momtotkbb Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 I thought that I read about someone implementing a lego robotics course using Mindstorms on WTM - but I'm not finding anything. If you've created a course what resources did you use? I was thinking of the following for a 7th grader: The Mindstorm kit The course material from Carnegie The Myan Adventure (I think that's what it called) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meet me in paris Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 We just had our daughter do First Lego League last year. It was a great experience for her - they used the Mindstorm kits, and their coaches were all engineers. It cost about $50 for the year and *completely* worth it. Can you delegate that one out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) I might have posted on it at some point... but it would have been ages ago! :) It's a good introduction to problem solving with Mindstorms -- how to get from point A to point B to accomplish X, Y, and Z. We did it as a "pre-FLL" group class while DS was also doing FLL with another group. I think I like it as "pre-FLL" better than trying it simultaneously with the competition schedule... and it's an excellent thing to do with a small group of kids, although it can certainly be done individually too. One of the things I needed out of it was a chance for some of the kids who had never worked on teams to learn the niceties of cooperative work... Offering ideas without being demanding, discussing pros and cons objectively, trying different things, and just because three people agree with you doesn't mean you're right.... that sort of thing. It was excellent for that, without the added stress and deadlines of FLL. DS was fine in FLL that year, but that wasn't his first round of team competition either. If you're just wanting an individual robotics curriculum, I think the Mindstorms kit and Mayan Adventure would be great. I've never seen the Carnegie materials so I can't comment on them... but if your student doesn't have a lot of background in general engineering principles, that's one area that could be beefed up. We had the Lego engineering curriculum and kit, too... I can't remember now if that was the year before or the same time, but it was a good combination. ETA: found an old post.... http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140887&highlight=mindstorms Edited May 15, 2011 by KAR120C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 (edited) I'm so glad you asked this. My ds wants to do an intro robotics course next year for 9th grade and I'm thinking of using Mindstorms too. So I'm :bigear: big time! Would you be willing to post links to the items you listed so I know I'm looking at the right stuff? (I know absolutely nothing about robotics.) Edited May 16, 2011 by MamaSheep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 How does one find a LEGO Robotics league to play in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Our local 4H does a lego robotics class... maybe you have something similar. It's not lego league, but it have been a really good class to learn how to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I had the same question earlier today and found a locator tool at this website: http://www.usfirst.org/Default.aspx. I can't remember exactly what I clicked to get to the locator, but I bet you can find it if you click around a bit. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 My son is doing a Logo to Lego class this year through The Potter's School. It doesn't sound like what you are looking for, necessarily, but it might be helpful to someone else reading this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Looking at stuff now, I'm seeing that The Mayan Adventure is for NXT and then The King's Treasure says it's for NXT 2.0. But The King's Treasure also says it's a sequel for The Mayan Adventure. Does anyone know what the differences between NXT and NXT 2.0 are, and whether the Mayan book would still work with a 2.0 set, or whether you're intended to begin with the other book if you get a 2.0 set? Also, I'm wondering what the differences are between the homeschool education set and the retail set. It looks like the retail set costs less and has more pieces. Why? Is there something in the software that comes with the homeschool set that doesn't come in the software for the retail version? I am officially befuddled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 You can get all your questions answered by the man himself, Jim Kelly, at the NXTStep Blog. http://thenxtstep.com/smf/ If you click on book discussions, there is a forum for each NXT book. There are some key differences to be aware of. The software which comes bundled w/ the retail kit is different from that which you buy separately w/ the education set. I think the Homeschool education set may come bundled w/ software now but you'd have to double check on that. the retail software has 4-5 models to build w/ instructions. It's for kids to jump in and get started building. The education software comes with a tutorial instead for learning about the various sensors etc. the education software also has a data analysis function built in. You can do this w/ the retail software but you'd have to program it and then dump the data to Excel for analysis. W/ the education software, the analysis is done w/ NXT-G and you get real-time data analysis. Other differences, and be sure to check me on this b/c it's been a few years since I've been immersed in all things