Meeting with the Robotics Club

As part of the Inland Empire Robotics club which im pursuing as my mentorship, we periodically have meetings where we discuss the direction of the robot and we also do many other things related to the robotics club and whatnot.

At our last meeting, we sat together to discuss design ideas and jotted them down on a board and discussed the pros and cons of each one. We also discussed programming guidelines and chose roles within the team according to our strengths. Then we also took care of basic housecleaning duties such as setting up the next meeting and figuring out what the team should be doing next. We also had a visitor from another team like ours but the difference was that they were more experienced and they brought a robot to show us what kind of things we'll be doing. I took photos of our design idea board and of the robot.

This is a picture of the robot the more experienced team brought along to show us. It is a robot specifically for display only and they use it to help promote robotics

This is a picture of the design idea board. We came up with many ideas and just drew them on the board before compiling a list of what would be best.

This is the list of the best ideas that we came up with and it includes small drawings to help remind us of what the name meant. This board is necessary for helping decide a final design.

Second Interview Questions

Content: 
The purpose of the second interview is justify your mentor as an expert in the field.  Thus, you will be asking at least 5 questions about their background and/or the background of the organization or company where they work.

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

My mentors are Taylor Halsey and Joey Uken. They are currently senior students in the Cal-Poly Engineering department.

2.  What five questions will ask them about their background?

1. What is your major and why did you choose it?

2. What kind of work in robotics have you done other than FIRST?

3. What classes did you take and how important were they for working in this field and participating in this competition?

4. What kind of degree do you hope to achieve and how do you think you're going to get there?

5. What kinds of classes are typical of engineering students and which ones are necessary when you're working in robotics?

Blog 5: Project Reflection and Working EQ

So far, you have: completed your summer mentorship, started doing some research, maybe completed the interview and hopefully found a mentor.

Using what you have done so far, answer the following 5 questions (be specific and use examples).

The Pentagon:
(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?

A positive thing that has happened so far as a result of the senior project is that i have come in contact with a team of highly educated individuals who work toward a common goal of building a robot. I have met many people whom i will personally get to know better by the end of this year. I have also gained access to lots of volunteer opportunities as well as opportunities for scholarships through a program with my interviewee.

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

My interviewee and the environment that i interviewed her in has really opened my eyes to the world of robotics and team based competition through her organization. It helped me understand robotics more through the process it takes to work in the field and my mentor has also helped me understand what kind of person it requires to work on a project like robotics.

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

Nothing really worked well until recently when i was contacted about a robotics team that i had signed up for. Emailing has been a really important and integral part of working on the senior project. Keeping contacts and schedules and dates are also very important during the project. The main thing that has really worked in the senior project is talking to Purther maintains the senior project and knows it as his own child. It has been fantastic to be able to ask Purther questions about the project anytime after school. All in all, the project has been fair to me so far and has been very helpful.

(4) What hasn't worked so far?

Things that haven't worked so far include emailing the governmental websites, calling forestry services, and contacting people. Emailing has been very spotty sometimes bringing me gold, and other times leaving me staring at my email list for hours on end into the wee hours of the night. There have also been instances where i've had trouble finding research that works with my non-existent EQ so i found the first couple research checks pointless.

(5) Finding Value:

•  What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)

My working EQ could be something like "What is the most important factor in winning a FIRST Tech Challenge?"

•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.  

I have a mentorship set up with the event coordinator of a major robotics competition and many sub-competitions. I also am part of a robotics team that has many mentors and i am also currently enlisted under many engineering majors at Cal Poly. This should help me set up many different moments to learn.

Final Topic

Good news! I finally decided on my final topic that I follow through with until the rest of the year. My topic is robotics. I went through many different topics before i finally came to rest on this one. The first topic i had was computer repair, after that it was interior design which is completely different. After that didn't pan out, i decided to go into wildlife management and hopefully find somebody who could mentor me. While waiting for people to respond to phone calls and emails, i received a call from someone who said they were part of a robotics team and they asked me if i was still willing to join. I remembered afterward that i had signed up to be contacted to join a robotics team sometime during junior year. I decided that if i was going to invest my time into an extracurricular, i could also use that to my benefit and make it into my senior project. Also, robots are cool so why not make an awesome senior project out of it. So all in all, it took me 4 different attempts to finally find a working senior topic and mentor.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/489098247844023/
{Here is the facebook page for the robotics group}

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

I plan to interview Taylor Halsey, a senior engineering major at Cal Poly Pomona. I recently decided to change my final topic to one that will be most beneficial to me and my senior year. I chose robotics for my topic. I did not choose to interview Taylor but when i asked the robotics team who would be suit being a possible mentor for me, she was recommended. They recommended I interview her because she is a senior on the topic, she is knowledgeable on the topic and she had volunteered to be one of the teams mentors already which made it not much more work for her which I had to take into consideration.

