​Robotic Facts That You Should Know
Anyone familiar with science fiction knows how important robots are to our vision of the
future. Ask the average person to describe what life will be like in 100 years, and the chances
are good that he or she will mention robots. But in most modern manufacturing facilities, the
future is already here. Thanks to advancements made by engineers, programmers and robotics
manufacturers, automated systems currently are a big — and essential — part of industry. That
role is expected to grow even larger as time goes on, and for good reason.
Robots offer a number of advantages in industrial environments. Not only can they perform
heavy-duty tasks that would be nearly impossible for people to do, but they can do so
thousands of times without making a mistake or suffering physical consequences, such as
repetitive strain injuries. They also enhance safety by taking on some of the most dangerous
jobs in factories and warehouses.
Although many people think of them as a part of the future that hasn’t yet arrived, robotic
workers are making a major difference in industrial settings right now. But because they’re
considered futuristic rather than practical, people have a several misconceptions about robots
and their use. To see some of these myths busted, take a look at the accompanying infographic.

Author bio: Julie Workman is Marketing Manager for Acieta, which specializes in industrial
robotics automation that helps North American manufacturers be globally competitive.

5 Ways to Build Your Oratory Skills
One of the biggest fears that many people still have nowadays is speaking in front of the public. In FIRST, students learn how to create, share, market and protect their ideas. When pitching a project, a creator is usually given a limited amount of time to reveal the most important aspects of what they have created. That’s why it is so crucial to have skills that allow delivering a message in both clear and concise way. 
Even though today, we have technology on our side helping us deliver the speech faster and easier, the idea of having hundreds or thousands of eyes looking at us still makes a lot of trouble. On the other hand, there are some who succeeded in attracting masses and deliver speeches listened by people around the world. How did they do it? Keep reading this article and discover how to build your oratory skills.
5 Ways to Build Your Oratory Skills
1. It’s very normal to be nervous 
A great public speaker who manages to make crowds wait anxiously for his next speech is full of confidence. But, this doesn’t mean that he was born with it. Growing confidence to build oratory skills is a process that takes a lot of practice and perseverance. There are various techniques that you can use to gradually increase your confidence level. First, it is perfectly normal to be nervous. Moreover, it is very important that you carefully prepare your speech. When you know what you have to say and what questions to expect from your audience, then it will become easier to overcome emotions. If possible, it would be also great if you could practice in an as realistic as the possible environment. Finally, you can build your confidence by rehearsing out loud and do extensive research to know your audience. Thus, you will become able to anticipate their questions and stay away from uncomfortable situations.
2.  Know what type of people are listening to you
Do you know who is your target audience? What kind of people is listening to you? Why are they doing so? Knowing your audience is the key to building strong oratory skills. Before you begin to write your speech and determine what type of message you are going to deliver, you should first think of who are the people who are going to receive it. Thus, you should start by understanding and knowing your listeners as much as possible. Knowing which are their biggest points of interest will help you choose your words easier. Moreover, this exercise will also help you determine your speech difficulty level. You should also not forget that your audience will connect to your speech if they feel that you share the same values and experiences. For example, if you don’t know how to “break the ice” and transmit a positive vibe to your audience, you can start your speech with an anecdote which will show them more about your personality and will also help get rid of emotions.
3. Don’t forget about the attention curve
In case you receive a time constraint for your speech, then it becomes clear that you should respect it. By having a time length for your speech will help you organize your ideas in a more concise way and focus only on the most interesting aspects of your message. Moreover, you should be prepared for any unexpected interruptions while you deliver the speech. Thus, you should be prepared with some messages placed in the middle which you can skip in case you get interrupted. The difficult part comes when you don’t have a clear timeframe. Therefore, you risk falling into the trap of talking too much and lose your audience focus. In this case, you should have in mind the concentration curve. In general, their focus will fade during the middle of your speech and will increase as you go to the end. Furthermore, if your message is longer than 15 minutes, then you should expect that their concentration level will decrease especially if they start becoming hungry or need to go to the bathroom.
4. Adapt to the feedback received from your audience
Your focus should always be on your audience. Therefore, while you deliver your speech, you should pay attention to how they are reacting. This means that in case their concentration level decreases, you should be prepared with a back-up plan to make them focus on your speech again. Their body language is the first source of feedback in this case. So, apart from focusing on delivering a clear speech, you shouldn’t lose sight of what your audience is doing while you speak. If you manage to know them very well, then it will become easier to gauge their reactions and deliver a message which will catch their attention from beginning to end.
5. Start strong and end dynamically
If you want to keep your audience’s attention from beginning to end, you should stay away from clichés. Instead of starting with phrases like “today I will tell you more about subject X”, it would be more exciting if you would start with an anecdote or quotation related to the subject. Even though you grabbed people's attention, it is very important what you do during the entire speech. So, if you managed to start strong, your audience will expect to keep the same trend until the conclusion. Therefore, you can grab their attention by adding a personal touch or telling stories with a pinch of humor or sarcasm. The conclusion is also very important. Summarize the main ideas when you reach the end of your speech. A strong statement added in the final phrases will make your speech memorable.
Conclusion
If you want to improve your oratory skills, you should know that practice doesn’t make it perfect. It is absolutely normal to not be perfect when delivering your speech. People appreciate more an authentic speech than a carefully calculated one. Pay attention to the tips above and take enough time to prepare for delivering your speech. Moreover, it is normal to not be able to manage your nerves during your presentation moment. However, practice will help you minimize them and be as natural as possible.

