Course syllabus for New Hampton School's Robotics Course (2016-2017 school year).

1. Robotics
2016-2017
Instructor: Mr. Joslin
E-mail: jjoslin@newhampton.org
Phone: (603)677-3968
Web: log into onCampus
Honor Code
As a member of the New Hampton School
community:
• I will conduct myself with integrity and honesty
in all matters.
• I will demonstrate respect and responsibility in
all of my actions.
• I will uphold the values of active citizenship and
abide by the expectations set forth in the School
Life Handbook
Course Competencies &
Foundations of Learning Skills*
Competency #1: Design By the conclusion of this course
students will be able to design simple to moderately
complex mechanical systems by:
a. visualizing and planning solutions to problems prior
to prototyping
b. leveraging simple machines such pulleys, ramps,
screws, and levers
c. employing electric motors and gears systems
d. iterating through designs to refine solutions
e. differentiating between form and functions
Competency #2: Programming By the conclusion of this
course students will be able to program robots by:
a. analyzing the functionality of portions of code and
understanding how they form a whole program
b. debugging their own code and that of their peers
c. choosing, employing, and developing more
complicated algorithms
d. making decisions based on input with switches
e. repeating commands to meet a condition with loops
f. simplifying code to the minimum number of lines
Competency #3: Process By the conclusion of this course
students will present process, product, and reflection by:
a. organizing project steps and materials
b. assigning and managing group roles
c. documenting process, product, and reflections via a
design portfolio
d. taking ownership of their learning, work, and product
Class Meetings
Blocks: B & D
Room #: Pilalas 103
Extra Help
Winter:
Mon 2:50 – 3:10 & Fri 9:55 – 10:25
Spring:
Mon 2:50-3:10 & Thur 10:25 – 10:55
Other:
F & G Blocks or by
appointment
Course Description
Robotics provides a physical application
of the programming and problem solving
skills acquired in the Coding course.
Students apply previously learned topics
in programming to the study of robotics
and work in small groups to build and
program robots to perform required
tasks. Students make use of a visual
programming language to control the
behavior of these robots in dynamic
environments. For each project in this
course, students work iteratively to
design and test their robots prior to a
cumulative demonstration of the robot’s
abilities.
This course is composed of three
fundamental units with lessons that are
designed to promote an inquiry-based
approach to learning foundational
concepts in robotics. These units are
Mechanical Components, Programming,
and Independent Design.

2. Course
Expectations
Cell Phones
It is the expectation
that cell phones are turned off and
stored out of sight for the entire class.
Cell phone use of any kind is not
permitted during class.
If a cell phone is used in class, it
will be collected until the end of the
period.
If a pattern of misuse develops,
students may be asked to turn in
their cell phones at the beginning of
each class.
Course Materials
The following must be brought to class daily:
• Headphones (for viewing instructional videos)
• Pen or Pencil
• Charged iPad w/ Charger, Cord, & Case
• iPad Apps: NHS provided apps, Socrative,
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Robot Commander,
and Adobe Illustrator Draw
• A positive attitude
• Willingness to work through challenges
The following materials are optional:
• Personal Computer: charged with cord
• Notebook: the paper kind
• Calculator: any scientific calculator
There is no textbook for this class. All teaching
material (videos, articles, websites, etc.) will be
available in onCampus.
Technology Policy
In general, students are free to determine if
technology is needed for a specific task as students
will be mostly be directing their own work. We will
use the following system to determine when it is
appropriate to use technology during class:
RED LIGHT: Technology is off and stored away.
YELLOW LIGHT:
Technology is used for a specific purpose as
designated by the teacher or student. (~80%)
GREEN LIGHT:
Technology is used for designated tasks, design
portfolios, homework, current events, or reading
Wired or MAKE magazines.
Attendance/Tardiness
Attendance is required at all class
meetings. If your absence is not
excused, you will receive a cut.
Please be on time. If you are not
present when class begins (i.e.
when the door is closed), you are
tardy. If you are tardy three times
you will receive a cut.
Participation
A successful student in Robotics will participate fully each day, will
come to class prepared with all required materials and work, and will
organize all course materials in a clear and concise manner. Students
are expected to meet the iPad 4 C’s daily.
Participation will not be assessed explicitly as the students will
generally be allowed to move through the course content at their own
pace. Effective use of time, meeting deadlines, and demonstrating
skills mastery is dependent upon active and consistent participation.
iPad
(Laptop)
4 C’s
Charged
Case
Charger
Cable

