FIRST®️ Programming Experience - VLACS
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Status

Open

Overview

This competency group may only be completed as an experience. Please select the “Experience” button above to see the description. 

Major Topics and Concepts

Status

Open

Are you participating in the FIRST®️ Robotics Competition or the FIRST®️ Tech Challenge and would like to earn credit for your learning? Then you have come to the right place! This experience is designed for students working on the programming component of either of the FIRST®️ Robotics Competition or the FIRST®️ Tech Challenge to demonstrate mastery of key programming concepts and skills and earn a half technology elective credit. The VLACS Experience is designed in collaboration with FIRST®️ to allow students to build off of what they are learning as a FIRST®️ participant and utilize the products that are produced through FIRST®️ to demonstrate mastery of programming competencies. (This experience is consistent with NH ITC requirements.)

Students may complete this experience before, during or after their participation in a FIRST®️ team. As of September 1 each year, students will no longer be able to use the previous year FIRST®️ participation to earn credit through VLACS. At this point, their experience will need to be based on participation in a FIRST®️ team for the current school year.

Credits .5

Competency Group Overview

This experience is consistent with NH ITC requirements.

Meets ICT graduation requirement.

Competencies

  • Experience Design
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of designing and refining an experience for the purpose of learning and mastering specific competencies by aligning these competencies to an Experience and identifying tasks that will demonstrate their mastery of these competencies.
  • Understanding a Programming Challenge and Exploring Solutions
    Students will demonstrate the ability to understand a challenge that can be solved with programming and explore possible solutions by analyzing a challenge, researching and asking questions pertaining to a challenge, and exploring a variety of possible solutions.
  • Designing a Computer Programming Solution
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of programming solution design by creating an outline of a solution to a complex problem that includes a breakdown of required tasks and strengths and potential weaknesses in solution.
  • Writing Programming Code
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of the process for writing code by writing pseudo code, writing the actual code, and identifying strengths and weakness of the coding solution.
  • Refining Programming Code: Test, Reflect, and Revise
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of the process used to test and improve a programming code by completing the process of testing, debugging, reflecting, and revising the code to better perform desired tasks.

Pre-Requisites

Students must be participating in the FIRST®️ Robotics Competition or the FIRST®️ Tech Challenge.

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