can't live up to that. Maybe it's also because it's not new any more, so this year perhaps it feels a bit more like work?

Whatever the causes, this is the situation we have to deal with for the rest of the season. As coach, I have to take responsibility for how things have gone, but I also have to move forward toward the tournament. We all have made a commitment to each other, and me most of all, since I have committed to the kids that the team will compete at the November 18th tournament.

We'll see what attitude the kids bring to the next meeting, and whether I am capable of getting positive, forward-moving energy out of them.

Week 7: October 13 and 17

These meetings seemed to build on the momentum of the breakthrough meeting, although there were certainly moments of high emotion and lack of focus.

Some challenges are emerging as they try to integrate the missions, and they discover that clever attachments aren't compatible with the alignment jigs or other attachments. Being kids, they still expect their first solution to be the final one, and it always brings out the emotions when someone realizes that after hours of hard work, yet more hours are still required.

They currently have solutions for the cable testing truck, the pizza molecules, and placing the dirt trap. The stuck nanotip was solved by team members who took the model home and worked on it between meetings. Another team member has developed a solution for the buckyball/bone, but the team still needs to navigate the robot into position.

Three missions at the far end -- unstainable fabric, molecular motor, and self-assembly -- are all so close yet so far, as all the ideas to navigate to those missions are proving more difficult than they had expected. One determined team member keeps on working toward this goal between meetings, and he seems to be getting closer, but they're still not there.

The Breakthrough Meeting: October 10

By the time we reached our tournament last year, I was able to look back at the previous 2 months and pinpoint the meeting where the tide turned -- on that day, the kids suddenly felt like they were making progress, the technical learning was all coming together, and the team personality took over from the individual personalities. The frustrations of the previous weeks seemed like they had all been so many bumps in the road, rather than overwhelming mountains in their path.

During the October 10 meeting this year, I felt that same sense of the tide turning. We sat down with the calendar to see how much time has elapsed, and how much time is left. The kids listed the things they still want to get done, and came up with a list that includes:

solve a couple more missions

increase consistency on the current missions

figure out how to sequence the missions and practice running them

decide which pairs will run the robot in competition

develop print-outs or spec sheets for the technical interview

improve their attachments and jigs

practice questions for their interviews

write the project script

develop visual aids and props

do some practice presentations for friends

practice practice practice

For the first time, they seemed to take the idea of strategic thinking to heart, and asked about the bonus points for scoring points in multiple missions. This gave them more incentive to continue working hard on improving ideas that are so far unreliable and inconsistent.

Two of the kids set off to think about sequencing the missions. They came up with a new idea to split one of the missions into two parts. They plan to bring the Pizza Molecules to base in one outing, and deliver them to their destination in a different, later outing, leaving the middle of the mat clear for the robot to traverse. The builder spent the hour working on attachments and alignment jigs - this is the first time the team is willing to consider alignment jigs and they are finding it particularly challenging. A third activity in the room saw another kid continuing to work with sensors to navigate his way down the mat.

By the end of the meeting, it didn't seem like they were much farther along, but they seemed to be more motivated. They have three missions which seem quite solid, as long as they can fine-tune the alignment jigs, attachments and programming to work together smoothly. Three others are being worked on, and a couple of kids are taking the Nanotip mission model to work on at home.

They made similar progress during the project half of the meeting, where they came up with a good idea for their skit that can involve the judges just a little, in a fun way. They will set it up as a break-out session at a conference, pulling their chairs up to the judges to include them as colleagues in this "meeting".

Just like last year at this time, I feel that they need to spend more time refining their innovation scientifically, but the reality is that they are sick of researching and they need to move into the creative side of things and start giving their presentation form. As they write the script, they may discover for themselves where they need to do additional research.

Week 5: October 3

This was the only meeting this week, and the 2-1/2 hours were divided between the project and robotics.

Since the kids have had trouble focusing on the robotics after the project, we decided to start with robotics today and see if that helped their focus. It didn't seem to; they just don't seem to have much "fire in the belly". There are also some personality conflicts emerging, and it's difficult to pair the kids off to work efficiently. Clearly a new approach is in order, something for me to think about.

Even though the time on robotics was short, they still managed to forge ahead to get a third mission nearly solved (the Pizza Molecules), start looking at another mission (the Dirt Trap), try out a couple of strategies to travel the length of the mat, and start working on an alignment jig (although they are not all convinced that is a good idea.)

