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Self-Reflection is an essential life skill. Whether it be our own behavior, job performance, or when brainstorming a new invention, learning how to step back and objectively provide self-feedback is invaluable. Not everyone around us will be willing or able to provide the type of feedback that we need to move ahead and improve. Some situations may not even allow for feedback to come our way. Instead of being left wondering questions like �why?� or �what did I do wrong?� or �how did I do?� over and over, we all need to develop the skill of providing our own feedback after objective self-reflection so we will be able to quickly reflect, adapt, and move forward.  There's a lot of talk about setting goals and, don't get me wrong, goals are important, but what happens if we don't meet our goals? Does that mean we wasted your time? Good scientists, explorers, engineers, inventors, and even chefs - they all know that accidents often lead to amazing discoveries. Learning from ...

FIRST Tech Challenge is excited to partner with AndyMark on Field and Game Elements for the 2014-2015 Season.  That means you no longer have to build a practice field, but can purchase one from AndyMark and have it shipped to you after Kickoff (no Team pre-orders!). They will offer teams a full or half field option and each kit comes with the Field Setup elements and Game Elements. Don't worry, you can still build a field if you want to! But what will they be? Each year, the Game Design Committee drums up a new element that presents a variety of manipulation challenges for teams to overcome. They've chosen wiffle balls, rings, two varieties of racquet balls, hockey pucks and batons, to name a few.  Since elements are different from year to year, teams must redesign their robots each season to accommodate the new item and the scoring objectives. What do you think this year's element will be?  Leave your guesses below and go to a kickoff event , or go to www.usfirst.org/...

Hey there FTC ! This is Michelle Long again from the FIRST Scholarship Program . It�s that time of year again to start thinking about the FIRST Scholarship Program and life after FTC. Photo courtesy of Scott Nichols and The Webb School . First of all, check out last year�s FTC FIRST Scholarship Program blog post - all of that information is still accurate. Also check out the FTC Google Hangout that we had last winter with Timm Huffman and Kate Caulfield at Olin College of Engineering: again LOTS of good information. The FIRST Scholarship webpage is THE place to go for information on all FIRST Scholarships. We are currently in the middle of renewing last year�s scholarships and developing new ones for the year- we anticipate the new 2015 Scholarship Program going live in early September. The other program that I wanted to talk to you about is the FIRST Alumni Program- actually the FIRST Alumni Program s ! We�re revving up our Alumni initiatives and developing programming to offer ...

Heat It Up and Keep It Cool: Teambuilding and Transitioning by Teresa Smalley Our team, Heat it Up and Keep it Cool Robotics , and its five members, have just ended our fourth year . We have graduated FIRST Lego League and are now FIRST Tech Challenge Team 8496 starting our rookie year! We have also added a sixth team member.  During the past four years we have spent an average of 15 to 20 hours per week together. For the past three three years we have been an Ambassador Team for the Los Angeles Region . This year we were one of two teams to win the Los Angeles Regional Championships, but no promotions were made to the World Festival from Southern California. We instead were invited to attend the International Open in Toronto , Canada. What an honor and an unbelievably great experience. In addition, we do outreach activities including mentoring two FLL teams and robotics demos at local monthly events.  Our program runs year round, we meet during the school year and dur...

Texas is the home of The Alamo, delicious BBQ, and the slogan �Don�t Mess with Texas.� It is one of the largest states in the continental US and encompasses some of the most diverse terrains in the country, ranging from deserts, swamps, to coastlines. It also happens to be the home of FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team 7785, The Pink Lady Hornets , a team who had the honor of advancing to the FTC South Super Regional for the 2013-2014 season. These ladies hail from Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi and alongside them, have a program at their school that includes 4 additional rookie teams, 2 of which are all girls� teams. Team 7785, an all girls� team of juniors and seniors, states that their mission is "To not only spread the idea of robotics, but to change the future of robotics by encouraging young girls to dream of being in the STEM fields and to chase these dreams regardless of societal stereotypes." This past season, The Pink Lady Hornets held their first �No Rob...