PACE Mentors Day 1

10/13/2011

Today, 10/13 was a big day for the Scollins homeroom! Not only were you programming like engineers but you each grew as partners and learners with our mentors there to help! I can't wait to hear all about your experiences!
For homework you will be writing at least one 5-8 sentence paragraph describing your time spent with your Pace Mentors!
Your paragraph must include:
What were you feeling as you looked around room 103 and 20 college students were standing there!
Explain the initial introduciton of your groups?
What are 1-2 things that the PACE students helped you learn/better understand?
How did your team and the PACE group interact?
Please include anything else you learned/felt/saw/experienced during your time with your mentors!

***WARNING, WARNING, WARNING***
You must type your response in Microsoft Word first. Then, copy and paste into the comment box here. REREAD your response and check for correct spelling, puncutation, and complete sentences.

21 Comments

gilly

10/13/2011 08:58:25 am

I already knew that they would be there but when I came I was surprised when there was a big group of people in the room. It felt crowded in the room. well my group once they came to our table we started to work on our robot. They asked us some questions about the robot how far we have to go. so they showed us how to really program not just go a little bit then stop then go backwards. we worked together just like we would with them. As if we were without them there. I learned that the mind storms have to be guided.

Sophia

10/13/2011 09:29:27 am

When I looked around the room I felt anxious excited and also a little scared. I felt really tiny compared to them. They were so tall and grown up. When we got to our table the first thing we did was introduce ourselves. After that we got right down to building. As we found out our robot was built wrong. Then we took it apart and built it the right way. We got a lot done and we had fun.

Hannah

10/13/2011 10:06:39 am

When I saw 20 college students I was like wow we are really small compared to them. They all looked really smart and mature. I was like are they going to be nice or what? It was cool to see that people about 10 years older than us were learning the same things. The initial introduction was hard because we at first had no mentors. When we finally got mentors it was kind of easy for me to start to speak because I have an aunt their age to it was easy. I feel that the PACE students helped me understand that in order for the robot to go across the hallway in a straight line and not turn to the left or right (or hit other robots) the weight has to be evenly balanced. I also learned that the robot has to be told a certain amount of times for the wheels to spin.
My team and PACE really got along. We had a lot of fun but got a ton of work done at the same time. PACE was really helpful because we had a few problems that they help us fix (FAST!). I noticed that the PACE students don’t know everyone in there classes name, which really surprised me. I saw that the PACE kids are just like us, they love to have fun.

Meaghan

10/13/2011 11:29:56 am

My first feeling was, oh my god they're so much bigger than us! After I got over that, I was mostly thinking about what we could do to fix our robot and who would be our mentors. I also thought about how they would react when they saw our group. But it all went great. We exchanged names and then got off to work. We interacted well, none of us where afraid to pitch ideas, including the Pace students.
I learned a lot from our mentors. They helped us with fixing a few problems. Problems varying from the back wheel spinning, to programming help. They taught us how to start, stop and gave us a lot of helpful tips. Tips like to try to extend a piece so then it won't rub against another piece. At the end of the period I felt confident in our group, and confident that we could solve the problems we were having.

Charlotte

10/14/2011 08:03:52 am

The first time the PACE students came in it was a little scary having them all look at us, but when our mentors came we began to know all of them better. At first we all introduced our self and started programming with their help. The PACE students helped us out a lot with making sure the back wheel didn’t hit the side of the robot. It is still in progress, but they helped us out a lot with that. Our team interacted pretty well, but it seemed like there were two people helping out our group more.

Vishwanka

10/15/2011 08:13:44 am

I felt very small compared to the college students. As I stood there looking around, I felt like they could help us and answer any of the questions I had. My group started of having no mentors at all. We ended up taking two guys from another group. We introduced ourselves and asked their names were. We got Chris and Emir. Chris helped us with the programming. He helped us program it so it goes straight because the robot would always move slightly to the right. Emir helped us re-build any parts we needed to redo. Two of the kids stayed with Emir and the other two stayed with Chris. We got a lot of work done and they really helped our group move forward. I felt like we should definitely do this again. I can’t wait for the next time our PACE university mentors come and help us!

Dante

10/15/2011 08:53:58 am

I felt little and short and awkward. The initial introduction was a little weird it started out quiet and awkward but then we started to tell them about our robot to break the ice. The Pace students helped us learn how to use the program better. They also helped us find out what’s slowing us down and how to figure out how much distance we had from the start line to the finish line and back. We interacted very quietly at first with no talking what so ever but then we got used to them and they helped us. I think it was a fun and fascinating experience and I would really like it if we could do it again.

