Northeast Alabama BEST Welcomes Crossville High School

We are pleased to announce that Crossville High School has registered a team for BEST Robotics 2013! We are pleased to have Jason Jackson on board as the newest BEST coach and look forward to working with him in this 2013 season.

Welcome to Bridgeport Middle School

Northeast Alabama BEST welcomes Bridgeport Middle School to the BEST Robotics family! We are excited that our second middle school is now on board for this year and look forward to working with Shannon McClain, Mr. Buckner and all the good people at Bridgeport Middle School.

We are looking forward to meeting you all on September 21!

Today is Deadline to Register for BEST 2013!

With Kick Off for BEST Robotics 2013 only a couple weeks away, today is the deadline to register a team for competition. Follow the link below to register, then follow up with an email to carrolln@nacc.edu to confirm your registration.

Here is the link: http://northeastalabamabest.eventbrite.com/#

We are excited for the upcoming BEST season, which we are starting to call "the most exciting 42 days in school." Be a part of it!

Going to School Via a Robot

The Sun Sentinel (serving Broward and Palm Beach Counties of Florida) tells the story of Kyle Weintraub, a 12-year-old seventh grader from Davie, Florida who is being treated for cancer at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. It is expected that his treatment might last a year.

But Kyle is not missing school, thanks to a VGo robot that he controls remotely from Philadelphia and gives Kyle a real presence in his classroom. The robot, which cost $6,000 and about $1,200 a year in maintenance costs, allows Kyle's robot avatar to take him into his classes at the David Posnack Hebrew Day School some 1,200 miles away.

Here is a link to the article in the Sun Sentinel.

We wish Kyle all the BEST and congratulate the folks at VGo for giving Kyle a way to go to school this year.

Thanks to BEST Partners!

Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics hub is a partnership of a number of community organizations and businesses that is headquartered at Northeast Alabama Community College. While it is easy to count the contributions of organizations that write a check to support BEST, it is much more difficult to set a dollar amount for organizations that support BEST through allowing their employees to take time to volunteer and plan the events.

A number of employees from Northeast Alabama Community College are involved in year-round planning, coordination, and implementation of the BEST season. The committment provided by Dr. David Campbell, president of NACC, is tremendous and should be recognized as such.

Other community organizations provide volunteers to serve on the leadership team, which works year-round to assure that BEST is a success. These organizations include:

• DeKalb County Economic Development Authority
• Jackson County Economic Development Authority
• Greater Jackson County Chamber of Commerce
• Impact Learning Center
• Alabama Technology Network
• Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama

We appreciate all of our sponsors and community partners which make Northeast Alabama BEST possible!

Kick Off Day Plans Announced!

Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics has announced plans for its Kick Off day. The event will take place in the Tom Bevill Lyceum on the campus of Northeast Alabama Community College. Registration will begin at 8:30 am. Doors to the theatre will open at 8:45. All teams should be registered and in their seats by 8:55 am.

At 9:00 am we will have the opening session and kick off, followed by a general session in the lyceum that will cover the following:

• Game Explanation & Scoring
• Organizing Your Team
• 42 Days of BEST
• BEST Award Rules & Scoring

Lunch will be provided for all participants.

Breakout sessions, which include field viewing and kit pick up will take place at 12:00 noon and 1:00 pm. We expect to be finished by 2:00 pm.

There is much to do in preparation for kick off day but we look forward to sharing another 42 days with all of our teams as we kick off GATEKEEER_2013!

TVA Continues to Support BEST

Jason Harper, Manager of Valley Government Relations and Darrel Smith, Customer Service Representative, of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) recently visited Northeast Alabama Community College to present a check in support of the Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics program, which is hosted by the college. Mike Simpson, of the Sand Mountain Electric Cooperative, also participated.

BEST stands for Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology, and was originated in 1993 by two Texas Instruments engineers. There are 51 hubs located across the United States, operating in three regions.

Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics was established by the college in 2012 to offer opportunities for students in grades 5 – 12 to become competent and confident in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) principles. In its inaugural year, ten teams and approximately 250 students participated.

The BEST competition runs for six weeks in the fall, and includes three events. On September 21, a kick off day will be held at Northeast Alabama Community College where the students will learn about their challenge, receive the materials they may use with which to build their robot, and attend training sessions intended to prepare them for the challenge. On October 24, teams will gather at the Northeast Alabama Agri-Business Center for practice day. This event, co-located with the Made in DeKalb Expo, provides teams with an opportunity to test out their robot on the actual playing field. And on November 2, teams will put their designs to the test by competing against other teams and the clock to perform specific tasks.

Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics serves DeKalb, Jackson and Marshall Counties. The teams already registered for this year’s competition include: DeKalb County Technology Center, Fort Payne High School, Fyffe High School, Ider High School, Marshall Technical School, Pisgah High School, Brindlee Mountain Middle School, and Woodville High School. Other schools are expected to register before the September 6 deadline.

The competition encompasses more than robot performance. Teams are judged on oral presentation, educational display, spirit, sportsmanship, interview skills, engineering notebook, and robot performance. The top teams will advance to the regional competition in Auburn.

Northeast Alabama Community College serves as the lead agency for the hub, but it takes a community-wide effort to put on a competition of this magnitude. Other partner agencies include DeKalb County Economic Development Authority, Jackson County Economic Development Authority, Greater Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, Impact Learning Center, Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama, and Alabama Technology Network.

All required materials and supplies are provided to participating schools by Northeast Alabama BEST, which also provides access to technical support and mentoring to BEST Teams. TVA has been a major sponsor of the initiative since its inception.

“TVA is pleased to be involved in this important initiative to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) initiatives in this region,” stated Jason Harper, of TVA.

“The Best Robotics program is a great asset in getting students at a young age interested in STEM jobs and careers,” stated Dr. David Campbell, NACC President. “We are very appreciative of TVA in supporting this program. This donation will help students find great career pathways that lead to jobs of the future.”

For more information about BEST Robotics, contact Nicole Carroll at college extension 2254 or carrolln@nacc.edu. Additional information may also be found at the Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics website, located at www.northeastalabamabest.org. For information about Northeast, see the college’s web page at www.nacc.edu or download the college’s free App at the Apple App Store or by going to www.naccmobile.com.