Top 10 Best Essay Writing Services of 2019 Ranked by Students
http://www.topwritersreview.com/top-10-essay-writing-services/​

Contributed by: Daniela McVicker

Social Media: 
Twitter :  https://twitter.com/danielamcvick
LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/danielamcvicker

Hi everyone, my name is Samhita, and I am one of your new FIRST Ladies Directors! I am from Pittsburgh, and I am currently a freshman in high school. Last year I was apart of FTC team 9820 Girls of Steel Hypatia. I am now a member of FRC team 3504 Girls of Steel Robotics, and hope to be a roboticist in the future. I am looking forward to directing FIRST Ladies. 

I’m Aeryn and I’ve been apart of the Girls of Steel Robotics FRC team for three years now and am happy to be apart of the FIRST community. I am currently in 11th grade and am looking into going to college for engineering. I have been inspired by the work I’ve done in robotics specifically in design and driven to continue with it.   
I look forward to Directing FIRST Ladies and helping make a better space for girls in FIRST. 

Girls of Steel has been a regional partner for the past three years and we became directors this past summer. This opportunity gives our team a chance to further our mission to inspire girls in STEM and we look forward to being the new directors. 

You can contact both of us at ladiesinfirst@gmail.com

​​​

I joined Team 3595 Schrodinger's Hat two years ago when I moved to Northern Virginia from New Orleans. I appreciate the high school I attended for adopting such an amazing program, for which inspired me and gave me the chance to this huge family. With this opportunity provided, I’d like to give a few advice based on my personal experience on my teams. ​

Starting an FLL team can be intimidating, especially as a student. My name is Anna Nesbitt. I’m a member of Girls of Steel FRC 3504, and currently serve as the Outreach Lead, as well as a programmer, on the team. I was a part of my elementary school’s FLL team in middle school, and found my love for robotics there. Since eighth grade, I’ve started two FLL Jr. teams and one FLL team, as well as mentored at an FLL Skills Camp hosted by Girls of Steel. Starting these teams has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and I’m here to tell you how you can do it yourself!

First things first, you have to get your ideas down. Ask yourself: What age group will I be mentoring? Will this team be co-ed or all girls? How many students will be on this team? Where will I run this team? Are there already FIRST programs in place where I want to start this team? For me, I started an all-girls FLL Jr. team at an elementary school, and used the same group of girls for the FLL team that I founded a year later. This not only makes it easier on you, but also lays down the foundation for a comprehensive pipeline of STEM programs if you provide opportunities for kids every year along the way.

