A wealth of Competition Logbook resources and content is available to you through the REC Foundation and is collected here for easy access. We will add more information to this article and the resources frequently.
Introduction
Professionals use the Iterative Process to communicate ideas and progress to other members of their team. Competition Logbooks serve a similar purpose in our program as students develop written communication skills that may be useful in future careers.
Additionally, for teams, the Competition Logbook can be evaluated at competitions and is one way teams can provide evidence of a student-directed iterative process. One of the pathways to success in competition is the Communications Mission Award, which includes a team interview and evaluation of a team's application of the iterative process and how well that process is documented in the Competition Logbook. The Logbook is also an important consideration for several other awards within the competition. For additional information see the Article Guide to Judging: Awards.
Ultimately, the Competition Logbook should be considered a tool and not an end in itself. This Guide is an introduction to developing and using the Logbook in an effective way. When used properly, this documentation practice will strengthen a team’s critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication skills.
Getting Started
The Competition Logbook is first and foremost a chronological account of design decisions. Whether the Logbook is hardcopy or digital, it should always be a historical account of what a team has discovered on their journey. It should document the team's failures as well as their successes. Advanced teams' Logbooks will include enough detail that a reader could recreate the team's mission strategies or code following the documentation in the Logbook.
What Should You Use as a Logbook?
Logbooks can be created as hard-copy books or digital versions. Hard-copy Logbooks can be as simple as a standard composition book and as fancy as a professional hardback Logbook. Regardless of which book you decide to use, keep in mind that all Logbooks should adhere to the following minimum requirements:
- All Logbooks should contain a table of contents
- All pages should be numbered
- All Logbooks should present a chronological account of the team's work during a single season
If you run out of room in a hard-copy Logbook, another book can be used. Simply number the first book “1 of __” and fill in the total number of books at the end of the season.
Who Should Write in the Logbook?
A Competition Logbook serves as a tool for all student team members: pilots, copilots, visual observers, coders, and everyone else who helps with the drone or its code. Any or all team members can write in the Logbook, and every team member should contribute to it in some way. Many teams designate a single member of the team to be responsible for the Logbook. This “Logbook Manager” can ensure that the book is kept safe and that all entries are consistent with the team’s style and overall goals. Regardless of who does and does not write in the Logbook, all team members should be familiar with the contents.
Who Should NOT Write in the Logbook?
Advisors, coaches, parents, and any other person who is not a member of the team should NEVER be permitted to add things to a team's Competition Logbook. Everything in the Logbook should be created and entered by student team members. If a team uses a digital Logbook format, adults should not have write, edit, or comment access to the file(s).
What Should Be In the Logbook?
There are many things that can be put in a Competition Logbook, but not everything should be in the Logbook. Major design considerations, pictures or drawings of strategies, and data collected from testing should all be included. Entries may be in the form of drawings, printouts, or text. All steps of the Iterative Process should be detailed in the team's Competition Logbook.
The team should document their project and time management practices including their use of personnel, equipment, and time resources. The Logbook should also include notes on the drone’s computer code. The use of sensors in the code and control of the drone should be clearly documented. A developed Logbook would allow a person who is unfamiliar with the team’s work to take over the programming and be able to follow the team’s mission strategies based on a team’s detailed documentation.
Things to Leave Out of the Logbook
Quantity isn't always quality in a student Competition Logbook. For example, a Logbook should not include the entire Competition Manual or any other document that isn't created by the team. If content doesn't demonstrate the team's use of the Iterative Process to develop strategies or code the drone or is not a topic included in the Competition Logbook Rubric, it probably doesn't belong in the Logbook.
Logbook Organization
There is no universally accepted “correct” way to organize a Competition Logbook, but here are some tips to get you started:
- The team name and team number should be recorded conspicuously on the front cover of each volume of a hard-copy Logbook; for digital Logbooks, the file name should include this information.
- If multiple hard-copy Logbooks are used, each volume should have “## of __” on or in the front of the book (e.g., if three books are used, they should be labeled “1 of 3”; “2 of 3”; and “3 of 3” at the end of the season).
- A title page at the beginning of the Logbook should include details like:
- Team name, number, and school/organization
- A list of team members and the dates they joined the team; include an end date a member leaves mid-season
- Start date and end date of that specific Logbook
- A table of contents should include:
- Page numbers
- Entry titles
- Entry dates
- Each page should include the following:
- Page number
- Title that describes the work completed during the work session
- Date of entry
- List of team members who worked that day
- Detailed descriptions of the work done that day, which could include text, sketches, photos, text plans/results, brainstormed lists, and ideas for the future
- Additionally, a large Logbook may benefit from an alphabetical index of key terms and information found in that particular volume. This information would be added to the back few pages of the logbook after it is complete.
