FIRST Technology Challenge

You’d be hard pressed to find someone these days who is NOT using at least one social media channel some of the time. It is one of the ways that modern humans are connecting with each other and sharing information. Businesses and organizations have also found it useful in sharing news and/or tips or tricks.  At FIRST Tech Challenge , we use social media to share information and resources, but most importantly to keep our community connected. We know lots of teams are using it, too, to share what they’re doing, to spread the word about FIRST , and to help promote their team.    To that end, we’ve pulled together a few recommendations to help you use your social media to achieve your team’s goals. This document, FTC Social Media Guidelines and Recommendations , is on the FTC Team Resources webpage under "Outreach and Marketing." In the guide, we briefly walk you through the process of planning out how you would like to use social media and also discuss ways to ensure success

FIRST Tech Challenge celebrates the engineering process with the Engineering Notebook. Not only is it a way for teams to track the design, build, and iteration of their robot, but it can also help to keep the team structured and organized, as well as provide a record of their overall growth throughout the season. Engineering Notebooks help Judges to learn more about the team and their robot and are required to be considered for FIRST Tech Challenge Awards . There are additional requirements for the Engineering Notebook to be considered for some of the awards, such as including a Business/Strategic Plan for the Connect Award. To help your team master the Engineering Notebook, we have three new resources for you this year, in addition to the information provided in the Mentor Manual. All of these resources can be found on the FTC Team Resources webpage under the new Engineering Notebook section. Engineering Notebooks Guidelines: this document outlines the requirements for the Engineeri

The FIRST Tech Challenge season is well underway and we are fast approaching the first events of the season , which always gets us thinking about the super volunteer community of FTC. We interviewed Outstanding Volunteers across the globe to create our first ever top ten list: Why Volunteering with FTC Rocks! #10: It is a great excuse to play with robots! For all those adults who are still kids at heart, this program is for you. At FTC, we embrace our geekiness and share our excitement over gadgets and technology. Still recall your LEGOs, erector sets, and blocks fondly? This is the place for you, too. #9: It’s a chance to use some of the knowledge locked up in your brain. Mentoring young people is important work for the young people, but also puts some of that knowledge and experience of adults to use! Whether you are a writer, planner, scientist, engineer, cheerleader, organizer, or leader, your skills are needed! #8: It’s an opportunity to learn something new. Everyone learns wi