WELCOME to the 2014-15 FIRST® Tech Challenge Season! Featuring the FTC Cascade EffectSM Challenge

Welcome! Robotics Coordinator

Noah Bickford

Welcome!

FIRST® AmeriCorps VISTA

Don Arntz Community Outreach

Steering Committee • Adrian Knotts (NI) • Amanda Webster (NI) • Becky Carter (Vandergrift HS) • Cruz Monrreal ll (SL) • Irad Allen (Vandergrift HS) • James Loftus (NI)

• • • • • •

Jasen Ritter (PLTW) Jenny Mojica (NI) Juan Ortiz (Draker) Leigh Frishman (STM) Linda Gardner Lochie HausmanPel(ARM)

Steering Committee • Norman Morgan (Westlake HS) • Patrick Yonnone • Randy Hoskin (NI) • Raney Southerland (ARM) • Vance Davis (Del Valle HS)

Kick-Off Agenda • Season Overview (Noah Bickford) • Changing the Conversation (Don Arntz)

• Tech Shop Overview/ Offers (Tech Shop Staff) • Westlake Chaps Presentation

• Tips for Tournament Success (James Loftus) • Game Strategy & Field Walk Through (Adrian Knotts)

• Tech Shop Tours (Tech Shop Staff )

What is FIRST®? • For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology • Vision: “to create a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.” -- Dean Kamen

• Mission: To inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentorbased programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills that inspire innovation and that foster wellrounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership

FIRST® Programs FIRST ® Robotics Competition

Junior FIRST ® LEGO® League

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FIRST ® LEGO® League

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Grade Level

8

FIRST ® Tech Challenge

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What is FTC? ✔Head-to-head competition using sports model ✔Teams design, build and program robots based on sound engineering principles ✔Develop strategic problem-solving, organization, and team-building skills ✔Mentored by professional engineers ✔Awards for competition, community outreach and design ✔Qualify for $13.5 million in scholarships

FTC Impact Proven Results

78% of FTC participants believe their desire to do better in school is a direct result of their participation in FTC

84% of FTC students cite FTC as the driving force behind their interest in majoring in math and science

FTC is unlocking interest in math and science (90% of participants cite FTC as directly responsible)

Central Texas Region **Working in collaboration with San Antonio FIRST®**

= Qualifiers

= Championships

FTC Season Calendar www.centraltxfirst.org/schedule – FTC LabVIEW Training| Oct 25th 2014| Texas State University, San Marcos TX – FTC Qualifier | Dec. 6th 2014| TBA – FTC Double Qualifier | Jan. 31st 2015| TBA – Alamo Championship |TBA

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USA South FTC Super-Regional Championship | March 11-13, 2015 | Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio, TX

– FIRST® Championships| Apr 22-25 2015 | St. Louis, MO (More Regional information at http://www.alamo-first.org/)

REGISTRATION Do the Texas Two-Step!

1) National Registration • National registration through U.S. FIRST® – Visit: FIRST® FTC National Registration – $275 registration fee

• After registering, you will receive: – Coaches Handbook, – Web forum access, – DVDs on FIRST® and FTC, and

– Online and in-person support

• Order kits and all needed equipment

2) Local Registration • Opens early November 2014 – Registration Fee for Central TX Qualifiers • To register for 2 Central TX Qualifiers: $150 • To register for 1 Central TX Qualifier: $100

• You will be notified – We contact ALL coaches that registered nationally with Central Texas as their primary region selection – Add [email protected] to your safe-senders list to ensure you receive communications

3) Student Survey • WHAT: Each student participant will complete a short survey to confirm participation at an event.

• HOW: Coaches will disperse survey link to their students.

• WHY: We know how beneficial FIRST® programs are for students, but we have to prove it.

TOURNAMENTS

Tournaments • •

Each team can compete in two qualifiers These events are a celebration of what your team has accomplished!

Some Tournament Activities include: 1. Practice Rounds – This does not always happen, but sometimes teams are allowed to test the robot’s and field’s conditions 2. Opening and Closing Ceremonies – The time where teams, referees, and special guests are introduced and where teams are awarded for their accomplishments 3. Inspection – The part of the tournament where teams present their robot to a judge to ensure that it passes all qualifications

Advancement

Super-Regionals Regionals Qualifiers

World Championships

FTC Resources Central Texas FIRST® Robotics Webpage www.centralTXfirst.org Google+ FTC Coaches Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/ US FIRST® FTC [email protected] Twitter @skillpointSTEM Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CentralTXFTC FIRST® Team Resources http://www3.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc/team-resources

Questions? Contact Us! Noah Bickford Robotics Coordinator [email protected] 512.814.3258

FTC Team Grants firstintexas.org

TWC FTC Grants • Are all of your team members in grades 9-12? • Are any of your team members: – Residing in households where someone qualifies for Free/Reduced Lunch? – Attending a Title 1 school? – Attending school on a military base? – Homeschooled? – Living with a disability?

• APPLY ONLINE @ www.firstintexas.org

Grant Application HELP US HELP YOU! firstintexas.org/grants We have lots of grants to award, so submit a FTC Grant Application for your team today! Applying for grants could save you lots of $$$!

Changing the Conversation Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering www.engineeringmessages.org National Academy Of Engineering (NAE) Report http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12187

The Study • In-depth interviews • Youth “triads” (same-sex groups of three 9-11 year olds) • Adult and teen focus groups

• Online survey that oversampled for African Americans and Hispanics • 3,600 teens and adults

• Input from a cross section of the engineering community and others

Youth today... • Teens have limited understanding of engineering or engineers (or STEM) • Want well-paying jobs that make a difference • See engineers (or STEM workers) as helping people, but not directly • See engineers (or STEM workers) as desk jockeys, disconnected from people • Few teens (