People from FLL-OEC 2011-Delft

By: Khaled Marashdeh

In my previous reflections on the FLL-OEC 2010, I focused on some examples of the best practices made by the volunteers and coaches. To complement the message, I would like to shed light on the event through the eyes of a volunteering judge.

Part 3: Judges

Margo with Judges. Photo by the official FLL OEC photographer: Loek van der Klis

Having a diverse group of participants working coherently under one ceiling to excel in Robotics is a great achievement and success. That was clearly revealed in an interview with Margo de Groot Coenen; an FLL volunteer judge. “It is fantastic to see kids from Jordan, Israel, Turkey, and Australia as well as from all over the world in one place. It’s like Olympic Games for kids with LEGO. That has really been amazingly achieved” said Margo.

Project Presentation Judging. Photo by the official FLL OEC photographer: Loek van der Klis

For the past three years, Margo was co-organizing FLL in the Netherlands by searching for sponsors and facilitating the communication. In June 2011, Margo became a Project Presentation Judge. She was so devoted to the event that she was crying during the opening ceremonies. According to her, cultural barriers and differences were demolished among the participants. “That’s what we desperately need in a polarized world where people tend not to understand and accept each other. FLL surpasses culture… surpasses language… it makes the world become normal … it bridges the barriers… It’s very touching” she added.

As a mater of fact, I strongly support Margo’s standpoint as I understand the implicit mission of the FLL which is to bring youngsters together in addition to fostering their science and technology skills. However, I wouldn’t be able to express Margo’s entire thoughts in this regard. As such, I would advise each one of you to visit her blog to know more about her amazing feelings.

People from FLL-OEC 2011-Delft

Part 2: Coaches and Teams

By: Khaled Marashdeh

Last year, Sarah Heimlich posted “Teachers who make a difference”, a difference in the lives of their students. Since then, I have met a lot of those coaches (teachers).

Cancer Busters

Some good examples are the coaches of team Cancer Busters from Taiwan that I’ve met in Delft. I couldn’t find a better name than (The Family Team) to describe them. They have 6 adult mentors, who serve as a team of coaches. It’s a school team where all the members are in elementary school. Amongst the many teams in Taiwan that reached 400 points in the three rounds, Cancer Busters was distinguished as the fastest.

 The coaches (or the teachers) of the team made a huge influence in the demeanor of the team members.

Soonya Ku

Soonya Ku, one of the mentors, described her team members as “At the beginning of engaging FLL, they were shy, afraid, and kept saying we cannot win… we cannot compete” they kept rehearsing countless times on every part of the game, spent hours and hours working together. James Lee, another mentor, told me that some team members can recite, step-by-step, the job of every other member of their team.

 During the discussions, we talked about the kid who cannot keep up his/her peers in the team. As I was listening to the discussions between James and Soonya, who were speaking English with a lovely Taiwanese accent, I thought I heard the word “elimination.” I asked them “do

Soonya Ku & James Lee

you eliminate such a student?” Their reaction was one of shock, “elimination??? NO … no elimination at all … in such a case, the mentors will have a private meeting to find the best way to help that student.” said James. During these meetings mentors can spend enormous amounts of their personal time in discussions, plans and practical procedures designed to remedy the problem and support the student.

And the winners are...

So now, after successfully completing an FLL season, the students in Cancer Busters have a new outlook. “FLL changed their lives” said Soonya. The students now say “WE CAN DO IT. WE CAN WIN”.

Best Performance. Photo by the official FLL OEC photographer: Loek van der Klis

Two days after this interview, Cancer Busters won the Best Performance Award- 1st place in FLL-OEC 2010.

 What did those coaches do to help their kids? What did FLL do to all of them?

The amazing thing about FLL that it inspires everybody to do his/her best.

People from FLL-OEC 2011-Delft

Although FLL has started a new season, FLL-OEC 2010 “Body Forward”, held in Delft-Holland, is still active in the minds of its participants. The championship page on Facebook hosting 300 members is still being updated nearly every day. The impact of FLL-OEC on everyone there was unforgettable, in terms of the immense benefits including gaining experience from other teams, meeting other people from different counties and different cultures, or even visiting a beautiful city like Delft. The amazing success for this championship was the natural outcome of enormous efforts and great people who made it happen.

