Problem 2: “The Email Must Go Through”

Problem 2: “The Email Must Go Through” Odyssey of the Mind 2012-2013 Long Term and Style Judge Training

What is “Odyssey of the Mind”? • International creativity competition for schoolkids • K-2 noncompetitive “practice problem” • 3 age divisions of competitive problem • Each team chooses 1 of 5 “long term” problems, and prepare a solution in the form of an 8-minute performance that meets certain specific requirements and is judged on stated scoring criteria • Performance is also scored on “Style Elements” that are a mix of required and team-selected features • Each team also competes in a “Spontaneous” problem that they have never seen before. (Not our concern…) • Regional winners advance to State tournament • State winners advance to World Finals

Which part of that are we doing? • We are responsible for judging the Long Term and Style aspects of one of the five long-term problems for this year; it’s called “The Email Must Go Through” • Problem #2 (the “Technical” problem) • Should involve both technical and artistic elements Before we get into the details of the problem, let’s talk about the different judging roles we will need…

What is the challenge we are judging? • Create and present an original performance that includes a tangible representation of messages sent by email. • A Sender character will load emails in a loading zone to pass through an “email network server” to a delivery area • A “SPAM filter” will divert one email to an unintended location • One email will have a (tangible) attached work of art • A Receiver character will send a reply to one of the emails back through the network • The emails may not be touched by the team during transit

Judging Roles • 2  Staging Judge • 1  Timekeeper (aka Master of Ceremonies, MC) • 4  Long Term (aka Section D Judge, Problem Judge) • 4  Style Judge • 2  Score Compiler (aka Score Checker, Scorekeeper) • 1  Head Judge (already assigned)

Staging Judge • Greets and preps every team • Welcomes teams • Reviews paperwork for completeness and correctness • All forms OK (including required list), with enough copies of each • All Style categories fully described and in correct order • No overlap between Style and Long Term scoring areas • No illegal batteries, dry ice, weapons, bare feet, etc. • Works through staging checklist • Notes any potential cost or Outside Assistance penaltiesPro: most time with teams of any judge roleCon: will only get to see one or two performancesSpecial skills: detail-oriented, familiar with Chapter 5 of PG

Master of Ceremonies • Gets paperwork from staging judges for each team, and distributes to scoring judges (LT and Style) • Introduces every team, fills dead time with audience • Times performances, stops teams at 8 minutes(if necessary) • Keeps things running on schedule • Coordinates team clean-up and exitPro: no decisions, numbers, or paperworkCon: not for the timidSpecial skills: big voice, firm hand, stopwatch

Long-Term Score Judge • Watches each performance and discusses with team members the elements of the presentation • Scores each team on all elements of Section D of the problem (4/7 of each team’s total score for the day) • Works with other judges to decide whether to assess penalties, and if so how muchPro: most influence on who wins the tournamentCon: lots of decisions, some difficult – takes focusSpecial skills: deep familiarity with problem rules

Style Judge • Watches each performance and discusses with team members the style elements of the presentation • Scores the 5 elements in Section F of the problem(1/7 of each team’s overall tournament score) • Double-checks that team-selected Style elements do not overlap with items scored in Section DPro: can focus on artistry; entirely subjectiveCon: need good notes to be consistent all daySpecial skills: interest in arts, design, language

Score Compiler • Collects Long Term and Style scores from those judges • Enters all scores into computer and prints results • Double-checks for incorrect or impossible scores • Files all paperwork in correct folder/basketPro: no decisions, laptop programs available, often gets to see multiple performancesCon: lots of data entry and filingSpecial skills: detail-oriented, organized

Head Judge • Problem Captain’s representative at each site • Keeps the process flowing smoothly at the site • Advises other judges as necessary • Returns (and explains) raw scores to coachesPro: no scoring decisions – advisor onlyCon: must be familiar with rules and all judge roles; explanations to coaches are sometimes awkwardSpecial skills: ability to explain things clearly

Choosing judging roles • We need to take a few minutes to assign people to jobs • Reminder: • 1  Head Judge = Carolina Bernstein • 2  Staging Judge • 1  Timekeeper (aka Master of Ceremonies, MC) • 3  Long Term (aka Section D Judge, Problem Judge)(one spot reserved for Shelby Montague) • 4  Style Judge • 2  Score Compiler (aka Score Checker, Scorekeeper)

What is the challenge we are judging? • Create and present an original performance that includes a tangible representation of messages sent by email. • A Sender character will load emails in a loading zone to pass through an “email network server” to a delivery area • A “SPAM filter” will divert one email to an unintended location • One email will have a (tangible) attached work of art • A Receiver character will send a reply to one of the emails back through the network • The emails may not be touched by the team during transit

Where do the rules come from? • Chapter V of the 2012-2013 Program Guide • Download at http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/downloads/programguide.pdf • The official Long Term Problem Statement • Included in your download packet • Published Problem Clarifications • View/download at http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/clarifications/default.php • Officials’ Clarifications • Provided by me

