Mentor Note - First Challenge: Building a Robot
1. Why this robot?
The Robot pictured above was chosen because it is the simplest and easiest-to-build but-still-functional Robot that we could find. We have tried using the standard Lego "EduBot" and/or "Tribot", but we found that our first-time younger students could not reliably build either of these Robots in the 2-hour timeslot we had available - let alone have a try at programming as well.
Not being able to complete the Robots in the time slot meant that the MindStorms kits had to be left untouched until the next session the following week - and hence these expensive kits were not available to any other class to use in between times.
Using these simpler Robots meant that our students can start a new Challenge, build a Robot, program it, get some results to display towards the end of the session, and still have time to pack up at the end of the 2 hour timeslot - leaving the MindStorms kits in a state where they are available for use by other classes.
2. Is this Robot ideal?
No (but don't tell the students this at this stage!) It lacks a swivelling rear wheel, and hence does not go around corners at all well. It behaves differently on carpet and on polished boards, making it difficult to get reproducible results. However it is good for some initial Challenges that allow the students to gain confidence with the Robots, before we go on to build a more complicated (but still fairly straight-forward) Robot that has a swivelling rear wheel, is thus better at turning, and better at producing reproducible results.
3. Is the Internet essential for this tutorial?
No - but for best results (if our experience applies to you) it is preferable.
Use of the mini-videos in this tutorial First Challenge assumes you have adequate access to the www.DrGraeme.net web site in the place where you will hold your workshops. If this is not the case, or if your Internet connection is impossibly slow, you may prefer to use handouts (we have got around a slow wireless internet connection by using modified Challenges mounted on CDs).
You can see a 6-page Microsoft Word 2003 handout that attempts to cover the same ground as the First Challenge mini-videos on www.DrGraeme.net by clicking here.
Enjoy mentoring your group with this first Challenge!