[Yaaarc] Fwd: R o b o f e s t eNewsletter, 12-21-06

[Neal Probert]

R o b o f e s t    eNewsletter, 12-21-06

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Contents:
(1)  Robofest 2007 Season Kicks Off!
(2)  NXTG Programming Class for Teachers at LTU
(3)  Robofest Team Mentors Needed
(4)  Friends of Robofest Sponsors Needed for 2007
(5)  Happy Holidays!
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/


(1)  Robofest 2007 Season Kicks Off!

Robofest has officially kicked off the 2007 Season!!  The preliminary 2007 
Rules and Game were announced last week.   All preliminary Rules and all 
forms have been posted on the Robofest website at www.robofest.net. 
(Official Rules will be posted in January.)

You will find preliminary general 2007 Rules, The "Miner Rescue" Game Rules, 
as well as 2007 Rules for Exhibition, VEX Pentathlon, and the 2007 Pilot 
Categories of RoboSumo, RoboFashionShow, and Collegiate Mini Urban Missions. 
   You will also find the PowerPoint presentation file that was presented at 
all of the Robofest 2007 Informational Meetings, and streaming video of the 
Live Webcast Informational Meeting on December 14th.   Please do not miss 
the streaming video of the Miner rescue game and flash animation.

Robofest will finalize all Preliminary Rules and post Official Rules in 
early January.  Please send us your comments, questions, or concerns with 
the Preliminary Rules.  We find your feedback to be very important in 
finalizing rules each season.  Please send your reply to chung at ltu.edu by 
December 31, 2006.  Official Rules will be posted on the web in early 
January.  All Coaches and e-mail recipients will receive notification of the 
posting via e-mail.

Coach registration is now open.  Returning coaches do not need to 
re-register, they can log into the system using their old Coach ID and 
Password.  (If you have forgotten your password, please send an e-mail to 
Lori Birman, LBirman at ltu.edu and Lori will send you your log in 
information.) All Coaches will be able to register teams and select a 
competition location in early January.  The exact date and time will be 
announced to all Coaches via e-mail.

Please note that the Robofest Season starts earlier this year.  Regional 
Competitions will take place in March and April, with the World Robofest 
2007 Championship taking place on April 28, 2007.  You will find all 
regional and International Competition Sites posted on the Robofest website.


(2)  Autonomous Robotics Class for Educators – LEGO NXT Programming

Lawrence Tech's Master of Educational Technology program offer the 
Autonomous Robotics Class for Education starting January 23rd.  This 10 week 
course will introduce concepts involved in autonomous robotics and how to 
use robotics education technology to teach mathematics, physics, science, 
and computer science in the classroom.   It will provide hands-on experience 
in programming Lego NXT.  The class will be held on Tuesday and Thursdays 
7:20 – 9:10 p.m.  The class is held in person on Tuesdays and via on-line on 
Thursdays.  Partial Scholarships are available.  LTU plans to offer this 
class fully on-line in Fall 2007.   For additional information on this 
course, please visit the following URL: 
http://www.robofest.net/academy/met5263s07.htm

(3)  Robofest Team Mentors Needed

Robofest receives many requests on a regular basis for teams who are in need 
of someone to help their team with robotic programming & design.  In or 
order to meet this demand, we are putting together a list of volunteer 
mentors who are interested in helping out a team of students in their local 
community.  If you are interested in serving as a Robofest Mentor, please 
send Robofest a message regarding Mentors.  Send your name, mailing address, 
and programming experience/specialty to Lori Birman at lbirman at ltu.edu. 
Thank you in advance.  Your assistance could really be beneficial to 
students in your community.


(4)  Friends of Robofest Sponsors Needed for 2007

Robofest has 2007 Sponsorship Opportunities at several levels, including 
individual donor opportunities, entitled "Friends of Robofest."  Robofest 
has also created several new Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities.  The 2007 
Sponsorship Opportunities Program can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.robofest.net/2007/SponsorshipLevels07.pdf

Attached is a link for Friends of Robofest, individual donors to make a gift 
to Robofest via credit card (MasterCard, Visa, or Discover) or electronic 
check.  You may make an on-line gift to Robofest by visiting the following 
link:

https://www.applyweb.com/public/register?ltualum

When using the on-line giving form, you must specify Robofest as the gift 
recipient and also specify your gift amount.  The on-line pledge form is 
encrypted with Secure Socket Layer technology to guarantee transaction 
security.

All Robofest donations are tax deductible contributions. Transactions must 
be processed by December 31st to receive 2006 tax credit.  Robofest 
Sponsorship is important in our effort to keep Robofest a low-cost 
affordable contest for everyone.  We hope you will consider supporting 
Robofest in our sponsorship campaign.  We appreciate your support.

Anyone interested in other sponsorship levels should contact Lori Birman at 
LBirman at LTU.edu


(5) Happy Holidays!

Robofest sends each of you its warmest appreciation of your support this 
past year.  We wish you a wonderful Holiday and Happy New Year!

----
If you wish to be removed from this email list, please let us know by 
replying this email.

Lawrence Tech University Computer Science / Robofest World Headquarters
CJ Chung, Associate Professor, Robofest Director
Lori Birman, Robofest Coordinator
21000 W. Ten Mile, Southfield MI 48075
admin at robofest.org           www.robofest.net
(248)204-3566                Fax: (248)204-3518

-- 
          *** ProbeStar Technical Systems, LLC.  ***
       Software Engineering and Application Development

==// Neal W. Probert (President)       / Email: nprobert at probestar.com //
=// Web: www.probestar.com            / Phone: 734-834-7805           //=
// Fax:                              / Cell: 734-834-7805            //==

"Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the 
greatest of God's gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of 
sciences"
--- Freeman Dyson Infinite in all directions