[NSFMSP] NSF MSP - Botball

[Cathryne Stein]

Greetings,
Since Stacey has encouraged us to use the listserv to talk about MSP 
opportunities and programs, I would like to offer information about 
the Botball Robot Education Program and its use as a teaching tool 
for science, tech, engineering & math. Oklahoma schools, including 
several GEAR UP schools, have been using Botball for the last three 
years with their middle and high school students.  Botball has been 
shown to be especially effective with a wide variety of students, and 
especially so with  at-risk students or those who are not easily 
engaged.  (A team from a California "continuation" (alternative) 
school won the National Botball Championship last year!).

I apologize for the "commercial" below, but wanted to include a 
description of the Botball Robot Education Program for those who may 
be unfamiliar with the program.

Botball is an education and public outreach program for middle and 
high school students that capitalizes on kids' fascination with 
robots and uses this to get them excited about science and 
technology. Through the acts of designing, building, and programming 
robots, students begin to truly comprehend how we use the tools of 
math and science to accomplish creative projects and learn about the 
world.

Botball starts with a hands-on workshop for teachers, in which they 
learn how to use robotics to support curriculum in many subject 
areas. During this workshop, we give teachers a customized kit that 
contains everything needed to create robots. Teachers give this 
information and the robot kit to their students. The students then 
use these kits and work in teams to design, build, and program (in 
the C language) a team of small mobile robots to play in their 
Regional Botball Tournament and Exhibition. Students also participate 
in an Internet Research/Website Development project as part of the 
Botball program, helping them gain valuable skills in 
telecommunications that will help put them ahead in life.

Botball robotics equipment is intended to be reprogrammed and reused 
for classroom and extracurricular activities long after the Botball 
Tournament and Exhibition is over. In this way, the equipment and 
teacher training can continue to impact many students every year. In 
general, about forty students participate on an actual Botball team 
(this number gets even higher for middle schools) for a regional 
event, and the equipment will be used with other students as well on 
a year round basis.

Botball can help foster partnerships between school districts and 
institutes of higher education, as universities or colleges can 
provide valuable mentorship for local teams. (and just think of the 
recruiting possibilities -- with all these highly motivated high 
school students participating in the program!)

Botball is not like Battlebots on TV
KISS Institute's Botball Robot Education Program is primarily an 
educational program. The real heart of this program is the Teachers' 
Workshop, and the many ways in which the teachers use robotics to 
inspire increased understanding in students (although the competition 
and exhibition elements are rewarding places for the students to show 
their work.)

Unlike other robot events, Botball robots do not use remote control, 
so the physical skill of the "driver" is never a factor. There is no 
driver. Botball robots' behaviors are based solely on their 
programming and feedback from their sensors. Botball robots must 
start by themselves, play the game according to whatever strategy the 
students programmed, and turn themselves off after ninety seconds.

Botball rounds are not intended to be destructive (although there 
frequently is interaction). Robots score points by putting 
appropriately colored pieces in scoring positions. In general, 
Botball robots are physically smaller than the robots you see on TV 
and they involve no machining or specialized equipment. Since they 
tend to be about the size of a large toaster oven, they are easy to 
transport or lock away.

More information is available at www.botball.org.
Cathryne
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Cathryne Stein
President & CEO
KISS Institute for Practical Robotics
1818 W. Lindsey Dr, Bld D, STE 100
Norman, OK  73069

www.botball.org
voice(405) 579-4609
fax    (405) 329-4664