Save The Date! Pre-Season Teacher Workshop

BEST Teachers! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, August 7 as Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics will sponsor a pre-season training event for teachers. During this session, teachers will receive a headstart on preparing for the 2012 BEST season, covering such topics as:

• BEST Team Structure, Marketing and Exhibits
• General Rules (Specific game rules will be covered at the September 15 kickoff event)
• and more

This session will provide teachers with the tools they need to be ready to hit the ground running on kickoff day. For more information or to register, contact Nicole Carroll via email or at 256-228-6001, ext. 2254.

2011 South's BEST Champs Honored

The team from Davidson High School in Mobile was recently honored at the Alabama Manufacturer of the Year awards, held in Montgomery. Northeast Alabama BEST Steering Committee member Ronny Kisor attended the function and took this photo of the Davidson team's robot.

We look forward to having teams from our area competing for these honors this year. Want to learn more about how you can set up a team? Contact Nicole Carroll at carrolln@nacc.edu.

ILT 180 Dual Enrollment Class Begins

The ILT 180 - Special Topics in Industrial Electronics dual enrollment class has begun. Students in this class, taught by Dennis Lester, will work through some of the basic skills needed to build a robot this summer. These students are learning critical skills while earning 3 hours of college credit that is applicable toward a degree in Industrial Electronics or Industrial Systems Technology.

In this photo, students are learning precision measurement principles.

Schools interested in participating in BEST Robotics for the fall should contact Nicole Carroll at 256-228-6001, ext. 2254.

Summer Dual Enrollment Class Teaches BEST Principles

The 11 students enrolled in ILT 180 - Special Topics in Industrial Electronics at Northeast Alabama Community College this summer are getting a taste of various components of BEST Robotics. Dennis Lester, who is teaching the course, plans to have students to design and prototype various parts of a robot over the summer. While students do not know what the game this year will look like, Mr. Lester is using rules from last year to help them to design and build wheels, arms, and other common components. The parts they will build will be controlled with a VEX controller--the same controller used for the competition in the Fall.

Look for more information about this class and its students coming soon!

NACC Instructors Attend Workshop

Two NACC instructors recently attended a Train the Trainer Technical Workshop at Auburn University. Deni Adkins, instructor of Engineering Technology, and Dennis Lester, instructor of Industrial Electronics and Industrial Maintenance, participated in the course sponsored by BEST in Alabama. The three-day program provided hands-on training in the operation and use of VEX-BEST equipment and easyC programming software.

Both instructors came back energized and prepared to lead student and teacher workshops in the Fall.

New Sponsor Announced

Friends of Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics is pleased to announce that Urethane Supply Company of Rainsville has signed on as a new sponsor of Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics. We are happy to welcome Kurt Lammon and the folks at Urethane Supply to the BEST family!

Informational Session

Northeast Alabama BEST will offer an informational session for teachers, administrators and counselors who are interested in pursuing a BEST Robotics team for their school on Wednesday, May 9 at 1:00 pm. The session will be held in room 132 of the Workforce Development Building on the Northeast campus and will conclude by 3 pm.

BEST Robotics provides opportunities for students in grades 5-12 to become competent and confident in applying math, science, technology and engineering principles to real-life challenges. This culminates in the fall when teams are judged on oral presentation, educational display, spirit, sportsmanship, interview skills, engineering notebook, and robot performance. Teams winning at the local level are eligible to compete in the regional competition at Auburn. 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.

Each team will need a teacher, administrator or counselor to serve as a sponsor. But the sponsor does not have to be a technical guru. We will help match your team to a mentor from industry who can help the team with technical challenges.

So if you want to learn more, please be here on May 9 for this informational session, presented by teachers and administrators from Marshall Technical School, who have participated in BEST Robotics and are willing to share their experience with you.

Please let me know (kennamerm@nacc.edu) if you plan to attend and how many from your school will attend so we can provide an adequate number of handouts. This session is open to teachers, counselors, and administrators. We will offer training sessions for students once teams are established.

We have, however, made a dual enrollment class available for students this summer who wish to get a headstart on the skills they will need to be successful in BEST Robotics. Regular dual enrollment requirements apply, so students who will be in grades 10 - 12 next year may participate. Scholarship funds are available to support the cost of tuition. Contact Nicole Carroll (carrolln@nacc.edu) for more information.



Please pass this information along to anyone who might be interested.