Thursday, August 1, 2019

CS1: CITY SHAPER Blueprints

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,


In today's Special Edition of the FIRST LEGO League Oregon Update we will cover where to find all of the official documentation you will need this season and how to use that documentation as a coach/mentor and as a team. The items below will be presented in order of importance to the average team. I strongly recommend bookmarking the blog post for future reference.

  1. CITY SHAPER Game Guide
  2. CITY SHAPER Challenge Updates
  3. ORTOP FIRST LEGO League Hot Topics
  4. CITY SHAPER Rubrics
  5. ORTOP Innovative Project Resource Page
  6. CITY SHAPER Build Instructions
  7. Participation Rules
  8. CITY SHAPER Score Sheet
  9. Team Management Resources
  10. ORTOP Workshops, Tutorials, and other Resources
  11. CITY SHAPER Kickoff Video
  12. CITY SHAPER Table Overview
  13. CITY SHAPER Challenge Doc & Branding




  If you are new to this email or blog this is the place where you will find all of the OREGON specific FIRST LEGO League information, as well as helpful guides to get your team through the CITY SHAPER FIRST LEGO League season. Coaches and team administrators in the FIRST system for the CITY SHAPER season will be added every Monday until March, automatically. Every update this season begins with CS (CITY SHAPER) and a number, that number lets you know which update it is, if you miss an update you can find it on our blog.

1) CITY SHAPER Game Guide

The CITY SHAPER Game Guide is a temporary stand-in for your team's Engineering Notebook. This will help your team get thinking and understand the start of the new rules and the game, however; the Team Member's Engineering Notebook is the official rules and criteria. Until you get your books use this guide, if you forget your books, use this - but for most of the season please use the Engineering Notebook!

The Engineering Notebook is the most important document your team will have. Even if they never use it to keep a record of thoughts, ideas and learning, the rules, guides, and expectations can all be found in the Engineering Notebook. Every team member should be able to understand pages 4-18. The Team Meeting guide will also have an overview of the rules and expectations, but to keep things clear we will be referencing the Engineering Notebook we will be referencing the online Game Guide hen we discuss expectations and game rules.

edited: 8/23/19



2) CITY SHAPER Challenge Updates

Challenge Updates will come throughout the season. Not only are we starting kickoff with updates and clarifications, but we can be sure to expect more as teams start to think outside the box and ask for clarification for their truly creative and innovative plans. Updates OVERRULE the rules in the Engineering Notebook, so make sure you stay up to date with these changes.


3) ORTOP FIRST LEGO League Hot Topics

The Team Resources Hot Topics are where you will find links to the information you need throughout the year, especially anything Oregon specific, like tournament registration applications, team financial support, workshops, etc.  There are also some other helpful links like the Innovative Project Resource Page.


4) CITY SHAPER Rubrics

You may be wondering why I think the Rubrics are so important. Your team needs to prepare to the rubric. Not right away, but before the tournament. Everything they explain should be directly lined up to the rubric line item. While we have some of the most brilliant and observant judges in Oregon, it's still possible they don't interpret what your team shares as meeting a rubric objective. It's your team's task to take away that ambiguity and tell the judges what they are looking for by using the terms on the rubric. The rubrics can also be helpful in guiding the team's exploration through the season.


5) ORTOP Innovative Project Resource Page

The Innovative Project Resource Page is where I will share whatever Oregon accessible resources I can find for teams. I also have some general presentation tips sent in by coaches. If you have a resource or tip to share, please feel free to email it to Loridee-Wetzel@ortop.org with the subject "Innovative Project Resource"

6) CITY SHAPER Build Instructions

Build Instructions are important, they are important at the beginning and when anything breaks. There are no building instructions in your kit when it arrives. The only instructions are online.  While team members do benefit from building the models, it is important that all models are inspected or supervised during the build. The models will be built exactly to the LEGO instructions linked above (unless there is an update) and your robot needs to be ready to work with those models.


7) Participation Rules

Participation Rules, or the Adult Rules as they focus on things the coaches and mentors should be in compliance with. Just as the team should know all of the robot game rules and the innovative project requirements all adults (and teen mentors) should know the participation rules, thoroughly. While we absolutely never want to punish a team for the failures of their adult, we also can't reward teams who do not meet the participation rules.


8) CITY SHAPER Score Sheet

The alure of points. Everyone seems to want to know the score, that's where the Score Sheet comes in. Mostly this document is just for fun, but maybe it can help your team as they work on their game strategy? It's a good idea for the team members to understand this document as they will have to sign either a paper or digital version of this page at each of their table competition rounds. 


9) Team Management Resources

Team Management Resources links you to FIRST Walkthroughs and aids for all aspects of working with your team. While most teams may not need anything on this page, for those who need an extra coach tutorial, the help of the FIRST LEGO League Forums, or just help to find things in the FIRST systems, this page may have a resource to help you. 

10) ORTOP Workshops, Tutorials, and other Resources

Did you know there is a whole list of coach recommended online tutorials on the ORTOP website? The Workshops, Tutorials, and other Resources is where we keep them. You will find links to the ORTOP workshop materials (as well as how to sign up during the summer months) If you don't know where to start, work from the top down. If you have a favorite resource that should be added to the list, please let me know!


11) CITY SHAPER Kickoff Video

The Kickoff Video gets the whole season started! After watching it with the team, and then maybe again with the parents or an interested mentor or sponsor, there really isn't much more use for this video. Still, it does a good job of getting those creative minds going.

12) CITY SHAPER Table Overview

The Table Overview is a handy one-page glance at the field. As such alone it's not all that helpful to the team. However, it will be a page very similar to this that the team sees in the Robot Design Judging Room this year at their event. The team should utilize this page when practicing the explanation of their robot game strategy, robot design, and programming efforts. 

13) CITY SHAPER Challenge Doc & Branding

The FIRST LEGO League Challenge and Resource page, where most of these items can be found, has a few more items that do not merit their own category. The most prominent of these is the CITY SHAPER Challenge. This document is often downloaded in mistake when looking for the previously mentioned Game Guide. What the CITY SHAPER Challenge document is, it's the page you hand a relative who wants to understand what the team is doing, but doesn't need to understand the actual rules. It's a great piece to share with people who ask about your team. It can be very helpful in fundraising with local businesses. Your team members don't need to use it during meetings. 

On the resource page, you can also find a zip file full of CITY SHAPER logos, these may be used in any authorized way that the Branding and logo guidelines allows. Some teams love to have the logo of the game put on stickers, their shirts, hats, or other fun and creative ways. Whatever you do, please follow the branding instructions.

I'm going to leave you today with a zen-like video I made for our Facebook cover page to celebrate the season. There is no sound. Just watch as the city moves behind the titles and remember, you can do this - you are a facilitator and the kids are the ones who are going to do all the work. Use your Core Values, let the dust settle, and construction begin!

Best Wishes,
Loridee

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