My students need a reliable and portable computer that they can take to practices and qualifying tournaments. They need this to program our Lego MindStorm robots.
FIRST Lego League is a global completion designed to help students in grades 4-8 work together as a team while solving world problems. There are 3 main parts to this program: character development, mindstorm programming and presenting a solution to a real world problem.
The 70% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch at our school.
Their parents have allowed their children to stay after school three nights a week for two hours to practice and research for their FIRST Lego League Challenge which lasts from August until March. Our students benefit from this program because it allows for exploration into science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. The programming software needed to program the robots takes up lots of memory. We are currently borrowing 3 teachers' computers after school to program, but when those teachers need their computers we are not able to program. If we had our own computer, we'd be able to program and use it for presentations during our tournaments.
My Project
The students will be using software to program a MindStorm robot to maneuver around obstacles on our table using light, touch and inferred sensors. The students use programming blocks to "tell" the computer what to do. This process is extremely challenging and takes hours to complete. The students will also use this computer to research and present their solution to a panel of community members, school board members and judges throughout the FLL season. the students put so many hours into their solution. This computer will help them level the playing field so that they have a chance to win a FIRST Lego League award this season!
Our students share their project solution with many community members.
The challenge that they solve is a real world problem. This year's challenge will ask students to think about our garbage problem on our planet. Ultimately, it will teach them more about protecting our natural resources, conservation and environment. FIRST Lego League gives students resources that they do not have access to at home. It gives them a chance to practice skills that will lead them to college.
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