Austin

10/15/2011 09:59:42 am

When I first walked into Mrs. Scollens classroom I was surprised to see a bunch of
students from PACE University. When Mrs. Scollens told the class that these students were going to help us with our robots I finally figured out that these students were going to be our mentors. When we headed to the cafeteria, my robotics group sat at a table. When two mentors came to our table they introduced their names and gave us high-fives. Before we started programming our robots, we took it into the hallway for a test run.

On its way down the hallway it started turning to the left. The key to the problem was that one of the motors was not rotating and also was not secure. When we were done with the problem we took the robot again in the hallway for another test run. During the test run the robot did not turn to the left. When the day was done the mentors drove back to PACE University and the students packed up their stuff to go home.

Delia

10/16/2011 02:57:32 am

When the students from PACE came into our room I was surprised how different our room looked with them in it. It was odd seeing college kids that are twice our size in the room. When we introduced ourselves to the college kids we all said our names and tried to act normal. Then we got on the topic of sports and I learned that one of them plays lacrosse. At first it was a bit awkward, but after a few minuets I felt like we knew them better. The PACE students helped my group figure out some of the problems with the wheels on our robot. We were able to sort out most of the problems with the back wheel and we thought out why the left wheel was not going as fast as the right wheel. My group and the PACE group interacted by talking about sports, school, and LEGO’s. I felt that my group benefited from working with PACE.

max

10/16/2011 04:37:20 am

My time with PACE was really working on a faulty wheel that our robot had. Pace did help us better understand the sensors on the robot. The feeling I had when I walked in the room with Pace in it was excitement. I saw how exact you have to be with planning this race and robot. The initial introduction to are group was everybody taking out the robot and laptop and talking about what we need to do.

Claire

10/16/2011 05:26:51 am

When the PACE mentors came in the room, I was scared, but excited. Was my group going to make a good first impression? We got to work right away. We kept adjusting the robot when we tested it. That affected the robot because when we adjusted it, it wouldn’t go the entire length we needed it to be. I think if we program it a little longer than it needs to be and adjust it in the race we can succeed. We interacted ok with PACE. I hope we can get a lot of progress completed next time they come.

ava

10/16/2011 05:27:25 am

When I looked around the room I was surprised. I was surprised that all of those students have an interest of Lego robotics. I think my group and the pace students connected pretty well between the robots. After we told another are names we noticed someone was missing but overall it worked out better. The pace students helped my group realize how to use the program and keep our robot straight. I think the pace students were great interacting wise they told us what they could add and what we did right. Next time they said they would bring the big wheels to help our robot. I thought this was a great experience.

Darren

10/16/2011 05:40:58 am

My time with pace was really fun and cool.
They taught us so much. I really enjoyed working with them. My favorite thing was when they taught us how to make the robot laugh. It was so cool. I look forward to the next time they come.

Ellie

10/16/2011 09:53:57 am

Specials was normal, so was walking to my locker, but I felt strange walking into a class room with the normal people in the classroom and 20 college students, in which the ten/eleven-year-olds were unusually tiny in comparison. As we walked into the cafeteria, I was extremely exited for robot building. When our group, The Polka Dot Cows sat down one short (Erin had student council duties) so did 4 college students. We went through names, theirs then ours. The PACE students made us realize that we didn't build our robot, so it was asymmetrical. Mostly our group programed while the college students tried to fix our robot and provide it with support so the brain (the part that gets programed) wouldn't shake. At the end of the afternoon the Polka Dot Cows tested our robot which still drove at an angle and went decidedly to far. Overall we did pretty well.

Nicholas .s.

10/16/2011 09:58:35 am

Of the Lego Mindstorms Robot. What I felt When I walked into my homeroom, I was a little embarrassed to see a bunch of college students in the classroom who were a lot taller than me. They were also watching me like a hawk searching for its prey. However, I really enjoyed it, and I had a great time with the education and help they provided to our team. I can’t remember our councilor’s names but all I can tell you is that my teams’ councilors were the friendliest and most productive of all. The thing that they helped us with the most was the programming and experienced was the joy and entertainment of the building and making new Lego freak fans like me.