Criteria for Success
The Iterative Process
Each Competition Logbook is created through a concerted effort by a team to document the process they used in testing ideas and making decisions. Teams should start their Logbooks early and update them often.
In the Iterative Process students recognize and define a problem or challenge, brainstorm and develop various ideas and strategies, test their ideas and strategies, continue to improve their ideas, and repeat the iterative process until a solution has been identified. During this process, students will come across obstacles, encounter instances of success and failure, and learn many lessons. It is this iterative process that students should document in their Competition Logbook.
Refer to the Article The Iterative Process for an in-depth explanation of the typical steps used by teams.
REC Foundation Judging Rubric
All team members should familiarize themselves with the Competition Logbook Rubric. The REC Foundation Logbook Rubric is a scoring guide used by tournament Judges to evaluate the quality of students' work. It lists all criteria that Judges consider when scoring teams' Logbooks. Teams looking to meet the highest standards will need to focus on the Expert column of the rubric. Judges will evaluate how well the team's Logbook addresses each of these topics:
- Iterative Process
- Identify the Challenge & Analyze Requirements
- Generate Ideas & Develop Strategies
- Test and Improve Strategies
- Repeat the Iterative Process
- Usefulness and repeatability of the team's documentation
- Usefulness of the Logbook as a tool to record team and project assignments
- Logbook includes evidence that it was created sequentially through the design process
When studying the Competition Logbook Rubric consider what each rubric point means, and what a Judge might look for to quickly score a Logbook on that rubric point.
Code in Logbooks
Not every line of code from every revision of a team’s program should end up in a team Logbook, but it's important that the Judges can see that the team's code was developed by students and show multiple iterations. Teams should remember that the Judges are looking at the team’s iterative process, including their code. The Judges’ job of reviewing teams’ work is difficult when there aren’t many references to the process used by the coders to develop and test the code. Teams that include documentation of code development as part of their Logbook will paint a better picture for judges to evaluate their iterative process and be evidence of student-created code.
It is up to each team to determine how much code to include in their Competition Logbook. This will vary from team to team. Teams should include enough code to communicate their process to judges. Teams should record code development discussions and include examples, which could be as simple as pseudocode, as well as test results. For example, a Logbook entry might include the definition of which sensors are being used, and may include snippets of exceptionally innovative portions of the team's code.
There is no need to include every revision of code in the Competition Logbook. Teams may wish to keep all versions of their code in a separate notebook or folder so as to track all of their code development.
Tips for Good Logbooks
- Store your hard-copy Logbook in a safe place.
- Make sure you have backups of your digital Logbook if it's not stored in the cloud.
- Never let a non-team member add anything to your Logbook.
- Start hard-copy entries at the top of each page and work down.
- All entries in a hard-copy logbook should be legible.
- Label everything you add to the Logbook, especially sketches and photos.
- Use a numbering system to label figures and drawings so they can be easily referenced.
- Try to fill empty spaces with pictures, design drawings, or pseudocode.
- All work in a hard-copy Logbook should be in pen or permanent ink.
- Do not use markers that can bleed through the paper in a hard-copy Logbook.
- Document research and cite all sources.
- Show all mathematical work, not just the answers.
- Pages should not be added or removed from a hard-copy or digital Logbook.
- Correct errors in a hard-copy Logbook by putting a single strikethrough line; Judges want to see mistakes, too. This is a work in progress.
- Attachments such as pictures or printouts should be taped or glued in a hard-copy Logbook. A written entry should accompany the attachment to validate its entry into the book.
- Document failures and wrong turns, not just successes and the final code strategy.
- Code development should be documented alongside strategy development.
For more information on Competition Logbooks the additional Resources for Students and Coaches.
Resources for Students
Competition Logbooks are as varied as the teams that create them, but there are some basic components that should be included in all Aerial Drone Competition Logbooks. The links below provide additional resources.
ADC Competition Logbooks
- Iterative Process
- Guide to Judging Part 6: Competition Logbook Content and Design
- Guide to Judging Part 7: Competition Logbook Judging Process
- Competition Logbook Rubric
Additional Resources for Coaches
Submitting the Competition Logbook at an event
When registering for a competition on Robotevents.com, be sure to note the requirements for submitting the Competition Logbook for Judging.
- Some events will require a physical logbook to be submitted at the event Team Check In table.
- Others will require a digital logbook to be submitted prior to the event via the link found on the Coach’s dashboard in Robotevents.com. (Refer to How to Submit Digital Competition Logbooks)
- Physical logbooks may be converted into digital notebooks by scanning each page and saving as a pdf.
- Digital logbooks may be converted into physical logbooks by printing all pages and organizing them in a binder.