FIRST Technology Challenge

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...

Self-Reflection is an essential life skill. Whether it be our own behavior, job performance, or when brainstorming a new invention, learning how to step back and objectively provide self-feedback is invaluable. Not everyone around us will be willing or able to provide the type of feedback that we need to move ahead and improve. Some situations may not even allow for feedback to come our way. Instead of being left wondering questions like “why?” or “what did I do wrong?” or “how did I do?” over and over, we all need to develop the skill of providing our own feedback after objective self-reflection so we will be able to quickly reflect, adapt, and move forward.  There's a lot of talk about setting goals and, don't get me wrong, goals are important, but what happens if we don't meet our goals? Does that mean we wasted your time? Good scientists, explorers, engineers, inventors, and even chefs - they all know that accidents often lead to amazing discoveries. Learning from ...