A familiar name in toys is bringing new concepts to the classroom.
Lego just launched SPIKE Essential, which takes bricks and mini-figures to a new level of learning.
“So, imagine you have the physical bricks that, you know, and you have the Minifigures as well, that allows you to storytell, which helps student engagement. Then you have intelligence elements, for example: motors, sensors, light output, and then a coding layer,” said Esben Stærk, President of Lego Education.
The kits focus on STEAM learning, which looks at science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
But the kits can also be used for writing and language lessons.
“So, you can see as a teacher how from there you can extract stories and say, ‘Ok now we've builded, we've coded, now write a story, tell me about what these kids are doing here.’"
Stærk says making learning fun is especially important as some kids go back to in-person school for the first time in months.
“There's lots of documented evidence that when we make learning meaningful, then we make it engaging. And I think that's always going to be important, but I think particularly these days. As students reenter the classroom, it's incredibly important that we reengage them in learning that's meaningful to them,” said Stærk.
The Lego SPIKE Essential kits range from $100 to just under $300 each and are available not only to schools, but to anyone who has kids they think might enjoy learning with Lego.
