Friday, January 11, 2013

2013 BEST Robotics: Gatekeeper

2013 is here! In just a few short months BEST Robotics, Inc. will be releasing details of the 2013 game, called Gatekeeper. This game is being developed by Jubilee BEST, located in Mobile, Alabama. Check out the teaser video here.


In addition, Friends of BEST in Alabama will be providing educational content that will help prepare teams for BEST 2013. Please read the letter from Jubilee BEST below:

Greetings from Jubilee BEST in Mobile, Alabama!

We are honored and excited to develop the 2013 BEST game, “Gatekeeper”. The official teaser video is posted on www.bestinc.org and www.jubileebest.org. Once you watch the video, it will be obvious the 2013 game theme is technology…the “T” in BEST.

We recognize the world of technology changes rapidly; one of our goals as game developers is to encourage BEST teams to gain a greater understanding of the technology that surrounds them on a daily basis. We have created 18-weeks of educational fun that will kick-off Sunday, January 20th! Each week (Sunday evenings) a new topic will be posted on www.jubileebest.org. Robots, computers, cell phones, electricity, and manufacturing are only a few themes that will be explored.

Weekly activities will contain components for students to participate on their own or activities geared towards educators which can be incorporated into their classroom. Please note, this is not curriculum, it’s only resources and ideas to encourage “thinking”. Activities are well suited for bell ringers at the beginning of class, enrichment assignments, elective course activities, or after-school robotics clubs.

We will promote the 18-weeks of activities on the BEST Robotics Facebook page. Teams will be encouraged to post photos and videos of various activities throughout the spring. Become a Facebook fan and follow the fun!

As we all know, one of the exciting moments of BEST is seeing the highly secretive game field unveiled on Kick-Off Day! These resources will contain subtle hints of game components, but in no way will reveal the game. Our goal is to keep students engaged and using their critical thinking skills during the off-season. We do encourage the students to brainstorm and try to “guess” amongst themselves what the 2013 game components will be.