Tech Directions - August 2007 - (Page 9) the news report Susanne Peckham susanne@techdirections.com FIRST Tech Challenge After two very successful pilot seasons as the FIRST Vex Challenge, FIRST’s intermediate program has been renamed the FIRST Tech Challenge and is now an official FIRST program. It is part of a continuum of programs that also includes the Junior FIRST LEGO League, the FIRST Lego League, and the FIRST Robotics Competition. Targeting students and educators between the LEGO League and the Robotics Competition, the program serves as a feeder program to the Robotics Competition. The FIRST Tech Challenge will continue to use the Vex Robotics design system in the 2007–2008 season. As with all FIRST competitions, the FIRST Tech Challenge has received strong support from industry. The FIRST Tech Challenge design system benefits from several contributions from intellitek, which has sponsored FIRST FRC teams for the past 12 years. intellitek also developed easyC, a drag-and-drop programming language used to drive the Vex robotics systems and FRC robots. And the company developed the Robotics Engineering Curriculum (REC), which teaches students all facets of robotics in a yearlong course. Leveraged by Learn-Mate, a full-featured learning management system, REC maps student learning to STEM standards and lets teams bring the FIRST experience into the classroom. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a not-for-profit founded by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway Human Transporter. The organization aims to provide innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math while building life skills. This season’s FIRST Tech Challenge will begin in September. For details on team registration for the Tech Challenge and other FIRST competitions, visit www.usfirst.org. Ooops! The e-mail address for Ed Willms, author of “CAD/CAM: Practical and Persuasive in Canadian Schools,” which appeared in our May 2007 issue, was incorrect. The correct address is ewillms@axyz.com. You can find out more about AXYZ Automation, Inc., by contacting Ed by e-mail or by visiting www.axyz.com/ education.html. We apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused. Engineering Design Challenge The Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) announces the 2007– 2008 National Engineering Design www.techdirections.com NEWS REPORT 9 http://www.usfirst.org http://www.axyz.com/education.html http://www.axyz.com/education.html http://www.bsu.edu/technology http://www.bsu.edu/technology http://www.techdirections.com
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