Recap of Hotshots Monday 9/23/2013

We divided the problems into humans and animals. We discovered that there were not that many WNC wildfires that caused the animal habitat destruction that we were hoping to find. “How could you create an emergency shelter for misplaced pets” was one thing she brought up that could be a problem/solution even though we have not encountered it, per se, here in WNC. Thus, some of these potential problems are things that MAY happen in WNC, but not necessarily something that DID happen. I know Sally hit a few roadblocks with research and  Pascale was frustrated with research as well, as problems from WNC fires seem to be limited (lucky us!)

The human problems that we looked at and will, hopefully, vote on on Friday are:

• Erosion caused by trees burning. Could lead to mountain slides erosion could harm our water supply…
• Fruit trees burning. Thinking of Hendersonville and the farmers not having any income
• Smoke related problems for those with sinus/asthma
• Houses/shelter/hospitals burn.
• Defensible space -- How do we arm ourselves against flammable surroundings? 
• Lack of electricity
• Lack of water/contaminated water

We did NOT get to the animal problems yet, as we ran out of time. Once we played our core values and had snack, then discussion time was limited as I had to leave, but I was very encouraged at how much they wanted to discuss water problems. (perhaps Tim’s notes were soaking in). Would be neat to steer (gently) in that direction as it is a current/real problem in WNC when dirt and ash end up in our watershed.

For Monday, we plan to continue discussion of problem and land on one (either human or animal) and also brainstorm solutions.

Homework:  Look at the above human problems, find two that they like and research a possible solution, plus ALSO come in with 3 possible general animal problems.

Project Update -- Piermont, NY

Team Hurricane Hunters spent the first half of practice on Monday sharing their research findings.  They were fantastic!  We got a lot done, and we still have some gaps to fill.  So, homework...

More than one team member references a video Sandy, the Aftermath.  I promised to find and post it.  I'm not sure which is right, but I trust the kids will let me know.  Pick one:


 Or...


We decided that it would be VERY helpful for everyone to understand a little bit more about the town.  Anna did a great job helping us understand the topography.  We agreed that EVERYONE should have a look at Piermont on Google Maps.  Please take a few minutes to flip through the different views -- satellite, map and terrain.  Very informative!

Remaining and follow-up questions:

• Gray - How long did the storm last?  Two parts:  How long over the life of the storm and how long in Piermont?
• Hudson - Possible follow on questions:  How many students could not go to school?  How many people were out of work due to storm damage?
• Margaret - Cost of storm damage?
• Charlotte - General facts about Sandy.
• Anna - What's the difference between a hurricane and a super storm?
• Lilith - When did Sandy officially become a super storm?
• Attia - Does Piermont have an emergency manager?  If so, who it it?

And, an interesting question came up... What happened to all that trash?  Will, want to look into that?

I will post a link to the article Lilith found when I get it so everyone can read that too.  

Great work, Hurricane Hunters! 

First Whack at Missions

On Monday we had some exciting times!  We took our first whack at breaking down missions!  

Before a program can be written to accomplish a task, the kids have to understand the minute detail in order to communicate the task to the robot.  So...

We started with two volunteer "robots" -- we had Gray and Anna act as sample robots – demonstrating that if you follow the same directions but start from two different places, you don’t get the same result. Then the idea that base is a box with tall sides.  Then that you can use a jig made ONLY of Legos. Then the idea that the table sides of the base are the FIXED elements, so make a very reliable place to start.  We covered that A, B & C are motor ports and that 1,2,3 are sensor ports.  Then quickly showed breaking down a mission (not one they would be using to start).  

Last 10 minutes of practice!  3 kids from HS/2 kids from HH on obstacles (with me), 4 kids from HS/3 kids from HH on People & Pets with Eric in the hall, 3 kids from HH with Blake trying to fix/prep the cargo plane. ONLY ONE ROBOT!  The plane is still in process.  Eric's group came away with a page full of notes.  And, the kids looking at obstacles made some great discoveries about the obstacles mission. 

It was frantic, but it felt like success in the end!  Good work!

Now, who's ready to get started programming?

Mapping Tool for Project

From FIRST:

-->Map it Out! Our friends at Esri, an international supplier of Geographic Information System (GIS) software, web GIS and geodatabase management applications, have graciously provided links to maps as a resource for teams for their Project. These interactive maps show places before and after a natural disaster, as well as real-time information about potential and existing natural events.   http://www.esri.com/services/disaster-response. Once there, click the “GIS Aids Disaster Relief” tab. For more Challenge Resources, check out http://www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2013naturesfury.

