As mentioned in topics before, we have a team member with Cerebral Palsy. This means he cannot write in an engineering notebook. Our plan for next year was for him to type on the computer, we would print it out and tape it in. From there he would have a stamp with his initials on it that he could stamp as a way of signing his name.
Our question is
Will we lose the 5-point bonus?
Is there a better way to do this?
Has anyone had to do this, and has it worked out in the past?
Note: not a judge (or even a notebooker, for that matter), just someone who’s done way too much research and kinda knows how to notebook
The five-point bonus is given to a notebook that “has appropriate evidence that documentation was done in sequence with the design process”, and gives the example of “signed and dated entries in a bound notebook” - so, as long as those entries are signed/dated properly, I figure it should count. Also, the Judge Guide says that one of the guidelines for all engineering notebooks is that “…documents… relevant to the design process are permanently merged into the notebook”. I would say that these typed-out notebook pages from your teammate could be considered “documents relevant to the design process”.
Since it appears your teammate cannot write, I figure this is probably the best approach to this. Another possible approach would be to have another team member write for him, although this would likely be more time consuming than just printing out the pages. If you’re super concerned about the 5-point bonus, however, this might be the way to go.
If you do ultimately decide to go with “permanently merging” in the printed pages, as the Judge Guide says, I recommend using glue over tape if possible (the Judge Guide recommends glue, with tape being “acceptable”).
I am so glad that VEX is welcoming of all students. I know in my club there have been challenges that reasonable accommodations are made. For example, wheelchair access in Freedom Hall was made because there was a possibility that student would advance to Worlds. Or discussions about 1:1 aides, does that violate 3 person drive team in Alliance Stations having an adult in the Alliance station? Questions about visual impairments came up this season.
So my guidance is to have those discussions with your RECF Team Engagement Manager now and alert your event EPs and RECF Event Engagement Manager. Let them know the barriers to participate, and it will be addressed.
I used to participate in the Canadian Cross Country Ski Marathon - 100 mile long trail, two days. It is at these event that I would encounter a pair of skiers, one guiding with a beeper on the back and the competitor following. I noted both had same competition number, they were acting as one.
Kudos to RECF for always being inclusive and problem solving. Kudos to student team members for welcoming all to robotics!
Another thing they could do is have an online notebook which would save the immediate hassle of merging the online sections with the physical notebook. This would allow everyone on your team to collaborate on the notebook regardless of where they are (no need to lug a physical notebook to and from school).
This would also work. I’ve never dealt with online notebooks before, but I assume at least some events will accept online notebooks for review if you submit them. Even if they didn’t, as lacsap said, I’m sure some talking with the TEM/EEM could probably sort it out, whether they used a physical or digital notebook.
Yeah for my Regional Championship the event partner is (I believe) using a new Robotevents.com feature where the coaches submit a notebook to a place on the event page and a giant spreadsheet is created with all of the notebook links for the judges to look at. This gives the judges more time to look at the notebooks and more time to conduct interviews during the day of the event.
At previous events you would have had to print out the online notebook and put it in a binder, which is not a big deal if you give yourself enough time to do so.
This sounds like a great idea to incorporate your teammate. As an addition, you should propably clarify your team member has to type and print instead of writing in either his first log or the team bio. You don’t have to specify it’s Cerebral Palsy either, just a general statement like, “[Team member] is unable to physically write out logs, so this is what we’re doing so he can contribute”. Again, it’s fantastic how you all keep him involved with the notebook even if he can’t physically write in it.