S.T.E.M. at work in FLL- going the distance

The ability to give math terms a real life applications is one of my favorite parts of FLL programming.

Here's how to convert the distance you need to travel into rotations-

Step 1:    How to find circumference: If you know the radius- go to 1

If you know the Diameter- go to 2.

1 Work space

If you only have the radius : (remember to use metric (cm) when measuring): C-=2 r
C is the circumfernce (and the answer you will find) 2 = you must find the number of Pi times radius or r because r means Half the circle's circumference = 3.14 (an easy trick to remember pi (pronounced {pie} ) The number can be spelled backwords to be read as it's name :) r= radius (the distance from the center to the edge of the circle)

2. Work space

If you know the diameter of your circle: (remember to use metric (cm) when measuring): C= d
C= Circumference (you will find this answer by working the equation) d= the distance across the circle through the center = 3.14 (an easy trick to remember pi (pronounced {pie} )

Tip- the wheel diameter is written on each lego wheel in mm. Convert that to cm (multiple by 10) and you've got your diameter to the hundredth of a point! It's in fine print black on black, so you'll need good light and good eyes to see it, but it's there :) I promise you.

STEP 2- Measure the distance you need to travel in cm- (this equation only works for straight lines right now.)

STEP 3-  # of rotations=               distance

                                          circumference of the wheel

Tip= Both measurements need to be in the same unit in order to work. You can't divide inches into cm and get the proper number of rotations needed. 

   You can enter the number of rotation into the "move" block and then convert to degrees by hitting "degrees" after you entered the number from the equation.  That way, if you need to add or subtract just a little to the distance you wish to travel, you will have an easier number to shave something off than the larger rotations unit.  

Tip= Large wheels have the largest percentage of error when programming moving and turning. Smaller wheel are more precise, but move slower- so everything a trade off.

Calculating turns- two ways

Quick way- Use the "View" (the third button to the right on the first screen of the lego brick) on your brick. Click the "motor degrees", and then choose which motor you wish to view- A,B, or C.  You can only view one motor at a time, but if you're using it to measure going straight you can choose your left or right motor to view. 

       I find this particular option very useful when calculating right turns. Hold one wheel still while carefully and slowly pushing the "turning" wheel forward. The degrees the motor senses will show up on you screen and give you a really good idea of about how many degrees your root will need to move to make your robot turn right.  Take three readings and find the average or guess a number in the range you saw the robot measure.  Three trys at this often produce three different degrees, so be sure to do it multiple times.

The math way-

    Circumference (of the robot*) X angle of turn/360= distance needed to travel

Calculate the circumference of the robot by measuring the distance in between the two wheels (from the center of each wheel). This is the radius of the robot's full circle, so your robot's C=3.14r2 .  Take this number and multiple by the degree you wish to turn- 90, 180, etc. 90/360 =1/4  180/360=1/2. \

figure out the turn you wish the robot to move:

A right turn is 90 degrees, An about face (getting the robot to turn completely backwards) 180 degrees, and a ¾ turn is 270 degrees and a complete circle is 360 degrees

 

So moving our robot a right angle would be like turning it 90 on the circle, or 1/4 of the circle so our equations would be

C (of robot) x 1/4 =  distance to be traveled (cm)

Now that we know how far our robot must travel, we can plug back into the equation above- R#=D/C

and get the rotation necessary to turn a right angle.

Cheat sheet of equations in order

Circumference	C=2 r C=D
Distance a wheel must travel to turn	C (of circle traced) x Turn= D C x DegreeTurn/360= D
Converting distance to rotation (for a straight line)	# of rotations=   D                                 C
(Optional) Percentage of error	(theoretical C measure - Actual C measure) Theoretical C Measure (t-a/t) X 100= % of error

Doing the drama- the research section of the FLL tournament

This is how I created the presentation with kids last year (and many years & skits before that.)  You can use this as  rough outline of what to expect and how to help the kids create a dynamic presentation, keeping them in charge of major decisions, but meeting deadlines and staying on task!

  I just want to share what I've done in the past with kids encase it might be of help to you as the co-coach of FLL.  This is just one way to go about this task, and there are many other ways; Probably as many as there are FLL coaches :)

    It's important to keep the goal of the research in mind when helping the kids through this process- this is about kids feeling empowered to change and improve their world. It's about them identifying a problem and seeking out new and novel solutions to that problem.  Get the help of experts and present it c-l-e-a-r-l-y to the judges who must evaluate the problem and the possible solution among the 12-20 groups they see that day at tournament.   This part of FLL may not be as shiny or instantly as exciting as the robot game, but it has great value to them as budding scientists to learn to evaluate problems and create solutions.

Have fun,

Brandy

(Many of these decisions take place over several meetings.)