Team Hurricane Hunters

The team chose a name Friday (kudos to Amy Jones) and now we have great identity!

Here are some things that would be great for Friday:

1. We are in dire need of sponsorship.  This program requires us to have money to pay for the tournaments and fees for robots.  If you know of anyone that would like to sponsor a team, please let us know.  I know we are super needy with wanting parent volunteers.  But this does not require your time with the team, only a couple of phone calls to someone you know that may want to sponsor a team.
   
   (example:  we need rechargeable batteries for robots and they are $60 a piece.  We don't have this in our budget.)
2. I have called Deltec homes to see if we can do a field trip to their site.  They build a hurricane resistant model home.  I will let you know what happens with this when I know something.  But if you have any ideas for a field trip, or who can come talk with the kids, let us know.
3. Jenny sent a site about the Hurricane Hunters Association - reconnaissance squadron of the air force.  Please have your child review the site so we can discuss on Friday. http://www.hurricanehunters.com/

Thanks!

Sue/Jo

Hot Shots - Update from Monday

With the help of Amy we picked the team name of the Hot Shots!  This took longer than expected, as there was not a consensus for a while, so a few extra votes to narrow the field. The word “BOOM” was chosen as the “runner up” of sorts, and so we promised to use it in a chant.

We also are VERY excited to design our logo, though we are uncertain if we will use the firehouse, as our solution may not be water based. But, we like flaming letters. 

Eric took Ashton and Fiona to work on the table.  

Jenny took Sebastian and Sally to work on robot.

That left me with Pascale, Ainsley, Melena and Dominique as planned.

We got a great deal accomplished:

1. We decided on a specific community… drum roll… WNC! We looked at field trip and other opportunities and though Melena made a strong case to go to California. “My mom will, you know, just give us a few thousand dollars for plane fare” we ultimately came to the conclusion that we could learn from local folks including:
   a. We have a forest ranger coming on Friday
   b. The local schools, perhaps Warren Wilson forestry folks
   c. Local firefighters
   d. NC Firewise etc.
2. We also discussed interview techniques and how not to ask yes or no questions and did a little role playing. 
3. Dominique had some research as did Ainsley and we shared it. We broke down the terms “wildfire” and “vegetation” and others. 

Best!

Lockie

What's in a name?

Congratulations to both teams on a major milestone!  Our teams have names!

Yesterday, the teams each met with the ever-creative Amy Jones to work on team identity.  So, without further ado, we present:

The Hot Shots -- Team Sarah/Lockie, researching wildfires!
The Hurricane Hunters -- Team Sue/Jo, researching hurricanes!

Teams will continue this work to come up with t-shirt designs and other materials to represent their team.

Lesson in Team Formation

Team Sue/Jo had a mini lesson in Organizational Development today, based on the work of Bruce Tuckman.  The goal was to get the kids to understand that it's totally normal for there to be some bumps along the way, so that they don't get too tangled up each time the team has an issue to work through.  Here's what we talked about:

Image from http://www.leadershipjot.com/2009/04/20/4-stages-of-group-development/

If you have a chance, ask the kids to explain the four steps to you!

September is National Preparedness Month

Take a look at the link in the sidebar!

"September is National Preparedness Month. Sponsored by FEMA, National Preparedness Month aims to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to all types of emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks.

National Preparedness Month is a time to prepare yourself and those in your care for emergencies and disasters, both large scale and smaller local events. We know that emergencies can happen unexpectedly in communities just like yours, to people like you. We’ve seen tornado outbreaks, river floods and flash floods, historic earthquakes, tsunamis, and even water main breaks and power outages that impact communities for days at a time." Read more...

Also, here's another game, this one from Plan!t Now, that will teach you about weather emergencies and natural disasters in a FUN way!  Check it out!

Thank you, Ms. Allbach!

On Monday, our fabulous new Media Specialist, Ms. Allbach, led each team through a presentation about how to do research.  She spent half an hour with each team, walking them though a six step process for success!  Thank you, Ms Allbach!

Update from Monday Practice

On Monday each team spent half of practice with Ms. Allbach learning about the process of research.  We'll honor Ms. Allbach in a separate post in order to really give her the recognition that assistance is due!