Before the kickoff of the new season “Food Factor” here in the Middle East, and many other countries, I will record words of gratitude for some of the wonderful people whom I was privileged to interview during FLL-OEC-Delft. Amongst them were volunteers, judges, coaches, team members and others.

Part 1: Volunteers

I will start with a volunteer. What was his job?

Marcel Van Dien

Was he the driver who was responsible to pick up the teams from the train station.? Or was he the crew guy who handed the FLL medals to the team members? Or the one who cleaned the stage from the paper airplanes in the talents night? Or was the greeter on the information and registration disk? Was he the lovely man who was asking anyone to offer help and support. Well, he was all that and more; operating behind the scenes making sure things were taken care of.  That multi-talented, multi-tasker was Mr. Marcel Van Dien from Holland.

Marcel the driver

His main task at the beginning was to drive a van, but Marcel was so excited to do more. He told me that he was supposed to leave to Portugal, but he couldn’t. “I couldn’t leave such an environment filled with enthusiasm, joy and learning for such young kids!”.

Handed the FLL medals with Jeneen

Marcel has participated in local FLLs for the past 4 years. “There is a huge difference between local and international FLL tournaments … I am really amazed by the performance of these gifted kids from all over the world … and very happy to see all these faces here in Delft … I am very impressed”.

Paper airplanes are everywhere in the lovely talents night

Marcel worked within a team. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have the chance to meet them all and thank them one by one.

People like Marcel always exist in every FLL tournament whether it’s local, regional or international. They work silently to make you, me, and everybody gain the maximum benefit and fun there.

It's my honor to meet you Marcel

Finally, on behalf of all FLL’ers, I would like to thank all those wonderful volunteers… and thank you Marcel.

Teamwork … The Long-Forgotten Pillar of FIRST LEGO League

 Are you planning to win all FIRST LEGO League awards?! Do you plan for team work, team spirit or any other certain award?

Recently, in FLL-Open Europe Championship (FLL OEC2010), DAS team from Saudi Arabia has been nominated for five awards. Every single detail of the team’s performance was planned, and how did they do that?! That’s what two members of the team, Yazeed Sabri & Saleem Al-Dajani, wrote about here.

“In FIRST LEGO League (FLL), as we all know, the missions and the project have a great impact in competition performance. Most teams, especially the new ones, focus on these fields of FLL while other aspects in the competition could make a great difference. An important pillar of the competition, Teamwork, holds a great share of 25% of the points. 

Not all teams pay much attention to carry out FLL tasks together; teamwork is the most crucial part. Teamwork is not about presenting our ability to work as a team during the competition day, it is more about how we interact with other teams- how to make FLL something fun for everyone! All that it needs is a good plan and a lot of preparation by dividing tasks and roles between team members.

The fun between team members in their teamwork may reflect upon others when they visit your booth, which is a special area distributed to each team within the pit area of the competition. Involving participants in some activities you enjoy with your team could rejuvenate the team spirit of FLL. For example, sharing a simple puzzle related to the FLL theme, making enrichment games to enjoy breaks, and cheering with other teams during their round would break the competitive lines that separate teams and redefine the competition from simply winning to contribution, participation, and sharing the fun!”.

          In other words, FIRST LEGO League Core Values practiced by teams construct the team spirit of the competition. This makes it an enriching, enjoying, and learning opportunity for all, and, as said in every FLL event, making “everyone a winner”.

FLL in Bahrain .. الفيرست ليجو في البحرين

 

Many countries in the list are from Middle East

خلال مراسلاتي مع العديد من المشاركين في مسابقة الفيرست ليجو في منطقة الشرق الأوسط، لاحظت أن البطولة لم تنطلق بعد في العديد من هذه البلدان. الجميع متشوق للإنطلاق.من بين هذه الدول مملكة البحرين.

