I think I see close to a 50-50 mix of teams using tablets vs computers. I guess "what works best" is really a matter of what your team is used to, or what you have on hand. Overall, I think the programming experience is about the same either way.
My team uses laptops. Maybe a team that uses tablets will chime in.
We have both PCs and iPads available to our teams, but the students tend to mainly prefer the iPads because of their streamlined functionality and mobility; they love how they can have their iPads with them at the tables and can hold them and set them up anywhere so they can iterate code on the spot without having to go back and forth from a computer.
When we first competed back in 2002, almost nobody had laptops: teams lugged desktops, keyboards, and (tube!) monitors to competitions. Programming was via infrared—you had to be careful or you might program someone else’s robot (or they might do yours). And flash photos were forbidden because they could clear a robot’s memory.
I remember the aluminum foil deflector shields that teams built to block infrared signals from reaching their robot.
John
On Fri, Jun 7, 2024 at 7:30 PM, First Lego League in Virginia and DC<[log in to unmask]> wrote: Ok, I gotta put on my old-timer hat here.
When we first competed back in 2002, almost nobody had laptops: teams lugged desktops, keyboards, and (tube!) monitors to competitions. Programming was via infrared—you had to be careful or you might program someone else’s robot (or they might do yours). And flash photos were forbidden because they could clear a robot’s memory.
The scratch interface is well designed for touch screens, so if you are going to buy laptops, I would recommend they have a touch screen (more common now than in the past). I assume the kids will start w/ Scratch, but when they are ready or if they want to learn python, I think they may need a keyboard, so that may be something to consider.
If you didn't get to attend the CNU STEM fair, you really missed out! As part of a HUGE STEM fair, Karen perfectly ran a wonderful FLL scrimmage. So many rookie teams got exposed to FLL for the first time. Karen, thank you again for giving up your Saturday and somehow convincing a bunch of other people to do it too, just so we can all have a chance to compete one last time. Seriously, thanks!