Both teams have now identified a natural disaster to focus on!  We knew going into Monday that one team had selected wildfires, and the other team has now chosen hurricanes.

From Jo:  Our main accomplishment outside of the research piece with Ms. Allbach and the robot work was landing on a problem, which for our team will be hurricanes!  Yea!!  It was a democratic process with those prepared to present their research discussing it with the group and then everyone submitting a ballot with their vote.  Hurricanes won by 4 votes, followed by 2 votes for tsunamis, and 1 vote apiece for earthquakes and tornadoes.  

Other than that, we also reviewed some basic behavior expectations so that we can accomplish as much as possible during our practice time.  The kids should work on policing their fellow team members when there are disruptions, and figure out among themselves how to keep things on track.  This is something we';; continue to work on.

Each team also sent a contingent to start working on a base build for the robot:

Team Sue/Jo: Decided to try a tank.  Lilith built a two-wheeled tank tread on one motor. We took pics of it and parts to put the tread on the other motor are in the box Anna has.  Anna is working on motor placement.  She has the brick, a bunch of parts she thought she might need and Lilith’s tread-motor.  Attia looked at different parts we have that might work for an arm, and is going to research different arms.  They decided to salvage the plow from one of last year's teams and have it in the box Anna has so they can consider whether it needs modification and when it might/might not work.

Team Lockie/Sarah: Also decided to try tank treads, but long skinny ones (different than what the other team tried).  Sebastian has an assortment of wheels, gears and tank treads to keep working on that.  Dominique was looking at motors on the side of the brick (rather than underneath).  She has a bunch of connectors she thought she might need and the brick. Ainsley has one of the arms off the robot from the NXT class and some other parts to experiment with different options.  She has one (maybe two) of the table pieces (people or pets) to work with.  Sebastian also has an eye on the plow from last year... we can build another one if both teams really want the same thing!

Lockie and Sarah's team also spent some time with Eric brainstorming resources and information sources for their research on wildfires.  Kids should be working on what types of questions they will want to ask when contacting these sources.  

Homework: 

• Anyone with table pieces at home should try to get them finished by Friday and bring them to practice.
• Those with robot pieces or research should work on that.
• Everyone should be thinking about a community for their disaster and what types of issues they might want to look into.  
• Everyone should be thinking about team names.
• Lilith and Pascale will lead Core Values on Friday!

Great work everyone -- we have accomplished so much already!

Update from Team Sue/Jo (again, until there's a name!)

We had a great practice with you kiddos on Friday.

We will try and send out a weekly email to keep you posted on what we are doing.

This week: 

We plan to choose a problem by the end of practice Monday (and a team name if time permits).  We have 3 kids who are going to focus on robot design:  Anna, Hudson and Attia.

We will try and communicate when we ask the kids to do work outside of class.

This weekend, we did ask the kids to research a community and problem (natural disaster) & bring it to class with them.  We will vote on our team problem today.

Thanks,

Sue and Jo

Practice Update from Team Lockie/Sarah (until there's a better name)

I hope your kids told you about practice on Friday.   It was very fun, and Lockie and I are very excited to be working with your kids this season. 

Our team decided to focus on wildfires as the source of our natural disaster.  The homework for tomorrow is that each child should look on the internet to research the who, what, where, when, why and how of wildfires.   They don't have to do all of them -- just spend 20 minutes or so looking into a few of these questions -- where do wildfires typically start; how do wildfires typically start; what time of year do wildfires typically occur; how are they typically contained; etc.  I would like for each child to write down the facts they learn and bring to practice, please.  Some of the team members may be culling through all the input while other team members are building robots, so it's important that we have all the information in written form to take into consideration.

On that note, please remember to get a file folder with pockets for your child to bring to and from practice. Each child received  a printed copy of the full challenge (distributed a week ago Friday) to put in the folder, plus they will gather additional information from homework and during practice that will go in their folders.  (if you never saw the challenge, let me know and I can send you a link to print out another copy.)

Also for tomorrow, Sebastian and Dominique volunteered to look at robot designs for a robot that needs to climb over obstacles (monster truck wheels, or tank treads, or whatever.)  We suggested they look on youtube.com for "NXT robot big wheels" or "NXT robots with tank treads" or whatever they think of.  These sorts of searches will likely produce hundreds of youtube videos which they can glance at.  The goal is for them to have some ideas in mind when they start building a robot with Jenny during part of Monday's practice. 