Next, you need to identify your point person. For me, this was an after school programs coordinator, but it can also be a STEM teacher or a teacher of the grade that you are looking to mentor. Remember, they should be someone you know and trust- FLL won’t send you emails about the team, so it’ll be up to them to forward all communications to you. Once you have identified who you would like this person to be, set up a meeting with them. Remember, you are the expert on FIRST- for all you know, your point person may not have ever heard of FIRST before. Talk from your heart, and really focus on the impact that FIRST has had on you and the people you know. Another thing to stress to them is why you are the most qualified person to run this team. This part was hard for me; I was a 14 year old freshman- why would anyone want to spend a decent amount of money on something that would be completely run by a person so young? I focused on expressing my experience and connection to the girls. As a young woman in STEM, I could provide them with insight on what they are to expect along the way as they move up in STEM, as well as be there for them in social situations where they may not want to go to an older teacher.

Another hurdle to expect is the big question of exclusion. This comes up when you’re trying to start an all girls team. “Doesn’t this set boys back in STEM?” “This is a co-ed school with co-ed programs, and we don’t want to exclude anyone.” An all-girls team builds a foundation of support and confidence within the participating girls, and gives the girls a place where they can take risks without being afraid of feeling “weird” just for being there. I cannot express enough how beneficial an all-girls team is on young girls. In the first co-ed FLL Jr. team I started, none of the girls continued with robotics. In the first all-girls FLL Jr. team I started, 5 out of the 6 girls continued with robotics. You can also talk about any challenges you’ve faced as a girl in STEM that would have been alleviated with the support of an all-girls team.

Once you’ve established the idea of your new FLL team, it’s time to register it! As a minor, you cannot register a new team, so help your point person create a FIRST account (firstinspires.org) and register a new team by following the steps on FIRST’s website. You need to identify a second adult in this step as someone who may help out with the team and receive FIRST communication. For this step, I chose my mom. While neither my mom or the after school coordinator helped me out with running my team during normal meetings, I trusted both to send me emails, register for competitions, and pay for the team. Later, you can add yourself as a mentor to the team- these positions don’t mean much in the long run, so don’t stress that you aren’t named an official “coach”.

Something to remember is that FLL costs a lot of money the first year, so it might be something you have to work to raise money for. Expect to spend around $800 for the initial robot kit, game board, and challenge pieces, and another couple hundred dollars for competition registration. This cost will go down the following years because you can reuse the robot, but you should check if the school has EV3 robots first to make sure you aren’t wasting money. Other costs to expect throughout the season are tri-boards, research project materials, t-shirts, core values activities, and potentially field trips. This isn’t cheap, but it’s worth it. Stress that if the school is willing to put money into athletics, they should put money into FLL- as FIRST says, it’s the sport where everyone can go pro, and it’s great to get kids started at a young age (especially for girls!)

Next, work with your point person to get the word out about the team. For me, a person running an FLL team by myself, I think 6 is the ideal size, but you choose! The smaller the team, the more impact you’ll have on each student because of the increased amount of individualized attention you’re able to give, so don’t feel pressured to make it the biggest team out there! Once you have a group of students identified, make sure you maintain regular email contact with parents to keep them updated on what the kids are doing and what’s coming up. I sent my parents one folder of pictures per month from the meetings, competitions, scrimmages, etc., and they all seemed to love it!

Now that you’ve got the team all set up and students signed up to join, it’s your job to run the team. Look at FLL resources and set up a rough plan before the season starts. Remember, not every meeting will go as planned, so don’t have everything planned down to the minute. Some resources that I used when planning include ev3lessons.com, flltutorials.com, tinyurl.com/gosfll, and FIRST’s FLL resources. Keep the kids on track, and make sure you balance the amount of time the kids are spending on the research project and the robot so the project doesn't end up being pushed to the final meetings. Remember to register for scrimmages and competitions on your region’s FLL website during the season as well- work with your point person to make this happen!

Finally, remember that your work shouldn’t stop when the FLL season ends. The FLL season is short- if you don’t engage your students (especially your girls) for the rest of the year, you aren’t going to get the retention results you’re looking for. After the FLL season ended, I created a one day per week winter and spring program where I’ll expand on what we did in FLL, such as building robots to act like Roomba vacuums or BattleBots! For me, running this team is a much needed break from build season and school, and I have a ton of fun with the girls I mentor. You should too!

