Hello Everyone!

As some of you likely know, Weebly has just updated its API!  We are now running this website off of Weebly's new Carbon editor.  All of the basic functionality is still here, but you'll be seeing some changes coming as we work implement Weebly's new functions.  Here's some of the things that'll show up in the coming weeks:

• More pictures!  Weebly now allows for a Flickr ID to be linked with the site, so we're working on getting a lot of our images uploaded there.  Then we'll link the galleries to youngengineers.us.  This will provide a much easier way for the team as a whole to get their pictures on the website.  It also saves the trouble of formatting galleries in HTML to fit them to website pages. 
• Better directions!  There is now native Google Maps support in Weebly, so instead of having to click through to Google Maps, you'll be able to interact with the map in real time on the website.  Blog posts giving directions should be a lot more user friendly.
• Cleaner event planning!  The event calendar will remain as a good visual indication of upcoming meetings, but event planning is coming to the blog in an interactive form.  Weebly's new RSVP Form and Survey presets will allow for fundraising and outreach events to be organized from the website, rather than by email.  This should help us centralize our team communication.
• Videos and animations!  HD video was already supported by the Weebly API, but the system has been improved and added to.  The native Weebly player has been optimized for HTML5 and no longer runs off of flash.  The tradeoff to this is flash animation support.  While a FIRST themed flash game is still pretty far away in the development plans, FIRST flash animations are a serious possibility!  Additionally, the YouTube embed auto-scales based on display size now, even on mobile.

We are pretty stoked to bring these updates to everyone in the coming weeks, and we hope you enjoy the changes!

Thanks,
​Grayson
​

Hello Everyone!

One of our sponsors, PTC, is offering a team mentor/student training event on November 7th from 9AM - 3PM.  PTC will be training FIRST teams on the engineering process utilizing their software packages Creo and Mathcad.  This training will be a comprehensive, hands-on training session, tailored for FIRST team members and their mentors.  We get Creo's software for free in the Kit of Parts every year, and it is our primary CAD platform.  If you are interested in helping the team with CAD, this training is for you!   I would suggest downloading Creo and Mathcad before the training, you can find it at: http://www.ptc.com/communities/academic-program/k12/students/first. 

Lunch will be provided by PTC during the training, but you should still bring a light snack and water to keep you going while you work.  You can arrive at the training as early as 8:30, and if you're having any difficulty getting Creo and Mathcad installed you should show up early for help.
 
Arrow Electronics is providing their Englewood facility for the training, and due to their generosity the training is at no cost to FIRST teams students and mentors.  The facility is at 7459 South Lima Street, Englewood CO, 80112.  
 
Click here to see a map of Arrow's location

Please give a big thank you to Arrow Electronics and PTC staff!  Team Komodo is very fortunate to have PTC as a sponsor, so thank you PTC!

Thanks,
​Grayson