Between Bricks and Clicks, Team Spirit Does the Trick!


e-Newsletter: ICT in Education in Focus!

المسابقة الوطنية للروبوتCompetition was really fierce at the LEGO League!

They were neck and neck as they turned the corner towards the finish line. Their hearts were racing faster than the bright timer on the wall!

Months of hard work and almost sleepless nights had come down to this. And just as they thought they were about o finish - WHAM- a new blockade jumps in front of them. This was the scene throughout the day at the Second National Educational Robot Competition held at the Qatar Science Club on April 1, 2010.

The competition, which is held as part of the international FIRST LEGO league, brought together teams from 12 schools in Qatar who all had design and build a LEGO robot that would move through a race course. Students from each school worked together in a team, and had to go head-to-head with teams from the other schools. Teams worked together to move their robots through the course, often having to make adjustments to their invention to overcome unforeseen obstacles.

"We used to stay up to 11 p.m. at school, both teachers and students. What's great about the competition is that it's hands on. It allows students to make measurements and conclusions, in addition to on-the-spot decisions that really teach students problem solving skills," said Hisham Fares, a teacher from at the Abu Obeida Independent School. 

"It's all about team work and collaboration. Every team member made his own contribution and we wouldn't have done it except together.""
-- Fathy Khaled, Student, Abu Bakr Independent Preparatory School

This is the second year Qatar has participated in the FIRST LEGO league competition, which was first started 1998 and is currently active in 56 countries. The league's goal is to help students discover the fun in science and technology through the FIRST experience. It inspires teams to research, build, and experiment, and by doing so they live the entire process of creating ideas, solving problems, and overcoming obstacles, while gaining confidence in their abilities to positively use technology, according the league's website.

If you had walked into the halls of Qatar's Science Club it was easy to see that the competition certainly achieved all those goals for the students from Qatar's schools.

"This year's competition is totally different - we now have robotics as a subject in our curriculum so competition is really fierce because we, as students, are more knowledgeable and interested," said Ghaith Tawalba, an Abu Bakr Prep School student, "We are now more confident in creating our robots that work, and dealing with the small bits and pieces in ways that ensure more accuracy. No longer is it a "copy-paste" approach - students can now assume leadership and discover new skills about themselves!".

"It's all about team work and collaboration," added Fathy Khaled from the same school, "every team member made his own contribution and we wouldn't have done it except together."

The ICT Connector was at the completion to take in all the excitement and drama. Hear from the students that took part in our video coverage of the competition on the ictQATAR YouTube channel. Also check the channel for more upcoming robotics focused stories.

--- By: Mina Nagy

Watch the Competition Video (Arabic):






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