So you want to be a robotics coach

The prospective robotics coach is now faced with an overwhelming array of products and possible directions to take. To make matters worse, all of the companies that pander the various robotics materials are good at selling their stuff. What we're going to try to do here is give an overview of what we've seen out there and hope that it will be a help to the uninitiated. We've been studying and teaching robotics now for some time and have been in contact with a lot of robot coaches. What might surprise you is that many robotics coaches know next to nothing about robotics. That's right, many robotics coaches are good at organizing people, running competitions, and giving awards, but have no experience with robots. The first thing you need to do is :

ASSESS YOUR STRENGTHS

Do you have a particular background that can feed into robotics? Almost everyone does. People with backgrounds as diverse as marine biology, entomology, English, social studies
and P.E. are now robotics coaches. There are materials out there for the complete neophyte that will allow you to become involved in a robotics community, put together an enthused team and learn a lot about the power of robotics.

On the other hand, you may have a background in technology, engineering, mechanics, computer programming or electronics. In this case you need to:

DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO TEACH THE KIDS

The various kits that are out there emphasize different aspects of robotics. Do you want to teach general robotics not knowing much about it, or do you prefer emphasizing programmable chips, electronics, servos, mechanics etc. You might be surprised to find that all of these various advanced electronic components are quite understandable as presented through robotics. The programming as well can be quite simple.

What we would like to do in our future posts is to take various robotics platforms and describe the role of the robotics coach within the context framed by that company. We will be looking at VEX, LEGO, Paralax, ROV type robotics as well as junkbots (robots made from random electronic components).