Many other FRC and FTC teams have started FLL teams of their own, especially those that are student led. Girls of Steel 3504 started FLL in 2013, and now has 4 teams held at the National Robotic Engineering Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Feel free to contact girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com if you have any questions about our teams!

I can’t wait to see the new FLL teams you’ll create! Here’s the link to a presentation I gave about this topic at the Steel City Robotics Alliance Workshops in Pittsburgh, PA: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1u3JinYq7xADJxOKR1UPDNVBHFSjE2uLebsnv8bjUTW0/edit?usp=sharing. Feel free to share this with your teams and FIRST friends!​

Girls of Steel, FRC Team #3504 of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has now held three events with local Girl Scout Troops. Since Girls of Steel and the Girl Scout organization have similar missions in boosting the confidence of youth girls and giving them new experiences and exposure to new ideas, it seemed like a great connection to make. After doing a tour of our workspace with a group of Girl Scouts last winter, and since the Girl Scouts organization recently launched new STEM badges which included three for both Daisies and Brownies, we decided to give local scouts the opportunity to earn these badges with our help. 

On May 6th, about 35 Daisies from 5 different troops came to Carnegie Mellon University to earn the “What Robots Do” badge. On December 16th we held another similar event where twelve Daisies earned the “What Robots Do” badge, and four Brownies earned the “Showcasing Robots” badge.

With the Daisies, we discussed the purpose of robots and the work of engineers. To define the job of an engineer, someone who solves problems with inventions,  we explored these questions with the scouts: .     
WHAT is the problem that needs to be solved?
WHO HAS the problem that needs to be solved?
WHY is this problem important to solve?
With these questions in mind, the Daisies broke off into small groups to brainstorm scenarios that would be the job of an engineer to solve. Some of their ideas included building homes for the homeless, having a personal maid, and packing their lunches for school.

As we delved into an explanation of algorithms, the Daisies completed two activities. To show the importance of good instruction we used a sketch of a robot face with simple shapes and without showing the scouts our sample, we gave them inadequate instructions to draw the same picture. We simple told them what shapes to draw, not how to place them or what size the shapes should be. In the end many girls had random squares and circles of different sizes strewn about their paper. They were surprised to see that our picture was cohesive and appeared to be a face. This activity highlighted the fact that an algorithm must be perfectly specific in order for the robot to successfully complete the task, since a machine is only as smart as the instructions that it is given. Then, in another activity, they “planted” daisies (to coordinate with the Girl Scout brand) in pots in a systematic fashion to simulate how an algorithm works. In small groups, a few girls would work together to use their given tools and ingredients (shovels, gardening gloves, pots, “sun”, “water”, “dirt” and plastic daisies) to pot a daisy, but only with instruction of precisely how to do so from their teammates. 

We then did a quick foundational lesson on mechanical and programming vocabulary and the use of robots in the real world, before we had the Daisies design their own robots that would solve the issue that they had defined at the beginning of the workshop. They brainstormed with their groups and drew colorful robots with creative mechanisms that would build beautiful homes for people that do not have one, and save them from their chores at home. They named their robots, and presented their ideas to the group. 

With the remaining time, we brought the scouts to our workspace so we could introduce them to our robot, MO. 

With the Brownies earning the “Showcasing Robots” badge, we also discussed the purpose of robots, as we highlighted the biomimicry industry. We identified the link between nature and many of today’s inventions and learned about how RoboBees can soon become an important part of our world. Then, we explained our team’s structure and mission as well as describing each level of FIRST (to hopefully entice them to join one!). Then the Brownies collaborated to complete our Chassis Project which is a pre-fabricated plate and standoff chassis that can be built and ready to drive in a little over an hour. The girls successfully completed the chassis, each drove it around the room, and were able to explain their process and identify the different parts and tools that they used while building.

