FIRST Technology Challenge

Your FIRST Tech Challenge team just finished their first season. What are you going to do now? Why, share what you've learned by mentoring another team, of course! Fruit Salad and Octopi. That’s exactly what Team #6007 Octopi did. When FIRST Lego League team Fruit Salad transitioned up to FTC, Octopi was there to help. Likewise, Fruit Salad has been mentoring FLL team The Brick 6. It’s not easy to learn all the pieces of being a FIRST team. Sharing knowledge and experience with another group is a valuable way to give back to the community, which is exactly what Octopi and now Fruit Salad are doing. In addition to knowledge, the three teams share work space and resources, too, of great benefit to all three teams.  The Brick Six and Fruit Salad. “The part of FTC that was the most daunting when we were rookies was the actual competition,” said Octopi. They were able to help Fruit Salad be prepared for competition, plus the teams cheer each other on.  “Mentoring other FTC te...

Kathie Kentfield and Jenny Beatty at the 2014 New England District Championship in Boston NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) was formed twelve years ago when three FIRST Robotics Competition mentors started exchanging information on Chief Delphi, an online forum for FIRST teams.   They realized that even though they were from different areas of the country (California, Connecticut, and Maryland) their teams were experiencing the same struggles – how to plan travel, raise funds, and recruit more mentors among others.   And although there were plenty of resources available for technical topics, not as much existed to support the mentors dealing with the non-technical areas.   They decided to form a virtual organization to provide resources and support to mentors like themselves. Jenny Beatty, co-founder, is the organization’s Chief Learning Officer.   Kathie Kentfield, also a co-founder, is the organization’s Director.   Together they run NEMO.   “...

When Ray Holt's FIRST  LEGO League team graduated after two years in the program, he was happy to learn about another FIRST  program just starting in Mississippi. Ray, who is a retired computer scientist and STEM educator, was visiting a friend in Mississippi in 2010 when a local ministry started talking to him about the need for technical learning in the rural community of Mt. Olive, population 800. He sympathized with the struggle and agreed to stick around and help teach extracurricular classes on Saturdays for elementary, middle and high school students.  In addition to curriculum he developed to teach the kids, he also started an FLL Team when the program was in it's pilot year in the state.  Two years later, he was still in Mt. Olive teaching and looking for more opportunities for his students.   Ray Holt with his FTC Team, Purple Thunder In 2012, he decided to add to his schedule and go back to college at the University of Mississippi to earn a master's d...