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It is important for participants to realize that, although there is some whole-group instruction, this is primarily a problem-solving course. The instructor has amassed an enormous collection of resources for students to access to solve the problems raised by each challenge. The teacher will not solve these problems for you, since this would defeat the purpose of the course and make it impossible for teams to go at their own pace.

The teacher will give you suggestions for research, possible approaches, maybe pointers from when he or others accomplished the challenge before. However, it is unreasonable for you to expect to be guided out of every problem by the hand.

Although Mr. Jones is an experienced programmer with knowledge of several programming languages, he does not know every single one of the hundreds of programming icon combinations of RoboLab and will sometimes help you by guiding you through the reference manual or online sources.

Some Instructor's Roles Some Student's Roles
  • Keep accurate records
  • Judge challenges fairly and consistently
  • Design attainable challenges
  • Create challenge "playing fields"
  • Assure proper behavior and good manners among students
  • For students who are stuck, point out problem-solving approaches, direct teams to manuals and tutorials, provide insight based on past experience, or otherwise direct the team to various methods to solve their problem themselves.
  • Follow all of the teacher's instructions and class rules
  • Use all class time working on class work
  • Behave well and maintain good manners
  • Apply a systematic, problem-solving approach to challenges
  • Respect ACC property
Team Relations
  • Can I pick my teammate? -- No. To make the class fair for everyone, teammates will be assigned on the basis of the Learning Styles Inventory taken the first day. Where possible, students are paired with students who have the same major learning style.
  • Can I work alone? -- No. Like many situations in real life where resources are limited, you need to work cooperatively together to do the best. It is one of the problem-solving learning experiences of the class that may be especially challenging to those who prefer to work alone or who are assigned teammates with a different working style or different goals.
  • What if my partner and I can't agree? -- Call the instructor over for help mediating. Be ready to compromise: to give up something in exchange for getting something you want. Getting on with a teammate assigned to you is part of the problem solving aspect of the class. Unfortunately, we cannot always get what we want.
  • Can we help other pairs?-- Yes.
  • Can we switch teammates during the course?-- Generally, no. This could be disasterous and cause a lot of bad feelings that would ruin the learning experiences of students in the class.

    The most legitimate reason for splitting assigned teams during the course would be for those who simply wish to get to know others or learn from others.

    Changing partners because you cannot agree on something is not a legitimate reason to change.

    This must be done very cafefully to preserve respect for everyone. The following conditions apply: (1)The teacher agrees; (2)Teammates split the points of their team and take half with them to the new team; (3)ALL parties agree completely to the switch; (4)The switch is made with NO malice or outward hostility. All parties remain respectful and considerate of one another.
Web Journal
  • Is it 10 points per journal entry? -- No. 10 points per day so long as you make at least one. Students are strongly encouraged to make journal entries detailed to record their learning experiences. The day's points are forfeit unless a satisfactory web journal entry is made. "Satisfactory" journal entries clearly outline the day's goals, problems, and solutions or solution attempts that failed. Include things you want to be sure to remember for later (like code snippets and tips on assembling LEGOs).
    • LEGO Organizing
  • How do you keep tack of all these Legos? -- There are literally THOUSANDS of Lego pieces at your disposal in this class. As a small investment in all of our success here, each individual is required to invest 5 minutes per class in organizing the Legos. The day's points are forfeit unless a satisfactory effort is made. Teams earn 10 points for organizing the Legos: putting like pieces into labeled containers. Notify Mr. Jones when you're starting or else the points cannot be accounted. Teams may decide to have one member do all the minutes for the team.
    • Points
  • How do we earn points?-- Points are earned in 3 ways:
    (1) by completing challenges,
    (2) by making entries in your web journal every day, and (3) by investing 5 minutes per individual in keeping our Lego stock organized.
  • Why do we earn points?-- Points represent the skill level you achieved and knowledge you acquired about robotics. Winners are selected by the number of points earned.
  • What if I don't care about points?-- That's perfectly fine. You and your teammate are welcome to approach the lessons non-competitively.
    • Challenges
  • Can we use as many pieces as we want? -- Teams are collectively responsible for all pieces they use (meaning you cannot say "HE lost it, not me!") but the only limits are set in each challenge. Most challenges require the robot to be small enough to fit into the white box that comes with the kit. Motors and sensors are typically signed out from the instructor on an as-needed basis.
  • How many times can we attempt a challenge? -- As many times as you want. If you earn a higher number of points, the difference is added to your original score on that challenge.
  • Can we go online to get code?-- Yes. Programmers do this all the time and you will probably have to understand some of it (and so learn how it works) in order to make the changes necessary for the program to work with your robot.
  • What if we complete a challenge successfully, but decide not to do the "adaptations"?-- No penalty or loss of points is incurred.
  • Can we give up?-- Yes, but the whole point value of the challenge you gave up on is deducted from your account. IF you return to complete the task successfully later, your points are restored and you earn full credit. For example, suppose you give up on the MazeCrawling robot because you're not ready for it. You lose 100 points. You then go back and do some easier challenges to build skill and, more confident, you attack that MazeCrawler successfully. You are awarded 200 points: 100 that you get back as a reward for trying again, and the 100 that the challenge is worth.
  • Can we use non-lego parts?-- No.
  • Can we work on these at home?-- No.
  • Can we try out the robot on the playing field before we are judged?-- Yes, but you may have to share with other pairs working on the same challenge.
  • Do we have to do all of the challenges?-- No. There probably isn't time to anyway.
  • Do we have to do the challenges in any specific order?-- No, but it is recommended that you do the easier ones first, especially the freeform, Beginner's Challenge, Intermediate Challenge and the maze crawler.
  • What if my kit does not have the lego parts I need?-- The instructor has some lego pieces and sensors your team can borrow and you can borrow from other teams.
  • Can we just make our own robots and invent our own challenges?-- All robots are wither built to specifications of a tutorial or built to meet a challenge outlined in this course. Students are not to develop their own challenges, but suggestions are certainly welcome.

    • Instructor: David Jones