I just order the Vex classroom lab kit. How do I get started with my students? I am teaching a robotics unit for 18 weeks. With a future robotic team going the a competition in April. We should start up the robotic team in December. How do I get started. Any help is welcome. :eek:
Well the Vex lesson plans are pretty good, that should take up the bulk of the time.
I can suggest two different documents as adjunct things to build:
Vex for the Technically Challenged
(by the Technically Challenged) by Yolande Petersen and Justin Petersen
This is a good follow on book to the inventors guide. There are a number of good building tips, different drive trains and beginning programming.
VEX Machinations
A Step-by-Step Project Guide,Version 1.0, Project Design and Programming:Justin Petersen (except where otherwise noted), Compilation:Yolande Petersen
This is a great book with a wide variety of projects ranging from simple moving robots to a candy sorter. Highly recommended for most builders. Some programming is required for the more advanced projects.
Inside the Classroom Kit is a VEX Protobot Robot Kit. Inside this kit are step-by-step instructions to build two very simple VEX Robots: the Tumbler, and the Protobot. I recommend you start off by following these instructions to get a feel for building with VEX.
After this, I would open up the 2008 VEX Inventorâs Guide (download it here: http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex-robotics-downloads.shtml) and flip through that. You may also play with some of the âChallengesâ in the Challenges section of the appendix.
Or, maybe youâll be ready to skip all that and jump right into building a competition Robot for Elevation. You can download the game manual from here:
[http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex-elevation.shtml
Ok⌠now here is the big secret to building with VEX. I always tell my students âDesign is an Iterative Processâ. With VEX, it is easy to iterate and improve on your designs. Emphasize a culture of prototyping, experimentation, iteration, and continuous improvement. Your students will get some great insight into the engineering design process and you can help them build a VERY successful robot with just a few nudges in the right direction. I find myself saying things like:
âWow, that works great, but what can we do to make it better at ____ ?â
âIt seems pretty good, but is there anything about it we want to improve?â âWhat did we learn from this prototype that we can apply to the rest of the robot?â
âDid this experiment give you any ideas for other stuff we can try?â
Welcome to VEX. I think you should have a great experience. Donât hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
Regards,
John](http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex-elevation.shtml)