After a break they switched gears and Monique worked with them on the research project. They each had new information to share, and together they worked to identify the many areas where they need to do more research. They want their proposal to be at least somewhat plausible, but they are still struggling with the complexity of the topic. My main concern is for them to keep their project focused, and draw a clear connection between the issue, their invention, and the underlying science.

Week 4: September 26 and September 29

We had scheduled two meetings for this week, and decided that it would be best to focus on the robotics during meeting time while the kids forged ahead with their project research independently.

First, the team looked at possible ways to combine missions. This is new to them because last year, as a rookie team, we considered it a success to have developed a solution to a single mission by mid-October!

In looking at the challenge mat they considered various factors:

- which missions are similar
- which missions are close together on the mat
- how missions can be broken apart to be solved in two steps rather than all at once
- which missions should be solved in a particular order.

Since they didn't analyze the challenge this way for Ocean Odyssey, they quickly discovered how many factors they should consider, and how many different opinions they had! The pizza molecules are a good example: three of the kids thought it should be done last so the molecules don't get in the way of other missions; one kid thought they should do them first to get them done, and not bother attempting any missions that might move the molecules out of position!

Then they moved on to developing solutions for the chosen missions. At times, we coaches had to work hard to get them focused on solutions rather than wasting time and breath defending their positions. If only they could somehow see how much time and energy they waste in this way!

In any case, one pair has developed a workable solution for one mission, the Cable Tester. They are now working on a second mission (the Pizza Molecules) that can be attempted with the same robot configuration. The other pair of kids has done work on one of the "delivery" missions", the Molecular Motor, using a mechanical solution that does not require the third motor. Their delivery mechanism works well, but it is proving difficult to navigate to the right position.

They have discovered that the robot performs more reliably when it gets better traction. They considered using different wheels but decided to try the weight bricks instead. Most of the team agreed that the weight bricks were a good solution, for now at least.

At one point, the whole group took a break to talk about navigation. We reminded them to think of each mission as two tasks - getting there, and completing the mission. They looked at various navigation strategies and agreed they need to work on ways of getting to the far end of the mat reliably. They are considering following lines, counting lines, orienting against the bumpers at the far end, and pointing the robot and hoping it goes straight. Obviously they need to keep testing these strategies next week.

Week 3: September 22

After the high emotions at the last meeting, I was prepared for this meeting to be a challenge.

Well, kids will always surprise you. They all walked in as if nothing untoward had happened at the last meeting. They quickly reached agreement on their robot base, and there are no hard feelings at all. Actually, they told me they had reached this agreement at the end of the last meeting - somehow I must have missed it during all the shouting and name-calling!

They have developed their own design, a basic chassis with two drive wheels and a slider. It should travel reasonably straight, turn easily, and can drive forward or backward with places for attachments on both front and back.

The next step is to start working on the missions, which were released just a few days ago. As we predicted, there are several missions which require delivering items, as opposed to last year where there were several retrievables. First I showed the team a video from the High Tech Kids website which showed several innovative approaches to solving the retrievables missions from Ocean Odyssey (http://www.hightechkids.org/?2-1-1054#FLL_Strategy_Videos). Since all our team members had competed in Ocean Odyssey, they were able to appreciate the variety of solutions and it really got them in the right mood for brainstorming.

Next, we reviewed the NanoQuest missions. They wanted to look at the Cable Tester (truck) and the Stuck Nanotip first, so they broke into pairs with the goal of brainstorming at least five approaches to each mission.

They still had trouble working together, however. Being all in one room, they managed to get in each others' way constantly, and spent a lot of time listening in on each others' discussions. It took considerable persuasion to get them on track again. How would they have managed if there were more kids on the team?

By the end of the meeting, they had several ideas for most missions and at least two for every mission except the Individual Atoms.

Week 2: September 15

Since other extra-curricular activities have not yet started for the team members, we decided we could take a full day for this meeting. The project was scheduled for the morning, with a generous lunch/soccer break followed by an afternoon on robotics.

The research project was first on the agenda. The kids had used the comments feature of our private blog to brainstorm ideas for the project topic. Surprisingly, they were able to reach agreement on a topic and begin to flesh it out. They have decided to investigate ways of utilizing nanotechnology to capture electricity from lightning. (They are nothing if not ambitious!) Since the challenge was officially released during our meeting time, we were able to check that this topic can fit within the project challenge for this year.

