The FIRST Tech Challenge, one of five robotics competitions involving Nacogdoches ISD students along with other East Texas school districts, took place Nov. 16 at the Malcolm Rector Center for Advanced Careers & Innovation at Nacogdoches High School. The 19 teams came from surrounding school districts, including Diboll, Henderson, Livingston and Douglass.
FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is a non-profit international youth organization that operates the FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST LEGO League Challenge, FIRST LEGO League Explore, among others. The organization’s goal is to build a thriving global robotics community and to remain at the very forefront of STEM education.
The program certainly is focused on the engineering challenges of building and programming the robots. But the final challenge on Feb. 1 will include marketing and oral presentations in front of a panel of judges in addition to the actual functionality of the robot.
That’s one of the components Touchette enjoys most about the FIRST program… there’s the engineering work that has to be successfully completed but students have to make well-balanced presentations, touching on marketing, networking, and communication skills.
And while the FIRST Tech Challenge is framed as a competition, it’s more than that. “Competing” teams coming together in an environment that mimics the workplace, Touchette said. “It’s really meant to be a collaboration,” he said. “It’s what FIRST calls ‘Gracious Professionalism’ - the core value of FIRST- embodying teamwork and cooperation.
Subsequent rounds of the FIRST Tech Challenge at NHS will take place Dec. 14, Jan. 11 and Feb. 1 (the last date being the qualifying round where teams can advance to a regional competition). A FIRST Lego League competition for elementary students will be held Jan. 18 at the Malcolm Rector Center.
Students in grades 7-12 participate in the Tech Challenge; McMichael Middle School has a team and Touchette has four teams at NHS. The McMichael team comes to the high school twice a week after school to work on their project.
NHS students have class time to tend to their projects, but they can also spend additional time during, such as ISP in the morning and at lunch, in Andrew Touchette’s classroom. Touchette teaches robotics at Nacogdoches High School.
“I’m thrilled that our district is embarking on this new journey with FIRST robotics, offering our students amazing opportunities to engage in the world of STEM, collaboration, problem solving, and innovation,” said Joyce Garcia, NISD’s Director of Student Programs. “It has been amazing watching our students work together to assemble parts and tools into a fully functional robot, and Mr. Touchette has been an invaluable asset and mentor to the middle school team, guiding them through their first experience with building and programming the Rev robots.
Garcia said she’s grateful to the district’s sponsor, BPX, for generous support and for providing NISD students with this incredible opportunity.
“We look forward to continuing our journey with FIRST Robotics next year and beyond, and we will be actively seeking out sponsorships and funding to support and grow these teams,” Garcia said.
The initial competition held last week is really the kickoff of three more over the next couple of months. On Saturday, teams got a firsthand look at what their robots will be expected to accomplish at the final stage in February. And on the first attempt, many of the robots required some additional fine-tuning.
“Students got excited because they really saw what needs to be done,” Touchette said. That problem solving facet of FIRST, he said, is one of the major elements that make the competition so valuable to students.
The head-to-head competitions are drawn at random, Touchette said, and each team will have five rounds against other robots.
During the two-and-a-half minute contests, robots are expected to accomplish a series of tasks. Some include picking up items and depositing them in containers. The more difficult the task, the more points are at stake. The robots can also pull themselves up on a bar, and if they climb a step higher the team receives more points.
Each September, FIRST releases the challenge for the new academic year, Touchette said, and teams have roughly two months to prepare. After the final robotics competition in February, the top four-to-six teams will advance to regionals that will be held at San Jacinto College in Pasadena. The state competition will be in Belton. A year ago, the Texas winner went on to win the highest award, Inspire, at the World competition.