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Team Launching Pad
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Countdown...
5. Prepare paperwork that will be used by your team (Permission form to participate, Safety contract, Safety test?, "club" participation contract)
4. You've already established informal communication with the local hub. Make sure you follow the formal registration requirements and submit the team registration forms according to their guidelines. Team signup is generally in the spring. Hubs may or may not allow late registration in August/September.
3. In August, exercise a student recruiting campaign and begin regular club meetings. Club meetings will build comaraderie while providing an opportunity to teach members some basic technical skills (teaming exercises, the design process, drafting skills, tool/safety training). The team organizational chart should be finalized here.
2. Have a parent informational meeting to convey the difference between BEST participation and the typical school program...and the importance of parental involvement. Convey the discrete time frame involved and recruit regular participation for the duration of the program (6-week competition plus 1-2 preparation weeks)
1. Take your prepared team to the local hub kickoff meeting...and Blast off!
Things to Expect after Kickoff: - A "fire hydrant" like learning experience. Keep a journal of the every little thing learned so you can review them with the team later and integrate into their class curriculum.
- Teaming challenges and learning opportunities. Don't let quarreling undermine your team. Use differences as a learning opportunity.
- Challenges to staying on schedule. The first goal should be something like "a working robot"...not "a winning polished robot." If the team chooses designs that are flexible (and built in a modular fashion) the working robot can be greatly improved later without the risk of not having anything to show for all their hard work.
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