Student "edition" found at {csi dot journalspace dot com}.

Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

For the first meeting of my Introduction to Robotics sections during the fifth week of the third term, I listed down the requirements they needed for the submission of their first project.

The main documentation was a CD. This first of all should contain a file that can be printed out as a poster if their project is ever exhibited, with the names of the group members, the name of the robot and what should be a clear, concise and hopefully comprehensive task description of what the robot is supposed to do.

Next that they have to have in the disk is a series of pictures showing the construction of the robot, just like in the training software. There were complaints about disassembling their robot, that they may not be able to put it back together again, so I gave them the idea of detaching one piece, then taking a picture, and so on, from the finished product, thus all the steps of their assembly are shown.

Also required was a short video of their robot in action performing the task assigned. They additionally had to pass the original program file of their robot from the software used.

I said that the CD could also contain any pertinent additional information about their project that they think may be able to boost their grade.

For this I was thinking that they would include something like their personal thoughts about the project and the subject in general or anything that would highlight their own creativity such as a website or a flash game profiling their robot – maybe even scanned art or drawing that they made of their creation. I even suggested having people interviewed and getting video of their reactions about their robot.

I also emphasized that if they are going to get materials from outside sources, such as pictures, videos or web pages, that they should be properly documented, because otherwise, if they claim that it is their own work and they are caught, it would be a charge of plagiarism, with the consequences - depending on the severity of the case - ranging from a zero in the project, a zero in the subject, suspension or even expulsion.

Session 981 passed off someone else’s writing as original. Class dismissed.