TEAM 1403 COUGAR ROBOTICS
PROJECT/ACTIVITY: Introduction to Robotics
Date: 10/21/2020
Where: Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Number of Students: 85
Number of Mentors: 8
Impact on Team: The Cougar Class began with an informative discussion led by Mike about what FRC is and how Team 1403 is run. He discussed the morals and ethics of the team along with the technical aspects. Additionally, Mike provided a brief history of the team, which gave the new members a better understanding of the various types of people they will be working with. Alice, one of the team captains, followed his presentation with an overview of her journey through robotics on Team 1403. She spoke about the different levels of responsibility and knowledge that comes with years spent on the team. Furthermore, Alice alleviated any stress that the new members may have had and encouraged them to act on their curiosity; similarly, she inspired veteran members to pass on their knowledge to new members but to also seek out more opportunities on the team. Nidhi, the other team captain, spoke about her unique experiences on the team and implored team members to find more ways to be involved. Afterwards, the mentors were given the chance to reflect on their experience on the team and what they do to help the team grow. The mentors reminded the members to always ask for help and to rely on them for guidance. A big takeaway from the presentations was that while 1403 was similar to a small business, it was still a big family.
Kahoot: Due to the recent circumstances, the challenge for this year’s cougar class was an interactive online trivia game on “Kahoot.” During this challenge, individual team members competed against each other by answering twenty questions to receive a spot on the podium of the top three players. The “Kahoot” consisted of questions that focused on the many aspects of Team 1403, such as its history, achievements, and interesting facts about team leadership. Through this challenge, team members learned more information about the team, regardless of being a new member or having experience on the team. To extend this idea, team members learned the importance of coopertition, which stands for “cooperative competition” and is one of the most important core values. Throughout multiple breaks in between the questions, team members were able to help each other understand their mistakes while maintaining a light-hearted atmosphere and competing against each other. By implementing valuable core values such as coopertition into fun activities, our team is able to prepare for the competitive atmosphere during competition.