So the kids each presented a little bit from the reading they had done since the last meeting, and they identified several areas where they want to find out more, including nanocapacitors, nanosponges, nanocatalysts, and solar paint. Again, everyone chose an area to research before the next meeting.

After their soccer/lunch break, we reconvened to work with the robots. Since the team still had not decided on a base robot, that was the main focus of discussion. The kids were totally unable to reach agreement, and worse, they were incapable of discussing the pros and cons with any logic. Language got emotional, tempers flared, and the kids took turns stomping off.

After some nasty name-calling erupted, Chaz and I had to call the group to attention and remind them of some basic team rules like respect and gracious professionalism. They weren't really ready to settle down, but some grudging compromises were made.

Week 2: September 12

We split our time between the project and the robotics at this meeting, beginning with the project. Each team member presented the information they had researched on the topics chosen at the Sept 6th meeting. It's clear this is a large topic and needs to be narrowed down so their research can be focussed on an area relevant to the final project, otherwise the team will spend a lot of research time on topics that are later discarded. Last year the team found that very frustrating, so we are attempting to reach agreement on a topic much earlier this season.

Several topics emerge as interesting possibilities: carbon nanotubes and energy solutions (creating or storing) are at the top of the list. The team agreed to use our new private blog as a way to communicate their ideas to each other until the next meeting. They did agree to abide by the standard brainstorming rules - keeping an open mind and not making negative remarks about other suggestions. We'll see how it works.

In the robotics, they showed the robots they had built at home. There were strong feelings about the merits and problems of each robot, and it seemed difficult for the kids to focus on individual design elements. Comments like "my robot's better than yours" abounded. The meeting ended without any agreement, so the discussion of the robot base will continue at the next meeting.

Week 1: September 8, First Robotics Meeting

Up until this point, we were still not sure if others would be joining our team. We had advertised for girls to join us, but couldn't find anyone who was interested and available. So we have only the four boys that are returning from last year. That means these four kids will have been together for two years (they were four of our original six from last year).

We have two reservations about restricting the team in this way: these four won't be challenged by new approaches and new ideas; and it may make it even harder to rejuvenate the team with "fresh blood" next year. Nevertheless, the decision was taken and we are all content with the situation for this year.

Since the team membership is now decided, this was the first meeting where we really got down to business with the robot. All kids have had a chance to play with it and experiment, so we set down to the task of considering how this robot kit can solve this year's challenges. The kids came up with some ideas for what would be important in the robot base, and these were recorded. Lots of ideas were thrown out for discussion: treads vs. wheels, how many wheels, where the driving wheels should be, size of the robot, centre of gravity, ways of attaching sensors, etc.

The team left the meeting with lots of ideas and a general sense that maybe they would be happy using the robot from the Lego Education design, with some modifications. This is a big step since they really want to be original and design their robot from scratch. However, this approach became very time-consuming last year, and also fairly divisive.

For now, they have each agreed to build a robot from other plans or pictures, which they will bring to the next meeting. The emphasis will be on demonstrating any new approaches or great ideas that can be incorporated into their modified base.

The other robot designs they are building:
http://mindstorms.lego.com/MeetMDP/BBonahoom.aspx
http://mindstorms.lego.com/MeetMDP/BDavis.aspx
http://mynxt.matthiaspaulscholz.eu/robots/goliathII/index.html

Week 1: September 6, First Project Meeting

My friend Monique has stepped forward to lead the group in their research project this year. The team met in her home (most meetings are at my place) and gathered around her dining room table to share what they have already learned about nanotechnology. It's a big topic and you can tell that the kids are both intrigued and intimidated by it.

They talked about scale, and tried to put a group of pictures in order from largest to smallest. The pictures included things like single molecules of DNA or carbon, and light waves at various frequencies.

Next Monique brought out a set of test tubes, a pitcher of water, and blue food colouring. They made a series of mixtures, starting out with pure food colouring and diluting it to one-tenth the previous concentration with each step. It didn't take long to understand that one part per billion is very, very little, so one-billionth of anything must be very, very small.

Finally, they considered a list of products that are already on the market, supposedly using nanotechnology in some way. In many cases it wasn't clear just what technology was being used in each of these products, or just how the product was improved by using nanotechnology. They discussed how "nano" could (potentially, not necessarily) be just a marketing term to make something seem better.

Each team member left the meeting with a couple of areas to look into further.