السيدة زهور هدمي-من الفيرست ليجو البحرين-  شاركت كمدربة لفريق من البنات في أحدى البطولات السابقة التي أقيمت هنا في السعودية. وهي متشوقة جداً لإعادة الكرة مرة أخرى وما زالت تتذكر تلك المشاركة حيث كتبت:”لا زلت أذكر الحماسة في عيون أفراد فريقي عندما كنا نلعب ضد فريق آخر، وكيف توقفت قلوبنا عندما أعلن الحكم النتيجة بفوز الفريق الآخر، حيث لم نتوقع الخسارة، وأخدنا بالبكاء. ئم قررنا أن  نستمتع بوقتنا ونحتفل بالخبرة التي جنيناها من الاشتراك والتعرف على فرق من جميع أنحاء العالم”.

السيدة زهور هدمي انتقلت إلى البحرين وقد نقلت معها فكرة مسابقة الفيرست ليجو هناك لتكون الممثل الرسمي لهذ المسابقة وتشكل نواة بطولة جديدة.

 السيد دانيال تايلر يسعى مع أبنائه الثلاث –سارة وسامي وستيف- مع بعض الأصدقاء لبناء فرق جديد. قد يكون هو الفريق الأول الذي تشكل لهذا العالم في البحرين.يقول السيد تايلر ” تعرفنا على مسابقة الفيرست ليجو من خلال صور لصديق قديم على الفيس بوك كان قد شارك العام الماضي في المسابقة”   إجتماعهم الأول كان الأسبوع الماضي. وهم قد بدؤوا من الصفر.

لنرجوا لهم جميعاً التوفيق في بطولتهم الأولى، وسنتابع ما يحدث معهم خلال الأسابيع القادمة.

Throughout my emails with many of the participants in FLL in the Middle East, I found that the tournaments are not yet launched in many of these countries. Everybody is waiting eagerly to roll. One of those countries is Bahrain.

Mrs. Zuhoor Hidmi –from FLL Bahrain – has participated in a past tournament that was held in Saudi Arabia as a coach. She is full of eager to repeat that wonderful experience that she kept in here mind. She wrote: “I can still remember how enthusiastic my team members were when they participated for their first time, and how astonished they were including me when the judge announced the winning of the other team. We were shocked and cried. Then we decided to enjoy our time, and celebrate the experience that we had gained from meeting other teams “.

Mrs. Zuhoor Hidmi has moved to Bahrain. By transferring the idea of FLL with her, she has become the official partner of FLL in Bahrain forming a new championship core.

The core of a new team in Bahrain

Daniel Taylor and his three children –Sarah, Sami and Steve- with some friends are trying to put a team together for the first time so they can all participate. This might be the first ready-team in Bahrain for this year.” I first learned about FLL from pictures on a high school friend’s Facebook page when he participated in the World Festival in Atlanta last year” said Daniel. They had their first team meeting last week starting from zero.

 Let’s hope them all luck in their first tournament, and I will keep up with them in the coming weeks.

Souvenirs form FLL Teams

Yazeed's souvenirs

As we all know FLL is not only about competition but also about meeting new people and building relationships. Exchanging gifts and souvenirs often makes the event even more memorable .Even a small, inexpensive, gift from a new friend has a significant impact on oneself that he will not forget it for a long time. This common activity in FLL opens the doors for exchanging cultural backgrounds from all over the world.

 

Yazeed Sabri, one of my best students in Robotics, loves gathering souvenirs from other teams. He wrote:

 

My old brick !

 “We have fun most of the time during the FLL competition. For me, the best time I spend in the whole competition is after we finish setting up our table and start handing out the stuff that we’ve got to other teams like: cards, gifts, souvenirs, etc. Because that is the time that you get to know individuals from other teams and discover their culture (though it sometimes depends on how they set up their table and space). 

 

Compare between my old brick and a new one !

Since I have participated in FLL for 4 successful years, my team and I have managed to go to Japan and Turkey where I have collected a huge group of souvenirs from other teams and have added over 100 people from all over the world on my FaceBook account. So now, thanks to FLL, I am happy to see status updates every day from Spain, France, Brazil and Turkey without understanding anything! “   

 

 

My favorite souvenir is a LEGO brick that I received, five years ago, during my first LEGO MINDSTORMS training course. Since then, I have been carrying it daily as it is attached to my key chain. It is a pleasant reminder of the wonderful time I had there. Interestingly, the brick has started to wear out! It is no longer has sharp edges but smooth ones.

