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FIRST Tech Challenge celebrates the engineering process with the Engineering Notebook. Not only is it a way for teams to track the design, build, and iteration of their robot, but it can also help to keep the team structured and organized, as well as provide a record of their overall growth throughout the season. Engineering Notebooks help Judges to learn more about the team and their robot and are required to be considered for FIRST Tech Challenge Awards . There are additional requirements for the Engineering Notebook to be considered for some of the awards, such as including a Business/Strategic Plan for the Connect Award. To help your team master the Engineering Notebook, we have three new resources for you this year, in addition to the information provided in the Mentor Manual. All of these resources can be found on the FTC Team Resources webpage under the new Engineering Notebook section. Engineering Notebooks Guidelines: this document outlines the requirements for the Engineeri...

Has your team been crafty with sensors on your robot? Apply for the Control Award! Does your robot have a complex or unique autonomous program? Apply for the Control Award! Is your robot reliable during autonomous program? Apply for the Control Award! Does your robot have multiple autonomous programs? Apply for the Control Award! Is your driver-controlled robot movement enhanced with an autonomous routine? Apply for the Control Award! Want to show off what you have programmed your robot to do? Apply for the Control Award! In FIRST Tech Challenge , Teams are eligible and considered for MOST FTC awards simply by attending an FTC competition. There are a few exceptions, and those exceptions only exist because more information is required. The Control Award is one of those Awards.   However, applying for the Control Award is easy and open to every FTC team. Fill out the Control Award Content Sheet (one for each autonomous or driver-controlled program) and at your event, ask the Pi...

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 ...