2.  You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.  What are open-ended questions? Click here! If that doesn't help, try this one.  Click here!

1. What sort of work do you prefer doing in this field and why?
2. From your work experience, what sort of qualities seem most necessary in working with robotics?
3. What can i expect through working on a topic like this?
4. What kinda classes did you take to become a part of this program and become a mentor?
5. Describe an average day involving programs like this.
6. What was your most memorable event while working with robots or a team?
7. What aspect of robotics drew you into this field and why?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

1. List your topic here:

Interior Design

2. What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?  Be specific and use an example.  Examples can come from senior project, model assembly, core, and/or participation in senior class ASB or other organizations on campus (clubs etc).

Effective Learner:

To become an effective learner I will utilize our teachers and their resources as well as Ms. Hunzeker to further my college goals. I will use an agenda to keep myself organized and on top of projects and assignments. I will have a bulletin board with a calender to keep track of dates. I will work effectively by constantly, constantly asking questions about projects and assignments until they can no longer be made any more clear.

IPoly Citizen:

Throughout this year, i will be an honorary iPoly student by attending school events such as outings and affairs and participate diligently in planned excursions. I will most definitely actively participate in as many committees as i can humanly do and if i cannot sleep due to overwhelming circumstantial workloads, i will do so. I will always represent iPoly as a respectful citizen of the world. I will also attempt to consistently show up everyday ready to face whatever challenges with determination and smile on my face.

 Effectiver Use of Technology:

As an effective user of technology, my mantra reads, "Google is my ally; there are many who use it, but this search engine is mine. Google is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life. Google is love, Google is life." I will do my best to learn to utilize the computers and the ipads which are provided to us to complete assignments and challenges with increasing improvement in my technological skill. I will use all of those resources to aid my senior project. For example, my computer shall be the research powerhouse, document container, and e-mail aficionado for which i will complete my project with. 

 Effective Communicator:

To be an effective communicator i will have to change certain personality traits which i have become acquainted with. I will do my best to curb old habits and form new ones that allow me to more effectively listen and communicate without coming off as standoffish. I also keep tight watch on my cellular phone in the event that contact with other people must be immediately initiated and i will also watch for e-mails, phone calls, and text messages to make sure that i am communicating quickly and efficiently. 

Summer Mentorship Component

Literal:  

1. (Know) Using google doc, link a log of specific hours and a description of your duties

Mentorship Log

2. What is the contact name & number of where you volunteered? 

            Name: Mike La

      Place of mentorship: Kavio Collections

      Phone number: 1(626)673-0610
      
3. (Need to know) What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?  List them.
     ·   What kinds of skills are required to work at a job like this?

·   Are there certain classes that are necessary to take for a job in IT?

·   Are there better places where I can be mentored?

·   Is this job something I can see myself doing?

·   Will the topic I have even relate to this mentorship when I finally decide on my final specific EQ?

·   What if my EQ doesn’t even use what I learned here?

·   Why am I doing this?

Interpretive

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

1.    The most important thing I learned from this experience was stunning reality of work. My main focus when choosing my mentor was to find someone who was close to me or was easily accessible and did a job that was related to my senior project. I mentored with the tech guy at my father’s workplace and what I really learned was what kind of work they do. I learned about waking up early and working 8 hours a day but I also learned about the job and the main computer knowledge as well.

Applied
 
5. How did what you did help you choose a topic?  Please explain.

1.     The mentorship I did still has not helped me choose a specific topic. I think that the most important factors to consider when choosing a topic have to do with how it can be researched, taught, and the availability of mentors. When the time comes to choose a topic, I will take all these factors into consideration plus all the work I did with my summer mentor as well.