3. Make-up/Late Work
Late assignments will be assessed a
grade-related penalty based on how late
the assignment is submitted. It is your
responsibility to get coursework from
onCampus when you miss class.
Incomplete Work
Late minor assignments will lose 25%
credit per calendar day. Late major
assignments will lose 10% credit per
calendar day. It is your responsibility to
ensure that late work is received by the
teacher.
Unexcused Absence
Any missed assignment or assessment
due to an unexcused absence will
receive zero credit.
Unplanned Excused Absences
You will have the same amount of time to make up
homework as the time you missed (i.e. 2 excused
absences = 2 classes upon your return to make up
work). You will have 1 week to make up a test or
project.
Planned Excused Absences
If you have a planned excused absence, you must
complete your work while away and submit it upon
your return. You must get homework assignments from
the group page. Tests & projects must be completed
immediately upon your return.
Course
Work
Competency-Based Grading
On one assignment you may see multiple
grades. That is because different skills are
being assessed. For instance, you may have
done an excellent job in a web post on
creating digital content but may have made
some errors with content knowledge. By
assessing you in this way I can better target
feedback and instruction.
Out of Class Work
You should expect to spend a
minimum of 30 minutes per
class on coursework
assignments. Many
times, this work will
be a continuation of
what you started in
class and may not be
graded. Because
portions of this class
are self-paced, you
should always have
the unit deadline in
mind. You will not
meet the deadline if
you try to do all
your work in class.
Grading Procedures
Semester grades are calculated using the
following categories and percentages:
Competency Category % Grade
Competency 1 Design 30%
Competency 2 Programming 30%
Competency 3 Process 40%
Coursework
There will be a variety of graded assignments in this
course, including (but not limited to):
• reading, writing, and problem solving assignments
• programming and design exercises
• projects
• design portfolios reflections and documentation
For each assignment, the grading criteria will be discussed or
distributed when the assignment is given. Many assignments will be
graded with the use of a rubric, which will be distributed prior to the
assignment. All rubrics will be available in onCampus.

4. Course
Work (cont.)
Extra Credit
The best way to earn
credit is to do the work
assigned by the teacher. Extra-credit
projects will not be provided at the
request of the student.
Self-Paced Learning
Each unit may consist of all or some of the following:
• set of instructional videos
• assignments
• exercises
• quizzes
• projects
Students will be allowed to progress through the
sequence of work at their own pace within a
given timeframe (generally 1-2 weeks).
There will be one deadline for each unit
when most of the unit coursework is due.
If a student finishes all coursework in a unit
prior to the deadline, they may be asked to:
•assist with instructing other students
•proceed to the next unit
•work on their independent programming
project due at the end of the term
Skills Mastery
In an effort to encourage students to take academic
risks and to do their best to reach proficiency with
the skills and content being taught, students will
be required to improve or “re-do” all
coursework (except the final project) until a
grade of “Proficient” (85%) is earned. A student
may not progress past a unit until they have
demonstrated proficiency on all assignments,
exercises, and projects in that unit.
I encourage all students to utilize Office Hours to
ensure that expectations are met and that they are
mastering the skills taught in the course.
A student may need more time than is provided
during Office Hours. I am happy to meet with
individual students during free blocks, after
classes, or in Study Hall, although the student
must initiate and schedule these times.
Independent Programming Project (Final Project)
The last few weeks of the semester will be dedicated to an independent project. Students
will form teams based on their personal interests. They will develop a challenge statement
for which they will need to design, build, and test a functioning robot.
Students will employ the fundamental concepts that they have developed throughout the
course. They will work with me to develop the desired outcomes of their project and an
outline of the necessary steps to achieve these outcomes.
Each student will be responsible for documenting his or her own progress through the
project, even though they will be working as part of a team.
In this project, students will be responsible for
• organizing their time
• mastering the requisite skills
• using an iterative process to refine their project.

5. Selected Topics and Assignments for 2015-2016
Week Topics Competencies
Emphasized
Videos/Resources & Coursework
Introduction
1-2 Course Introduction
NXT Kit Introduction
Weebly Introduction
#1, #3
Mechanical Design
3 Electronic Motors
Simple Machines
Design Challenges
#1, #3
4 Gear Systems
Design Challenges
#1, #3
5-6 Obstacle Course Challenge #1, #3
Programming
7-8 Fundamental Programming
Concepts
#1, #2, #3
8-9 Sensors #1, #2, #3
10-11 Retrieval Challenge #1, #2, #3
Independent Programming Project
12-16 Challenge Statement
Project Outline
Independent Project Design
#1, #2, #3
17 Final Project #1, #2, #3 Independent Project Showcase