In order to carry out most or all of the activities of the project, a collaborative relationship should be established between teachers involved in technology and computers. Although the steps of the project can be performed without such collaboration, the authors recommend it because of the benefits that it confers. A significant amount of time is saved by the technology education teacher in the teaching of programming when students come already proficient. Rather than spending much class time on teaching the programming aspect, the technology education teacher can concentrate more on the design aspect. Perhaps the greatest benefit of all is the reward that is derived by the teachers when witnessing true transfer and application of knowledge from one classroom to another. For example, the computer teacher teaches:

• knowledge of Logo programming and its application to the control of robots
• the design and building of robotic vehicles
• advanced programming to perform more complex tasks
  

Lego robotics kits come with their own programming software—Robolab. While the technology teacher used it for the first few years of modified activities in his classroom, the authors agreed to use instead Microworlds to program in Logo for this project. That is because students had previous knowledge of Logo programming and putting that proficiency to use seemed to be an efficient use of learned skills. In addition, while Logo has a steeper learning curve in comparison to Robolab, the greater amount of critical thinking involved in the use of Logo compelled the authors to adopt it for their project. In situations in which collaboration is not possible and no student knowledge of Logo programming exists, Robolab may be the more appropriate choice.

While the computer teacher was well-versed in Logo programming, the technology teacher had to become familiar enough with the language to be able to instruct students in programming sensors and to troubleshoot. The computer teacher had little experience with the robotics aspect of the project and therefore had to become familiar with the basic functions of the Lego robotics microcomputer and sensors in order to troubleshoot.

In addition to new users needing to become familiar with Logo programming, time must be devoted to knowledge of designing and building robotic vehicles. Time must also be dedicated to developing challenges and their environments both in the computer class and in the technology class. For example, the T.L.A. in this project requires students to travel through obstacle courses. There can be many variations to the challenges, but rules and points systems need to be established, and environments need to be fabricated. If the environment is on a table top, it is important to include a barrier around the perimeter of the environment.

Teachers can be creative in the design of the obstacle courses, or other types of challenging environments. At the end of one obstacle course in this project, students had to pop a balloon with pins attached to their robotic vehicles. An advanced challenge in the computer class is to tape a marker on the vehicle and program it to draw a square. Solicitation of students in the generation of ideas for challenging environments is advised.