Riley

10/16/2011 10:07:13 am

When I walked into the class room and saw all the college students standing in our room I felt so tiny. I mean I’m used to people being bigger then me but these guys were HUGE! I was also feeling a little nervous if maybe my mentors would be mean or weird. When I saw all the mentors walking around the cafeteria I was kind of looking at everyone that stopped to see if their names were on the name card like oh I hope it’s these guys or I hope it’s not them. When the mentors for my group got to my groups table we just said hi and got right to work. Well the pace students helped so much! They pretty much reconstructed our whole robot! But I have to say they probably helped us the most with programming. We were kind of shy and awkward, but after a while it became less awkward. We interacted well though. I learned that at least my group of mentors has like one person does one thing for the process of building and doing challenges with the robot instead of everyone doing everything.

Meredith :P

10/16/2011 10:39:22 am

On Thursday after specials I walked into the classroom thinking this,
“OMG, I’M GOING TO BE LATE!!!” and then I saw 5 people, then 10, and then 20. I started freaking out because the room looked smaller than usual. I took my seat and listened to what Mrs. Scollins was saying about the robots and the mentors. I kept wondering who was going to be my mentors. Which ones, Caitlin? Where might JJ be? Is that girl, Chrysalis? Is he, Kenneth? All these thoughts were in my head, including Mrs. Scollins instructions. As soon as Mrs. Scollins finished up, we headed for the cafeteria. Our table decided to go to the table farthest back in the cafeteria, and once we were there, we waited for our mentors. It only took a few seconds before they found us so we started fast. We introduced each other and we asked,
“Where’s Chrysalis?”
They told us that she had never come before. So we only had three mentors, not that it was more difficult in a way it was actually easier because we had one less person to warm up to. After some more talking about school and life, we got talking about robotics. We told them our robots name (Petunia) and how far we were in our project. Soon we tested out our robot and it went WAY too far down the hall. So we had to program it to the exact measurement of the hallway so that it would stop on the tape and go backwards and do a little dance at the end. The PACE students mainly helped us with the measurement of the hall way and where the robot needed to stop, and when the robot should stop. It actually helped us A LOT! I have to say our group interacted VERY well with the mentors and the one girl in our group was quiet and didn’t say much. One of the boys was leaning towards being quiet, but in the end he got talking a little.

Sean S

10/16/2011 11:29:50 am

When I walked into the classroom on Thursday, I was suprised that all the PACE University students were there already. It was kinda hard to maneuver through all the students to get to my desk. Once we headed to the cafeteria and sat down at a table two guys came over to meet our group.
Their names were Jany and John. John said that Jany was the Michael Jordan of LEGO Robotics. That sounded great to our group because we really need there help. But, before we got started we got to know each other a little better. After that my group and I started to well with each other. Hopefully this will continue and we create an awesome LEGO ROBOT.

jessica

10/17/2011 05:52:15 am

Right when they walked into the room i really did feel tiny they looked like giants and we were tiny ants. they were all very muscley and buff which was alittle scary. well we didnt really intoduce our selfs but they did one by one and then they kinda guessed our names and we just went on. i think the first thing we learned the best was to agree on more stuff and also i think the most importent was that we got better at programing they explained everything perfectly and we knew alot but they tought us more. We really interacted really well we talked alot kinda got to know each other alittle while we worked and they really tried to get our personalitys and same what we did. I think that we really got alot of work done and even though our wheel popped of and it was cool though we did it awhile and had to charge it but it all worked out in the end and i really cant wait for the up coming races and our very first one next monday!!!!!

Lara

10/17/2011 05:56:41 am

I knew how many people were going to be there but I Imagined it would be a lot less crowded. When they first came in I felt like an ant but eventually I got used to it. The first thing they did was introduced themselves and asked us our names, of course we answered them. We then showed them what we had done with our robot and then got started working. They helped us program and get our robot to go straight. The back wheel was making our robot go in all different ways, so they helped us replace it. One thing I learned a lot about was programing. Eventually our robot was able to go from one end of the hallway and back. We got along really well and we laughed a lot. I also think that we have a great group and we got along really well. Our group had three mentors. Our mentors were all boys. They were nice and they thought we were really funny. I had a lot of fun with our mentors.

Marcus

10/17/2011 08:31:53 am

I was feeling very nervous when I saw all of the collage kids. When I worked with them at first i was thinking "But we are doing the same thing now that we have been doing all week!" But then after they left I saw a huge gateway of opportunities for new things to build.

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PACE Mentors Day 1

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