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Four High Schools Seniors ... Robots ... Leaving Microsoft

On the surface these three topics might seem unrelated, but they are! This evening I will take out to dinner four young men who just graduated high school. These guys are the core members of my S.N.I.P Lego robotics team. After having coached S.N.I.P. for six years ... since their elementary school days, I wondered how I could recognize these boys, and the fact thay they were moving on in the world ... to various engineering schools around the USA. Each young man has already shown me that they are socially conscious, but I wanted to encourage them to continue following this path.

Eureka! A quick visit to Amazon yielded four copies of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. Ever since last year when my own effort started to build schools in the mountains of southern China, I've been inspired by John Wood. He was Microsoft's second highest ranking executive in China, and he gave everything up to build schools in rural Nepal.

Last night I contacted John Wood via email, and asked him if he might send me a dedication I might put in each book.  Here are John's direct words ... they're good:

"To whom much is given, much is expected. The true test of your education will be in bringing that same opportunity to others, throughout your lifetime. Good luck, and make the world proud!"

Feel free to chime in with your own advice via the comments section for Caleb, Erik, Matt and Tim. In closing, here are two podcast interviews with John Wood, author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.

PBS Podcast Interview with John Wood (his organization)

National Geographic Podcast Interview with John Wood

Robotics Courseware via the IEEE ... or WALL-E

My thanks to a buddy from Texas Instruments who clued me in about this new content. The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society has brought online a new web service dedicated to open (and free) access to robotics courseware. The initial courses include offerings from Harvard, MIT and the National University of Singapore. However, if courses from these three top universities are "over the top" for you ... then visit WALL*E where you may build a Bot! (i.e. a Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class)

I have added this site to the Engineering Learning Wiki Electrical Engineering and Mechnical Engineering Sections. A closing note ... you may subscribe via RSS to keep informed about site IEEE robotics courseware additions.

Be a Nerd ... Make a Difference!

The college search process is winding to a close. What started with my initial post ... The Search for the Perfect Engineering School ... and continued with such great entries as "Milepost 214 or Two Nerds in Iowa" and "College Consultants for Your Kids" ... will be completed in a few weeks. Erik (my son) was accepted at every school but Olin. Thus, as a family we are very happy with the results. I think I know Erik's top choice, but I'll let him reveal that decision personally (guest post) in the near future. (view all posts in this series: a college search from a parent's perspective)

Sunday afternoon we attended a reception for admitted students to Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, and tonight it's off to the Valparaiso Pizza Party! We are lucky in that both events are not very far from our home in suburban Minneapolis. Many of the kids at the Rose-Hulman event had driven in from Iowa, Wisconsin or the Dakotas.

Okay, so why the particular post title: "Be a Nerd ... Make a Difference"? A few minutes ago I received an email from a co-worker who reminded me about the work we've done to encourage kids to consider the sciences.  Suddenly I realized, as a coach of a First Lego Robotics Team for six years, I had made a difference. As each young man graduates this Spring, they all will enter engineering schools.  Although not all the college decisions have been made, these boys will attend some of America's top universities.

And to think it all started with Legos ..........

This Fall my Legos quest will continue in the mountains of southern China near the Vietnamese border!
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Legos (and Loppets) for LingYun

Last Fall when I visited the LingYun region of southern China, near the border with Vietnam, I was amazed to meet little children who hike for hours on mountains paths to reach rural schools. These same children then live in dorms ... not getting home for weeks at a time. The living conditions for these children was saddening.

It was hard to imagine 10 to 12 year old children living away from home at such a young age. Thus, I'm expanding my dorm project to include Legos! These "dorm children" have nothing except what a small backpack holds. Wouldn't it be neat if in addition to rebuilding their dorm, we gave the kids some basic Legos to play with? ... nothing fancy ... just basic building kits. I've found Legos to be almost indestructible, and for children the fun of building is universal. When school and homework are completed for the day, these children could play with Legos! Last year I brought books to the school I rebuilt.  This year ... Legos and Loppets!

If you have used Legos, please send them to me. I will take them to the children of LingYun. I have two requirements:

• Legos should be in good condition
• Legos should be basic construction pieces

You may either contact me by email for more instructions, or just send (or drop off) your Legos to:

• Rich Hoeg (the Northstar Nerd!)
• 3924 Wisconsin Avenue North
• New Hope, Minnesota  55427

In addition, please consider a financial donation to help cover the cost of rebuilding the dorm. In the U.S.A., your donation is tax deductible via the China Tomorrow Education Foundation (CTEF). Here is background concerning the dorm rebuilding project:

• Full LingYun Dorm Project Report / Updates
• Send your pledge via email to Rich Hoeg, at richardhoeg@gmail.com. 
  • Loppets and Legos for LingYun (4 minute video)
  • Loppet for LingYun ... A Frigid Success (we're off to a good start!)

Finally, I've attached two photos and a map from my recent trip to JiaYou. One photo shows me with the JiaYou kids; the second photo are some LingYun children who need your help.
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Lego Educational Search Engine

It all begins with Legos!