Ainsley volutneered to do a similar search looking for robot designs with arms that might pick up the people and pets on the game table.  She might look on youtube.com for "NXT robot forklift arm."  She's going to be working with Jenny on Monday about what sort of arm might need to be mounted on the robot to pick up the people and pets and carry them to the other end of the table.

Last, some (but not all) of the kids took home bags of lego pieces to build robot missions.  If they finish, they can bring tomorrow (or they can bring Friday).

Tomorrow we are spending time with Ms. Allbach (the wonderful new media specialist) to learn research techniques and to narrow down our research project; we will also start to design our robot.  This coming Friday we're going to start on some programming!!!

Thanks again, and please let me know if any questions.

Sarah

Prioritization

Images of what the Hurricane Hunters worked out for task priorities/timelines:

Team and Project Timeline

Missions Timeline

All Fun & Games

At our very first practice each kid received a core value to explain and track for their team.  (We have two newcomers, so we'll be separating out the core value that includes Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition so that those two concepts really get their due).  

Team A

Sally	We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors. AND We have FUN!	Friday, September 6
Pascale	We share our experiences with others. AND We have FUN!	Friday, September 13
Sebastian	What we discover is more important than what we win. AND We have FUN!	Friday, September 20
Dominique	We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do. AND We have FUN!	Monday, September 23
Ashton	We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together. AND We have FUN!	Friday, October 4
Ainsley	We honor the spirit of friendly competition. AND We have FUN!	Friday, October 11
Fiona	We are a team. AND We have FUN!	Friday, October 18
Melena	We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do. AND We have FUN!	Friday, November 1

Team B

Anna	We are a team. AND We have FUN!	Friday, September 6
Lilith	We share our experiences with others. AND We have FUN!	Friday, September 13
Gray	We honor the spirit of friendly competition. AND We have FUN!	Friday, September 20
Charlotte	We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together. AND We have FUN!	Monday, September 23
Margaret	We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors. AND We have FUN!	Friday, October 4
Will	We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do. AND We have FUN!	Friday, October 11
Hudson	What we discover is more important than what we win. AND We have FUN!	Friday, October 18
Attia	We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do. AND We have FUN!	Friday, November 1

Over the course of our practices, each kid will lead a team building activity with their group.  A couple of questions have come up about this:

• Why do some repeat?
  The concepts of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition are unique to FLL.  Having two people from a team focus on the core value that includes them helps to make sure they get the focus they deserve.  And, as far as having fun... are we really having fun if EVERYONE'S not having fun?
• Does it have to be specific to their core value?  No.  Working as a team really helps to exercise all of the core value muscles, so focus on finding something fun and challenging that pushes the team in areas that need focus (cooperation, communication, listening, patience, etc.)
• How long should it take?
  Shoot for 5 minutes.  Sometimes it will go more quickly and sometimes, more slowly.  We'd like to have a little time for discussion and enough time to get to the project and robot game in practice also, so short and simple is the best bet.
• Where can I find some activities that we might try?
  Here are some links to get you started:
  Wilderdom Team Building Activities
  4-H Southern District Team Building Activities
  http://teambuildingactivitiesforkids.com/
  There are about a million more places to look, so don't be shy about seeking out your own!

Don't stress out if someone picks the game you had your eye on -- you can either pick a new one or try it again to see how the team is progressing!

Great Practice on Friday!

We started practice with the kids who looked at the project detail leading a discussion of what needs to be done with their teams.  Each team played a game that required great listening skills and teamwork.  And, have a look at this Coopertition -- two teams working together to make sure everyone understands the detail of the different missions.  

Homework before we meet again next Friday is FUN and EASY!

1. Have a look at this list of Billion-Dollar U.S. Weather/Climate Disasters 1980-2012 (from NCDC).  Which ones are most interesting to you?  This will help the teams in discussing possible project options. (There are more links to local disasters on the Helpful - Project page if you don't find something that interests you on this list.)
2. Play this  game from the United Nations:   Stop Disasters!  Choose your disaster and be prepared to come discuss what you learned with your team. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The list of natural disasters that are acceptable for the project are: 

• Avalanche or Landslide
• Earthquake
• Tornado or Cyclone
• Flood
• Tsunami
• Volcanic eruptions
• Hurricane
• Storm (wind, sand, blizzard or rain)
• Wildfire

Let's make sure we're learning about events we can use!