This is how my team did it last year- we all brainstormed ideas for a topic, & everyone came back with research and presented a 2-5 minute presentation on their findings.  We narrowed down the topic.  Brainstormed who the best experts would be to contact to ask questions.  Then brainstormed what questions we would ask them.  Had our secretary write down the questions.   Assigned two of the older kids to draft an email to send to the experts (This could have been done as a group letter writing skill, but we were only looking for 10-15 minutes bits as we covered all topics in each meeting). All kids went home and came back with the emails or contacts of at least one expert to send the letter to.   The letter writers came back with the draft, which was revised by the group and then were given the contacts of important experts to send the letter to.   My team sent the letter to 15 geneticists around the world (topic last year was Body Wars).  Six wrote us back; 3, we corresponded with several times in a back and forth question answer session.  At least two of the researchers told me they looked me up to see who I was and felt comfortable answering the my questions since I seemed like "a real person". So word to the wise, while the kids draft the letter, the coach's name should also be signed at the bottom.  During our gathering of expert evaluation of the kid's solution to their problem, the kids worked on their presentation. 

    I've worked with lots of youth group drama projects before, and when the kids are the ones writing the original play, we start like this:  Once the problem/plot is identified, each child comes to the table with his or her idea for the play- this is a ROUGH, general idea about the plot of the play- like a sentence that describes the play. (ex. "A woman's child has a disease, and she goes to the doctor's to see what options her child has to prevent an early death." Grim, but it was body wars. or "A new coach has a foreign soccer team and no one speaks the same language. They need to invent a robot so they can all communicate.") Once all the ideas are listed, we brainstormed and voted on the play's plot. ( I have a three tier voting system-the first time you can vote on any play plot that you like.  Then we take the top three or four and everyone can only vote once. Then we get down to the last two ideas, and we vote a final time. )  The kids generally combine the last two ideas, proving once again that many minds are used to make one great idea- and it generally makes the kids feel better working on an idea when they feel they all have input. 

         Then we start a "director's scene log", which is like a series of movements through the play, but has no written dialogue.  Again, each child writes out their vision of the movement through the play. Everyone reads their director's log out, and after voting to try one or two of the plays, or combining their favorite parts of several logs, we add in any important props that must be touched, moved or handled and then make a master Director's log.  There is no pre-written dialogue, the kids get to free form the dialogue as they move through the play, feeling the skit out.   The kids will naturally say things, like, "oh that was really funny, say that next time too." (tip: get someone to write this down.) Or "no, you can't run around shouting here because then we can't hear the doctor speak."  As we got new information from our experts in, the kids added or subtracted dialogue.  This time, we ended up having to write a script since free forming it seemed to loose a lot of important information. The kids asked to write their scripts, but I have had teams that never wrote a final script and were great.  Each team wrote their lines together, and then we practiced saying the lines loud enough to be heard.   We practiced the play a lot.  Props should be gotten as early as possible, and wardrobe should be finalized with at least enough time to try the play out in full costume for 3 presentations.

           I highly encourage you to film the presentations, before and after final wardrobe.  I don't do a lot of directing since if you set it up well, they direct themselves.   Let them see themselves, & they will find all the areas you hoped they would improve upon.  Quiet ppl realize their issue, and 90% of the time will speak up if they get to see themselves on the big screen and can't be heard.  All the talking in the world will not get them to be loud enough to be heard three rows back, but one good "movie review" can do wonders.  Ask questions about areas you see need improvement, and get the parents of kids to watch a play rehearsal and get the kids to ask questions of the audience- Did you know what my job was?  Did you understand what was happening?  Did you understand where/when the play took place?  What was your favorite part? Could you hear me/us? etc.  Parents are really nice, but they will usually point out to the kids where they need to clarify.  Sometimes, because I'm so close to the action and I know what's happening, even I miss that part of their play that is incomprehensible to the new viewer and seemed to make  no sense what so ever.  Siblings can be harsher, though that isn't always terrible, but younger sibling don't always know what's happening in the play even when the parents do, so kinda limit how often little Susy gets to input on what part makes sense to her.  

  Of course, the whole process of this is to make the kids in control of their presentation, all for members to have input so they feel heard, and to produce the highest quality project that the group can reach.  I've had groups where some kids just weren't actors, weren't really interesting in acting and were, in fact, upset that they would be asked to be in the presentation.  Hopefully, your number of this particular kind of student is less than 1/4. You can not help this, but that doesn't mean they can't be on stage and certainly does not take them out of helping make the presentation.   My answer so far has been "the human prop".  While a human coat rack is an unusual feature for a hospital, it is funny in an odd way and allows all members a part in the play that meets their skills.  Also any signage that must be walked across the stage is an excellent job for the quiet- doesn't-like-to-speak-to- new- ppl team member;  Even if all they do is present a  sign that introduces the play and then flips it to end the play.  In my team, everyone must be on stage, but not everyone talks.  

 

Good luck to your team,

Brandy