That got me thinking, and resulted in this post.
My philosophy on communication is this - everyone has a fixed bandwidth for information. There is no lack of information, it surrounds us and bombards us every day. The challenge is finding the sources that provide valuable information. The most valuable sources don't waste our time, give us what we need, when we need it. (Yes, I agree the FIRST website is in need of serious help)
On the other side the challenge is being one of those sources, and not just another voice in the crowd.
One of my RSS feeds (I limit them to just those I read) is Seth Godin's blog. He recently posted one about the "attention economy" worth reading.
In any case, the FTC team has been working diligently preparing for the upcoming (current) season. Next season FTC will offer two new awards. The "Promote Award" will recognize teams that create a brief public service announcement (PSA) around a topic that will be announced in the fall. The idea is to get teams involved in spreading the word about the importance of FTC and FIRST with specific regard to how it influenced them.
The second award is formalization of the "Compass Award" which was piloted at the FTC World Championship in April. The Compass Award recognizes outstanding contribution by coaches/mentors.
Video submissions will be used for consideration for each of the new awards.
Hopefully you are all having a great summer and recharging your batteries for another outstanding FTC season.
Take care,
Ken
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2 comments:
As a former FLL coach that is moving my team to FTC I respectfully disagree with your bandwidth assessment when it comes to FTC. Of the four FIRST programs I know the least about FTC--and it's not for lack of trying. There just isn't a great deal of information about FTC to be found. Why is that?
Coming from FLL, where information is abundant, the contrast is somewhat disturbing. There is nothing wrong with the FIRST website. It's fine for static info about the different programs-and the most organized I've seen in four years.
Leverage your blog. Make it conversational to highlight prep for the upcoming season, i.e. fund raising, equipment, best practices, past tournament locations, teams to watch, websites to browse, programming tips, and so on.
What may seem obvious and "old news" to those familiar with the FTC program is very new and bewildering to those of us who are starry-eyed noobs trying to figure it all out. Please be that source of valuable information.
Respectfully,
Coach - FTC #5037
You can always go to the FTC forum in chiefdelphi.com to look for more resources, and post your own questions.
I think this blog is more for FTC news.
Just my 2 cents.
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