FTC is about inspiring kids in STEM, but the program wouldn't work without all of the amazing mentors and coaches who give up their valuable time to guide their students.
So, since January is National Mentoring Month, we want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU. It's no secret that high school robotics programs can take a lot of time and resources from the adults who take the lead.
We would not be successful without you.
On that note, I'd like to announce the upcoming release of a product that we hope many of the coaches and mentors out there will find useful and valuable.
Over the last year, FTC has re-connected with Enable Education, creators of the TETRIX® Getting Started Guide, and LeadAmerica, a youth leadership program, to create a one credit hour, IACET certified continuing education unit in FTC robotics. We're offering training to Mentors and Coaches that allows them to build successful FTC teams - and earn continuing education credits toward their own professional development.
This course will be offered free to all FTC Mentors and Coaches through the usfirst.org site and will provide 10 hours of instruction in the basics of robot designing, building and programming. Additionally, the IACET certification will allow teachers the opportunity to earn credits toward their continuing education requirements.
Stay tuned here on the blog, on Facebook and in your e-mail for more specific details on how to access the training. We hope you find this new tool helpful and we look forward to hearing any feedback you would like to provide on it.
2 comments:
I could really use some mentoring myself! We were a successful FLL team, but that is a different beast compared to FTC. I can no longer fake engineering prowess. And working as a team well is awesome, but only gets us so far in actually understanding the principals behind the electrical engineering and computer programming (even in Labview). I have been greatly aided by reading the FTC tips, hints, and secret book, but I want to know as much as I can to be of use to my team.
@Brandy, I think the new mentor training will really benefit you. We've been working hard to make the current materials more accessible and easier to use for all of our amazing mentors/coaches. I'll be publishing more information on how to access the training in the next couple weeks.
TH
Post a Comment