NXT but the education version (not sure about the homeschool version as that wasn't available when I was purchasing) comes w/ the battery pack. The retail kit does not. When you're doing the NXT books like Mayan Adventure, One Kit Wonders, etc they assume you have rechargeable batteries in it and not the battery pack. The pack adds about an 0.5-1in of thickness therefore sometimes you have to modify the design to account for the pack. That happened to use when we were building the first Mayan Adventure robot. The battery pack is worth it though. As far as pieces, there is a Mayan Adventures parts pack which you can buy if you own the education set so that you have all the required pieces. Most of the books were designed w/ the retail kit in mind. You can start w/ either Mayan Adventure or King's Treasure....If I recall correctly, the difficulty doesn't change much between the two. When Mayan Adventure was written, the 2.0 kit wasn't out yet. I think it's a sequel b/c it continues the story line. I would still begin w/ Mayan Adventure. I can't imagine you wouldn't be able to do Mayan Adventure w/ a 2.0 set. If your kid has lots of LEGO Technic kits around, you likely have what you will need. You can post to Jim and he'd tell you which pieces you need that might not be included in the NXT1.0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romeacademy Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Does anyone know what the differences between NXT and NXT 2.0 are, and whether the Mayan book would still work with a 2.0 set, or whether you're intended to begin with the other book if you get a 2.0 set? According to ds (my resident expert on such things), there are several differences in the parts between the NXT and the NXT 2.0. You get different Technics pieces in the 2.0 set, so if you are following a book that shows you how to build up a project, you may not have the pieces you need if you are using a book written for a different kit. This link explains the difference in the pieces. (scroll to the bottom of the page) He says the programming is "pretty much" the same. He had used the 1.0 in FSS, but got a 2.0 set when they came out. There were very few 2.0 books out at the time, and he found it frustrating to try to use a book written for the 1.0 with his 2.0 set. He might be able to do it better now that he has been doing it a while, but for learning I think it would be best to get a book written for the set you have. Hope that helps. I am quoting ds - my own knowledge in this area is woefully limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I think we have decided to go with the retail kit. We'll be using The Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Discovery Book by Laurens Valk which I saw recommended here. I'm the one wanting to expose my kids to some engineering and robotics--they are not the ones begging to do it! And I expect to be heavily involved in figuring it all out, especially given their ages (almost 11 and 8). I think the retail kit will be plenty for our needs. If it turns out that they love it and want more, we can add to what we have or try to find a team situation for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romeacademy Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 The Discovery Book is excellent. That's what we got ds. He had been building a lot, but wanted to do more programming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Thank you so much for all the info and links! On one of the links there was a link to a place you can buy a retrograde kit with parts to add to a 2.0 kit in order to be able to build NXT projects. That might be useful. http://inanimatereason.com/shop/viewitem.php?item=NXT21KIT I'm thinking of getting the 2.0 retail set, The Discovery Book, and The King's Treasure to start us off, and see how that goes. I could always add more stuff in later if this isn't meaty enough or if we get through it all too fast. I'm seeing that they sell both the 2.1 education software (with the tutorials and the data analysis) and the Carnegie robotics curriculum separately, so in theory I could add those in. What I'm not sure about there, though, is whether those would be compatible with the NXT 2.0 retail set, since they're evidently made to go with the NXT education set. Sigh... I should have known, when the word "robotics" left that child's mouth, that I was launching into a realm of maternal confusion populated with acronyms and decimal notations that don't actually explain anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Yes the 2.1 Education software is compatible w/ the NXT2.0 set. The bricks (the brain) are the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Yes the 2.1 Education software is compatible w/ the NXT2.0 set. The bricks (the brain) are the same. Thanks. :) I was pretty sure the brain bits worked the same, I just wasn't sure if it had projects that used different connector bits or different sensors or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtotkbb Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 We did some LEgo sci ed classes this spring through our local science center and this is what they recommended: http://www.legoeducation.us/store/detail.aspx?pl=6&ID=1467&c=0&t=0&l=0 Along w/ the Myan adventure book --- http://www.legoeducation.us/store/detail.aspx?pl=6&ID=1568&c=0&t=0&l=0 Then as I researched I found the additional book mentioned. Here's another link for info I've been reading: http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/content/lego/curriculum/rc_tx_index.htm