Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) talks about his vision of the future with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. Kamen discusses the important role technology does and should play in the education of youth and briefly discusses how FIRST competitions are assisting in this effort.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/06/video-dean-kamen-makes-predictions-for-the-future/
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Recently FIRST released the name of the 2010 FLL Challenge! The "Biomedical Engineering" focused challenge will be appropriately titled, "Bod Forward!"
Visit http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll/default.aspx?id=970 and read the release under the FLL Program Updates section (located under the image box) or click http://usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/Robotics_Programs/FLL/Challenges/2011/2010_FLL_Body_Forward%20Overview.pdf for a printable release.
FIRST has announced the regions which have been selected by lottery to invite their Champion's Award winning Team to the World Festival for Smart Move Challenge - in Atlanta, Georgia, from April 14-17, 2010!
To view if your region was selected, visit. http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll/content.aspx?id=766
The Texas Workforce Commission along with Texas Governor Rick Perry, announced recently a $1 million investment from the Texas Workforce Commission to expand statewide student participation in robotics education programs.
Read more here: http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/13937/
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) has announced that their World Championship held in April each year will be moving after this competition season!
The 2011, 2012, and 2013 Championships will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, according to recent reports from FIRST.
To learn more about the move and the FIRST organization, check out this press release. http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/content.aspx?id=15777
At Intermediate School 75 in New York, students prepare for the next robotic challenge, even with their lead programmer in the hospital!
According to Donny Swanson, team adviser, the group has been working on their project to combat global warming by making improvements to their school. The team wanted to strengthen their project by sharing their research with other schools and receive feedback on their ideas. The school was allocated funds to purchase new technology to assist their learning. This new technology enabled students to share their work with others without leaving their classroom.
The equipment also proved useful in another way, allowing Mr. Swanson's LEGO class to communicate with their head programmer while he was away from school awaiting a heart transplant. The team wanted their ill teammate's input and advice. Thanks to the added technology all members of team are able to communicate, whether from their classroom, hospital bed, or home!
Check out the following video to get a closer look at this team's project.