LEGO should see this!!

If you have any story about any souvenir, fell free to tell us about it.

Thank you Sharif Nada & Khalid Almulla for taking the photos. 

Competitions of FLL, whom do you compete with? منافسات دوري الفيرست ليجو، مع من تتنافس؟

As a coach of Dhahran Ahliyya schools (DAS) Team and team members, our first intention before attending the championship in our first participation in FLL-Saudi competitions was to win and get the first prize. We were so excited and nervous at the same time; we insisted to win. There was no room for losing. We were worried enough to the point that we started looking for other factors we might criticize if we failed. We challenged ourselves to prove that we are the best. This is in spite of reading the values of FLL.

As we entered the hall of the tournament, we were distracted by the environment around us and our attentions were scattered all over; we were looking at competitors, competition tables, and audiences. At the same time, we were checking other teams on the pit area, their points, and their mistakes! I can insure that at the first 15 minutes, none of our team members said anything until Mrs. Rose, coach of RT –Saudi Aramco Team, broke the silence. She was complaining that she forgot the CD of the Robolab software that she needed badly. Spontaneously, we offered her our CD. Some of my team members wondered “does helping other teams affect us?”

Mrs. Rose was very grateful. She told everybody about our assistance.  We saved the situation and helped her team to return to the Championship. We felt that helping that team was more exciting than winning the championship.

As we continue participating in FLL competition over the years and intentionally working on the FLL values, the whole concept of competition in the FLL has entirely changed. We will continue to compete, but not against others; we will compete to excel to our potential .. to implement our ethics and the FLL great values.      

في أول مشاركة لي كمدرب لفريق مدارس الظهران الأهلية في منافسات دوري الفيرست ليجو السعودي، كان الانطباع قبل الحضور للمسابقة لدي ولدى فريقي هو طابع التنافس والفوز وتحقيق المركز الأول. وباندفاع شبابي، كنا في قمة الحماس والعصبية .. نريد الفوز .. لن نرضى بالخسارة …. مستعدين لأن ننتقد المنظمين وجداولهم .. والحكام عند أي هفوة .. نريد أن نثبت أننا الأفضل. هذا كله بالرغم من قراءتنا لقيم دوري الفيرست ليجو.

ومع دخولنا لقاعة البطولة، كنا كباقي الفرق: في حالة ترقب .. نتفحص المكان والوجوه من حولنا.. ونرقب طاولة المنافسات الرئيسية .. ونرى أداء الفرق الأخرى على طاولات التدريب .. كم نقاطهم؟! .. ما هي أخطاؤهم؟! .. وأكاد أجزم أنه في أول ربع ساعة من وصولنا لقاعة البطولة، لم نسمع فيها صوت أحد من الفريق .. ولم يكسر هذا الصمت إلا صوت (السيدة روز) مدربة فريق مدرسة راس تنورة في شركة أرامكو السعودية وهي تشتكي لفريقها أنها بحاجة لإعادة تنزيل برنامج الروبوت (روبولاب) وقد نسيت القرص (سي دي) في المدرسة. فما كان منا إلا أن عرضنا عليها السي دي الخاص بنا بشكل تلقائي . تساءل بعض أعضاء الفريق هل مساعدة الفرق الأخرى يفيد فريقنا؟؟ .

كانت (السيدة روز) شاكرة جدا وبقيت تذكر ذلك الموقف للجميع وخاصة في بطولة العام التالي. لقد أنقذنا الموقف وساعدنا فريقها للعودة للبطولة. لقد كانت متعة مساعدة هذا الفريق تفوق – ربما – متعة الفوز بالبطولة.

ومع استمرار مشاركاتنا في هذه المسابقة عبر السنوات واستمرار العمل على قيم دوري الفيرست ليجو بشكل مقصود، اختلف مفهوم التنافس والمنافسة لدوري الفيرست ليجو في أذهاننا. نعم هي منافسة، ولكنها ليست ضد الآخرين بل هي منافسة لإخراج الطاقات الكامنة فينا وتطبيق هذه القيم.