Want to help out!? LEGO ROBOTS!

I needed a simple basic robot for my students to learn to program with, so here's the design I came up with.

Make a GREAT BIG MESS:



Sort parts into kits,



and BUILD BUILD BUILD!



I changed my simple sensor bar on the last one and have since converted them all over. The new version holds an ultrasonic sensor, light / color sensor, and a third motor that can act as an arm for lifting things.





Once I got it figured out, it took about 5 minutes to build each bot. Should be pretty easy to maintain. Still need to buy 5 more kits and build 7 more robots! Anyone want to put some money towards a good cause?

Here's the old ones we are replacing.




PLEASE HELP ME OUT!!!  Share this page, or this link:  http://www.donorschoose.org/project/welcome-to-the-next-level-ev3-lego-robo/1747807/?rf=link-siteshare-2015-10-teacher-teacher_2238585&challengeid=373576

And donate to a great cause!  I've had some great donations already but still need $600 more.  You can try the promo code "spark" and it may double your donation, but I think its expired...

Thanks in advance for your help!

Cookie Dough and Lego Robots.

Well, the cookie dough fundraiser is almost over.  I've been keeping track of my students sales and if they are about average for the rest of the school it looks like I'll be getting a nice bit of money to help update some stuff in the shop.  I have a list of things I'd like to update- and if I were to add everything up I bet there's over $50,000 worth of crap on my wish list.  Ain't gonna get anywhere near that much, but its fun to dream.

In the mean time, one of the top items on my list is new Lego robots.  I've got 12 extremely well used Lego NXT's.  Pulled them out this morning to use in class and two, yes TWO of the 12 screens worked.  Not a big deal, we can work without the screens- just means more headache for everyone involved, and its a common problem with a fairly easy fix.  So I spent my prep, lunch, and a few minutes here and there while students were working trying to get them fixed.




Managed to get all but 3 of them working, and it looks like those three are finally toast.  Might try and find some new resistors and give that a try, but for now they're just going to have to live with it.

Lego came out with a new version- EV3- last year.  I really only need the "brains" and maybe a couple of the new sensors, but by the time you buy the parts individually you're already almost at the price of the complete kit.  Not that I need all the extra legos- we've got boxes and boxes left over from past FLL tournaments and the 12 kits we already have.

The kicker-  the district won't let me surplus the ones I currently have and re-invest the money in my shop.  So, they'll probably end up in some closet somewhere for the next 20 years, and some teacher down the road will toss 'em in the dumpster (along with the table saw and disk sander I "surplussed" a couple years ago).  Great plan guys.  Guess I just have to hope I got enough cookie dough money to upgrade the robots and get the new curriculum from Carnegie Mellon that goes with it.

Counting money tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed.  Anyone wanna buy some cookie dough!?