Your grade will be determined
by your final score, computed as:
(0.75)*[(Team Performance)*(Your
Team Citizenship)] + (0.25)*(Individual Performance).
As you can see, your Team
Citizenship counts twice; it is a major part of your Individual Performance,
and it determines how much of your team's performance score will be
credited to you. Effective team work is a major part of design projects
, of this course, and perhaps of life. Strive to be a good team citizen!
Other factors to note:
Contest:
Your team must "show" a robot at both the
Qualification and the Final Contest, i.e., all team members must be
present and you must have a finished robot with you. Your robot's functionality
(or lack thereof!) and placement in the contest does not determine your
grade (although we usually give some extra credit to the winners), but
you must be present.
Lecture: The
lectures will present the information you will need to design, build,
and program your robot. Even if you are a LEGO Master, an experienced
robot builder, or an expert programmer, you will not be sucessful in
laboratory without both the general and the specific information presented
in lectures. In addition, we present general information on the design
process, the engineering profession, professional ethics, etc. I get
to know the class quickly, and infrequent lecture attendance will lower
your grade. On the plus side, besides being useful, most of the lectures
are at least occasionally amusing (I could be biased), and we will reduce
the number of lectures toward the end of the semester to concentrate
on laboratory work.
Laboratory:
ELEC 201 is a semester-long immersion into engineering design, and
we require students put forth a significant effort. Designing, building
and programming their robot will require most students to spend sixty
to eighty hours during the semester, more than the scheduled laboratory
time. On the other hand, people who make a real commitment to the class
feel more involved, and have a lot more fun. Your participation and
diligence in the laboratory will be noted by the instructor and the
labbies, and their evaluations will be a significant factor in your
grade.
Design
Journal : Each
individual must keep a chronological
journal in a bound notebook. You should make entries, at least weekly,
to record your ideas, design sketches, observations, and experience
with designing your robot. You should use your journal as a general
scratch pad in the laboratory, but you should also state explicitly
what you have contributed to the progress of your robot. Your
journal should provide a complete picture of your involvement in the
project. We will collect and examine your journal during the course
and at the end. The journal will be used to get a sense of what each
person on a team is contributing to the design, so it is important to
make sure we know what you have done.
Team Video Reports:
Each week your team will record a brief (2 to 5 minutes) video presentation
during your scheduled lab period. This presentation should focus on
issues that the team has worked on together, such as the current state
of the robot, your strategy, and how the team arrived at consensus (or
not!) on particular issues. Later in the semester, you may wish to use
the weekly video report to demonstrate interesting features of your
robot on camera.
Design Report: Your
team must submit a design report at the end of the course describing
your robot and the path you took to achieve it. Much of the material
will be generated during the semester in the various team reports. It
will also include a description of the robot as-built, with a full copy
of the control program. Figures, diagrams and pictures are an effective
way to convey much of this information. An electronic report in
the form of a web page/site will be accepted. Failure to turn in
a complete design report on time will significantly lower each team
member's grade, no matter which member is at fault.
Team Evaluations: Each
student will be asked fill in a form at the end of the course, evaluating
his or her partners and their contribution to the team's goals and sucess.
These evaluations are considered in determining grades.
Parts and Key Return:
In order to receive a grade for the course, your team must disassemble
your robot, return all parts, tools, and LEGOs to the appropriate containers,
return your lab keys, and turn in a Team Evaluation and a Journal. Top
Please
see the schedule in the course Announcements page for this year's due
dates for reports, etc. If you have any questions about your standing
in the course at any time, feel free to ask the instructor for feedback.