To commemorate each event, we gave the girls “Girls of Steel” patches for the back of their vests! These events were very successful, and we look forward to doing another one and seeing some of the scouts on a FIRST team one day! 

Here are some tips for running a Girl Scouts Robotics Badge Workshop! Feel free to email us at girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com if you have any questions!

To earn “What Robots Do” for Daisies

• Use the link above to find the official badge requirements from the Girl Scouts organization
• For the “planting a daisy” algorithm activity you will need
  • Plastic pots
  • Fake daisy flowers
  • Yellow sun shaped sticky notes
  • Blue and brown shredded paper
• You will also need crayons and paper for the girls to use when designing their own robots
• Show them your robots!! The scouts love to see what you do rather than just hear about it.

To earn “Showcasing Robots” for Brownies

• Use the link above to find the official badge requirements from the Girl Scouts organization
• Discuss the different types of projects that engineers do, including biomimicry
• If your team does not have access to a project like our Chassis Kit, you can have the scouts make a prototype of a robot out of cardboard, paper and string

​
Back in 2015, President Barack Obama announced that science “is more than a school subject, or the periodic table, or the properties of waves. It is an approach to the world, a critical way to understand and explore and engage with the world, and then have the capacity to change that world..." It was during this time that the U.S Department of Education developed a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education initiative to teach these skills to America’s children.

Why STEM?

Technology isn’t going anywhere. STEM jobs are on the rise in America and throughout the world. Observatory on Borderless Higher Education has called the current job market  a “global race for STEM skills.”  Indeed, STEM fields will continue to be some of the most in-demand, highest-paying jobs in the world. Did I mention they’re also some of the happiest and most fulfilling jobs?

STEM for Girls

STEM skills are not just for boys. There is a huge need for more women throughout the STEM industry. Sadly, few girls major in computer science or related fields and there is a huge gender gap in the tech field, including Silicon Valley. By starting at home and in the classroom, and by inspiring a love of STEM subjects in our girls while they are still young, we can hopefully encourage more diversity and better representation in this important field.

STEM Resources

No child is too young (or too old) to start learning about science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Here are some of our favorite resources for children and teenagers.
 
Preschool

Goldiblox creates wonderful, educational toys for girls ages 4 years and older. Meanwhile, Tynker can be a fun way to teach computer coding to young children. Need more ideas for younger kids? Here’s a great roundup of STEM activities for preschoolers.
 
Elementary School

Elementary aged children can have fun learning computer coding and video game development, especially when combined with their favorite video game: Minecraft. This curriculum, which uses Minecraft to teach kids Java and JavaScript for video game development, is geared toward children ages 7 to 12 years.

Middle School

While the Minecraft curriculum mentioned above is still age-appropriate for middle schoolers, your child might also be longing for something different. Why not “graduate” to more advanced (and lifelike) video game development?

Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4 is a powerful and, not to mention, free video game creation engine. After ensuring that your computer meets the minimum requirements to run the software, you might explain to your child that Unreal Engine 4 is used by professional video game developers to create some of the most popular video games on the planet. It has also been used to create virtual reality worlds, special effects animations, and has even been used by the space industry. It’s intuitive to use and with plenty of online tutorials and free (and paid) resources available for download, just imagine what your child can create!
 
High School

High schoolers can benefit from lesson plans that are more advanced and include more “real world” projects. While some of the lessons mentioned above, including Unreal Engine, would work well for high schoolers as well, they might also benefit from some of the lessons mentioned here. You could use this as an opportunity to teach your teen about financial literacy and prepare him or her for a possible future career in real estate, banking, accounting, or even design.

Keep in mind that the resources listed above are not an exhaustive list. By doing a quick Google search, you can find many more resources, curriculum outlines, lesson plans, and activities. You might even search for local STEM clubs for children in your area. If you’re interested in paying for STEM lessons, iD Tech offers a summer camp program for children in preschool through high school. Need something online? Skillcrush and Treehouse are two paid options with beginners’ coding classes that could easily work for high schoolers. 

This blog was written by Julie Morris. If you are interested in blogging for FIRST Ladies, click here to sign up on the schedule.