Beware of oddly defined terms • If you know anything about how email works, the terminology in this problem could be misleading • Tangible objects, not electronic files • “Server” is actually transport • “SPAM filter” diverts instead of quarantining • “Attachment” can’t be digital • “Return receipt” must be deliberate reply • Emails aren’t generally delivered to physical locations • For our purposes, it’s probably better to think of this as “the UPS package must go through”

The Emails • Must be tangible representations of messages • Tangible = something you can touch • Does not necessarily involve words or symbols • Three separate emails • One with attachment • One generates reply • One gets misdirected to the “offbeat location” • Must be delivered to three separate physical locations on the floor of the Delivery Area

The Sender and Receivers • All emails will be created (in the story) and sent (physically) by the Sender character, who can be portrayed in any way • Not necessarily one kid in a costume… • The emails will be unloaded (downloaded?) by one or more Receiver characters. A Receiver will send a reply email back through the system. • Sender and Receiver(s) are scored for loading and unloading the emails properly, and for the creativity of their portrayals.

For example… • Could be an alien, an animal, a kitchen item, a mathematical object, a robot, a planet... The Sender must be a single character in the story. • Could be costumed kids (including different kids at different times), models, toys, puppets, etc.

The Email Network Server • Transports the emails across the Internet Zone • Two taped lines on the floor, 8 feet apart • Separate the Loading Zone from the Delivery Area • This is the “technical” part of the problem (maybe) • Opportunity for some engineering skills • Must operate without direct contact of emails by team members • Scored for creativity of how it works and originality of its design • Could be as simple as a slingshot or hockey stick

The “SPAM filter” • Associated with the email network server, but scored separately from the transport mechanism • At some point will divert one email to an unintended (“offbeat”) location • Scored for • Creativity of how it detects SPAM • Originality of the reason (in the story) that the misdirected email got flagged as SPAM • I hope we see at least one solution that actually filters emails by their physical characteristics, without team intervention

Style Elements • Artistic quality of one of the emails • Clarification: could be a fourth physical email, that team must attempt to send through the network • Creative use of a trash item in a costume • “A trash item” can be 1 item, or multiple parts of one thing, or multiple identical trash items • Two “free choice of team” elements (which the team will describe on their Style form) • Overall effect of these 4 elements in combinationStaging and Style judges need to watch out for overlap with Long Term (Section D) scored items.

Section D Scoring • Objective scores (yes or no, all judges must agree) • The Sender loaded all three emails • The Receiver(s) opened all three emails • The emails were sent successfully (3 separate scores) • The reply was sent back to the Sender successfully • The work of art was attached and delivered • For any of these that get zero, write a note to the Head Judge explaining why

Section D Scoring (continued) • Subjective scores (1 to _ points, judges need not agree) • Overall creativity of performance • Performance quality • Creativity of Sender and Receiver portrayals • Originality of “email network server” design • Creativity of how SPAM filter works • Originality of why one email was diverted • Artistic quality of the work of art attachment • Creativity of explanation for why work of art is being emailed • Creativity of the chosen offbeat location • Effectiveness in the performance of the offbeat location

Safety Rules • Judges (especially Staging Judges) need to be familiar with the safety rules in the Program Guide (pp. 36ff) and Regional House Rules (from our website) • No open flames or flammable fuels • No internal combustion engines • No dry ice or other extremely hot/cold items • No live animals or taxidermy • No weapons, explosives, smoke bombs or similar • Only specific permitted types of battery • Shoes must be worn at all times • Etc. • ANY JUDGE may stop a performance AT ANY TIME if they perceive an impending safety issue, including bare feet

Penalties • We don’t want to assign penalties, but they are a necessary way to maintain an even playing field. • Over Cost – could some other team really reproduce this team’s solution within the cost limits? • Outside Assistance – did the team come up with all of the ideas and do all of the work? • “Spirit of the Problem” – a requirement that isn’t scored but was not met (e.g. Sender must be portrayed as the creator of the emails) • Unsportsmanlike Conduct – On or off stage. Did they make a mess they couldn’t clean up? Cause a delay? Harm others? Include offensive material in their performance? Say hurtful things? • Missing or Incorrect Membership Sign – must comply with Program Guide specifications

Penalties (continued) • Any judge can raise the question of whether a penalty may be appropriate • Judges should confer and reach consensus on • Whether to penalize • Explanation for penalty • Amount of penalty • If a penalty is assigned, attach a message to the Head Judge (in addition to writing the penalty on the Long Term judge scoresheets) explaining exactly what the penalty was for. To explain it to the coach, the HJ will need the best description you can give.

OMER’s Award • Awarded to a team or individual • Recognizes one or more of: • Outstanding sportsmanship / teamwork • Outstanding artistic or performance quality • Outstanding contribution to OotM program • Examples • Astonishingly skilled dance performance • Lending tools to a competitor at the last minute so they can fix their broken vehicle • Agreeing to coach 3 teams because 2 other coaches quit

Ranatra fusca Award • There’s a story behind the name… • Awarded to a team or individual • Recognizes one or more of: • Outstanding creativity – way “outside the box” • Exceptional risk-taking in a good cause • The thing you will talk about at work on Monday • Examples • The papier-mâché head • The morphing soldier/dinosaur • The shadow-extruding machine

Problem 2: “The Email Must Go Through”