·  Title of your project (1 point)

·  Goals of your project (2 points)

·  Budget - Amount requested and materials you wish to purchase (1 point)

·  Procedure - How will you carry out your project? (2 points)

·  What will the students do with the resources you have requested (2 points)

·  Evaluation:  How will you determine whether your project is successful or not? (2 points)

 

Robotics is for Girls, Too!

 

Goals: The goals of my project are to form a girls’ robotics club, made up of middle and high school students that are interested in programming and robotics. The club would go on to compete in the US FIRST Robotics Competition, and ultimately prove that the generalization that only boys can successfully compete in such competitions is simply not true.

 

Budget- The FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) kit costs $750. This kit includes the Lego NXT Brick, wheels, hubs and other necessary materials aside from basic tools. Most schools are able to fundraise and acquire sponsors to help cover the cost but my humble group does not yet have the clout or popularity to attain such things this year. In order to compete this school year, we will need to find the money for the materials and the registration fee.

 

Procedure- My girls will meet once a week after school to work on their robot. We will partner with City Tech and learn the basics of programming before building our own. As per the rules and regulations, I am simply a facilitator and the programming and design will be left entirely to the students in the club. Upon completing our robot, we will enter local competitions and work our way to the top!

 

Resources- My students simply cannot enter any competitions without having a robot to enter. The FTC kit contains everything that they need, aside from screw drivers and such, to successfully program their robot. They will be responsible for modifying parts for optimal performance and making sure there aren’t any detrimental bugs in the program.

 

Evaluation- I will evaluate how successful this project is based upon the enthusiasm and team work I see in my students. This is our first year doing this, and we will not be disappointed if we don’t make it far in the competitions. I think that the self confidence that these girls will gain by completing this type of program is far more valuable than actually winning the competition.