Preseason: August 30 Open House

Back in the spring, I held an information meeting for families who were interested in FLL after hearing about our experiences. Out of that, three new teams of homeschoolers have formed, and our team has offered to mentor them and help out in whatever ways we can. On this day, one of the other families came over to hang out and try out the new NXT robot kits. So this afternoon was a gathering of three kids from our team, two kids from her team, and a neighbour's son who happened into the chaos.

We had two of the NXT robots at this get-together, so the kids spent time building with them, doing some on-brick programming, and playing with the sensors. The sound and ultrasonic sensors have a definite "cool" factor: there was lots of hand-waving and shouting to make the robot respond.

On our team, all three of our families have decided to purchase the NXT kit. This means that all the kids have the opportunity to be working on the robot at home between meetings. Somehow it seems to give the kids more confidence to be using the newest kit, but it also means that we have another steep learning curve in front of us, as not everything we learned about the RCX will be transferable to this new design.

Preseason: August 25 Building Day

After the fun of Ocean Odyssey, there was no question that we would participate in NanoQuest. Unfortunately, we lost both of the girls from our team - both returned to institutional school this year and won't have time to participate.

Our returning team members got together in late summer to build some of the new models from the NanoQuest Challenge field kit. It was a busy, fun day. These models are complicated, and some are quite tricky to build.

We can see where they go on the mat, but we're not quite sure of placement or what the missions might be. There are a lot of loose items and we are guessing they will have to be delivered from base, rather than retrieved from the field. Last year included a lot of retrieving, so delivering will be new to us.

The adults spent a while considering our coaching strategies for this year, while the kids built. We agreed that Chaz and I will focus on the robotics, and Monique will lead the project meetings. The younger sibs should be able to play on their own this year and won't need any special activities planned for them. We also agreed to a schedule much like last year: every Tuesday and alternate Fridays for a half-day each time, with part of each Tuesday meeting devoted to the project.

The team also started talking about nanotechnology, considering the science behind the various mission models. One of the big questions from the kids was about how much of this technology is actually possible. Are there really stain-free pants? Well, okay, fine, but do scientists really think they can build an elevator to space?

There are some clear areas of interest already - the ethics and environmental questions are big for this team after their extensive work on environmental issues last year. The space elevator and the possibilities of carbon nanotubes being used for various purposes have really caught the imagination of a couple of the kids.

And there is also some concern about how difficult this topic is - how can children be expected to comprehend this to a level where they can offer valid insights and truly innovative solutions that are not just imaginary? The kids are feeling like they have their work cut out for them, and in truth they are a little apprehensive.

Rookie Year Recap

Our rookie year, Ocean Odyssey, was a lot of work and a lot of fun.

Our team members were 4 boys and 2 girls, aged 8 to 11, all homeschooled. A couple of the kids had done a little bit with the robot but for the most part it was all new, to me as well. The season was busy and chaotic, as we figured out the robot, the FLL organization, and what was expected at competition.

We ran the team as a cooperative effort, with all parents helping out in some way. I acted as head coach, another mom assisted me with the technical meetings, the one dad in our group guided the kids in the project, and another mom kept time the younger siblings occupied.

In mid-November, we competed at a regional tournament along with 15 other teams (mostly from private schools in Toronto). Our robot had a high score of 127 that day. Throughout our three matches, the team got points from five different missions, but never managed to score on more than three missions in a single round. Nevertheless, we had once been told that a rookie team is doing well if they manage to solve two missions, so we were still proud of ourselves.

At that same tournament, we were surprised and excited to win the first-place award for our project, and to place fourth overall, earning a spot at Provincials. Our project was about pollution in the Great Lakes, and how it affects the beluga whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The team proposed using engineered wetlands to extract the pollution, and (working with Citizens' Environment Watch) had learned how to do benthic invertebrate testing to monitor pollution levels and measure the success of these proposed wetlands.

At Provincials (three weeks later), we were missing two team members so the team had to rework their project skit, and pair up differently to run the robot during the robot matches. The kids had also reworked some of the missions, with the result that the robot's high score that day was 172. That was the 21st-highest score of the day -- not good enough to advance into the "sweet sixteen". They were able to score points in 6 missions by this point, but were only able to score in 4 missions (plus move some of the bonus items into higher-scoring positions) during a single round.

In the other competitive aspects, the kids did even better, winning a first-place trophy for the "Innovative Solution" in their research project.

These competitions were a highlight for the the team - the level of excitement is unbelievable at these events, and the kids loved it. (The parents took Tylenol.) All-in-all, it felt like a very successful season: friendships were forged and lots of fun was had by all.