Thus, I've created a new Google Co-Op custom search engine whose index includes Lego and robotic sites which have an educational focus for children (and adults!). There are a number of ways you can use this tool:

• Direct Access: Lego Educational Search Engine
  (or)
• Wiki Access: Browse sites included in the index (or submit new ones)

Here are the initial sites (or partial sites) indexed:

Sites in English

• Boulette's Robotics Page
• First Lego League
• High Tech Kids Lego Team Lesson Plans
• LabView Toolkit for Lego Mindstorms
• Lego Digital Designer
• Lego Engineering - from Tufts University
• Lego Talk Podcast
• LUGNET: Animation | Building | Building Instructions
• LUGNET: Computer Aided Design | Education | Robotics
• Microsoft Robotics Studio
• Middle School Robotics Tutorials
• National Instruments NXT Site
• nxtasy.org - Lego Mindstorms NXT Community Blog
• NXT Tutorial - from ORTOP
• Philo's Home Page: Mindstorms | Sensors | NXT
• RFID for Legos
• RobotC.Net
• Robotics Academy - from Carnegie Mellon University
• SourceForge.Net: Bricx Command Center| Lejos JAVA for Legos
• The NXT Step: Blog | Forums
• Team Hassenplug.Org
• TRICKS Lego Tutorials - The Robotics Instititute of India
• University of British Columbia Lego Links - Professor David Brear
• Vernier NXT Site

Sites in French (en Français)

• Elementary Robotics

Sites in German (auf Deutsch)

• educaTEC (auf Deutsch)
• Deutsche NXT FAQ (auf Deutsch)
• Hands-On Technology (auf Deutsch)
• Lego Robotik (auf Deutsch)
• Mindstorms Forum (auf Deutsch)
• ROBIS (auf Deutsch)
• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (auf Deutsch)

Sites in Spanish (en Español):

• Lrobotikas: Blog | Forums | Wiki

Finally, if you've read this far ... help me help these kids in China

• Loppets and Legos for LingYun

Lego Talk Podcast

I've been remiss in not posting about Legos. In one month, S.N.I.P. (Super Nerds In Pink), will compete in their final Minnesota high school Lego robotics tournament. The boys I started coaching over five years ago now run technical circles around me! Perhaps the most rewarding fact is to see the engineering colleges they will be attending next year. The list of schools reads like a top ten list of America's top engineering programs ... and it all started with Legos!

On to today's topic, Lego Talk Podcast. James Wadworth (the host) has created some great shows since his debut in November. His current show is an interview with author, Allen Bedford, on his book ... The Unofficial Lego Builder's Guide. Link over, listen ... and subscribe! I'm definitely adding this podcast to my Kid's Corner section of the Engineering Learning Wiki.
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Attend MIT for High School !

I've followed MIT's Open CourseWare site for many years. You'll find the courses indexed both my Google Co-Op search engines, and engineering learning wiki, but did you know MIT now has an site dedicated to high school engineering? This is a great addition.  Here are some of my favorite links from the new site:

• MIT's Open CourseWare for High School - root site
  
  • Introductory Engineering Courses
  • Demonstrations on Videos

However, if MIT is a "bit much" for your tastes, just download the Lego Digital Designer and have fun!
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Alice: Educational 3D Programming Software

One of my readers added a link yesterday to Alice on my Engineering Learning Wiki. On Alice.Org you will find this description of the free software, which also includes teaching tools:

"Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first programming experience."

Anyone may add links to the wiki. Alice is now linked via both of these wiki categories:

• Engineering for Children
  (and)
• Engineering Software Tools

Please review the wiki. There is already a significant amount of content to be found, and better yet ... be part of the community and help build the resource!
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Update on October 12th: One of my readers directs a criticism my way which is valid (see comments). Thus, effective immediately, I have removed the membership requirement to make changes to my Engineering Learning Wiki.  Please help me police any SPAM that appears.  Thank you.

Engineering for Children!

I just added a new category to my engineering learning wiki:

• Kid's Corner
  (and)
• Legos

Given the extreme importance of encouraging our children to consider engineering, please help by adding high quality links to the wiki. Here are a few of the grand opening links:

Design Squad from PBS

Design Squad Podcasts from Design News

• Building Gravity Bikes
• Developing Design Squad Projects
• What Design Squad Means to Young Engineers

Legos:

• Big Wheel Spikey - Lego Sumo Robotic Championships
• Cyrus the Cat vs. the Lego Synchro Drive Robot
• First Lego League
• Lego Engineering Videos / Tutorials
• Lego NXT and RoboLab eBooks
• Lego NXT Blog
• Lego Mindstorms Learning Resources
• Middle School Robotics Tutorials

Rolls Royce Jet Aircraft Animation / Tour

Microsoft Robotics Studio - free software and tutorials

Scratch - Animation software for kids from MIT
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West Point Bridge Designer Software

• West Point Bridge Designer Software
• Software Tutorial
• Enter Your Bridge in a Contest!

Nerdcast - Take 08: Lego League

Right before the July 4th holiday I had the privilege to interview Fred Rose. This gentlemen has been instrumental in building the Lego robotics program, not just in Minnesota, but throughout the world (HighTechKids.Org). This Fall, as I start my sixth year as a Lego League coach, I thought it would be neat to learn more about Fred and his ideas. Here were my questions: (listen to the podcast to hear Fred's answers!)

Nerdcast - Take 08: Interview with INSciTE Director: Fred Rose
(total running time: 15 minutes)

1. I know that Minnesota is now one Lego League's world leaders ... with a global reach via INSciTE, how did you first become involved with Lego League?
2. Now a two part question ....  As you know, I'm entering my sixth year as a Lego League coach. My boys will be high school seniors this Fall. In terms of having a high school level league, I understand that Minnesota is the exception to the rule, why is that? ...... and ...... What is your view on how we should be approaching the high school year's of our children's development?
3. Both of us work for the same Fortune 500 company's R&D Lab. Your job often takes you to Bangalore. A few years ago, you started up Lego League in India. What were some of the challenges with that effort?
4. During Lego League competitions, I am constantly amazed at the innovative robot designs which the kids create ... particularly the youngest children.  What can adult engineers learn from these children?
5. What's next for Fred Rose and INSciTE?
6. Fred ... thanks for your time today. One of the things I do on NerdCast is ask this question of all interviewees.  I warn you, only the geekiest, nerdiest answers are accepted! ..... Okay ... What's the nerdiest thing you've ever done in your life, and be specific!