Our co-op is looking at starting a league - the teacher from the science center has given us some info. I looked into my ds joining one through the science center - but they meed after school hours and my ds plays baseball year round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in CA Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 We just had our daughter do First Lego League last year. It was a great experience for her - they used the Mindstorm kits, and their coaches were all engineers. It cost about $50 for the year and *completely* worth it. Can you delegate that one out? That's what we'll be doing. I just signed both boys up. We are really looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 We did some LEgo sci ed classes this spring through our local science center and this is what they recommended: http://www.legoeducation.us/store/detail.aspx?pl=6&ID=1467&c=0&t=0&l=0 Along w/ the Myan adventure book --- http://www.legoeducation.us/store/detail.aspx?pl=6&ID=1568&c=0&t=0&l=0 Then as I researched I found the additional book mentioned. Here's another link for info I've been reading: http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/content/lego/curriculum/rc_tx_index.htm Our co-op is looking at starting a league - the teacher from the science center has given us some info. I looked into my ds joining one through the science center - but they meed after school hours and my ds plays baseball year round. Thanks! Did the science center people say why they didn't recommend the 2.0 set? Is it just because the education set is what comes packaged with the curriculum software? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtotkbb Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 They didn't say and I didn't think to ask at the time. At the science center we actually used the "older" version which I guess is the 2.0. The teacher just gave me a flyer she printed from the store and circled materials. She also suggested the Webots or something like that for my ds that just turned 8. Our science center is having a workshop/class this summer for teachers but I looked into it and I'm not eligible bec I don't have my state certification for this state --I'm not a "real teacher". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 They didn't say and I didn't think to ask at the time. At the science center we actually used the "older" version which I guess is the 2.0. The teacher just gave me a flyer she printed from the store and circled materials. She also suggested the Webots or something like that for my ds that just turned 8. Fair 'nuff. Thanks. :) Our science center is having a workshop/class this summer for teachers but I looked into it and I'm not eligible bec I don't have my state certification for this state --I'm not a "real teacher". Oh THAT stinks! You must be imaginary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbpaulie Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 We're in a similiar spot. I'm considering buying an NXT set for my 8 yo ds. And considering offering a co-op or summer class. Do you think any of the books listed would be better for a younger group (grades 3-5). Also, we wanted to buy a kit that we could then possibly use for a Lego League team. We were leaning towards the educational set http://www.legoeducation.us/store/detail.aspx?CategoryID=178&by=9&ID=1303&c=1&t=0&l=0 until I started to look at the Lefgo League site which suggests this set https://gofll.usfirst.org/pages/product_description_and_pricing at an even greater price? What's the difference other than more pieces? And what's a team license? Can you successfully participate in Lego League w/ the cheaper version or do you really need the more expensive version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 (edited) I'm not sure of the exact difference. THe team kit comes w/ the rechargeable battery which costs nearly $100 I believe. It also says it comes w/ a storage box and two sorting trays. With the retail NXT you'll have to design a storage system. I use a large fishing tackle box. It holds 4 of the trays which I use to sort pieces and the top holds everything else - brick, cables, motors, balls, etc. It's easy to transport as well. that's the only difference I see. I'm not certain about the team license. It might allow each member to put the software on their computer so they can work on the programs at home but you should ask to be certain. Hmm I think you might get more cables and you also get the little lamps which I don't think come in the homeschool or retail package. Edited May 23, 2011 by Capt_Uhura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbpaulie Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Our science center is having a workshop/class this summer for teachers but I looked into it and I'm not eligible bec I don't have my state certification for this state --I'm not a "real teacher". That is probably tied to funding issues for the program. Don't be insulted. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 My kiddos have done FLL for the past two years (went to state both years, and Best Innovative Design this past year. :D) My dm bought them a set for home, and they quickly used up all the models and instructions for that, so they got this book, which they really liked. My 8 yo is the one who uses them the most now, as the girls are moving on to programming in Java, etc. They are perfect for that age (8-12.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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