Lego Toy Robots will now Teach Coding to Youngsters
Lego Mindstorms robots have always been mind-boggling. These robots have now done great work getting kids to be interested in programming. Lego Education will now power a new robot learning system, which is also named WeDo 2.0 for teaching kids to know more about engineering and software codes.
A Combination of Hardware and Software for Education
The Lego Toy Robots are actually a fantastic combination of hardware and software that provides education to elementary school children with the help of a staggering 40 hours of hands-on projects.
Lego education which is a subsidiary of Lego, the parent company is unveiling the WeDo 2.0 system at the CES. The robot is a wireless, tablet-ready system that is targeted for middle school and high school students to complete definite tasks and score big in competitions.
The lessons taught through the toy robot are made aligned to the educational standards, especially in physical sciences, life sciences, and even engineering. The lessons help kids to solve real-world science problems in a trice.
According to the company, one can leverage WeDo 2.0 education to explore new ideas, create new things, and even share scientific discoveries with the world as one builds, programs, and modifies projects. There are eight guided projects within the system along with eight open-ended ones.
The Diverse Projects that the Lego Toy Robots can Teach
- In the “Drop and Rescue” project, students have to create a system to reduce weather-related hazards on all living things and nature. Students can even start a prototype since there can be any number of right approaches and solutions.
- Since teachers are keen to imbue students of elementary school with love for science with engaging projects.
- One of the other projects discover the surface of Mars and the Amazon rainforest along with frog evolution.
With the Lego Toy Robots, the company aims to present education not only through rote learning but also to provide immersive experience that delivers a better understanding of the scientific method and the kids’ reasoning capabilities.
The platform includes a BLE-powered Smarthub element; a building brick which is electronically charged and integral part of LEGO Power Functions (LPF) with one motor, one tilt, and a motion sensor too. Kids can program different ideas through an easy drag-and-drop GUI.
Programming EV3 Robots and their Utility
- Use the EV3 app to build and program robot directly from the tablet.
- Program the EV3 robots from the tablet by just connecting the app with the robot and by just pressing Play.
- Simply drag and drop programming blocks on the canvas as each block will trigger the robot to respond differently – walk, talk, grab or shoot as instructed.
- The programmer app features pre-built programs for different robots. Open the finished program and play them to view the behaviour.
- Create individual robot programs with the app and explore new robot behaviours by altering settings and even the order of the programming blocks.
Get unlimited robot action right at your fingertips by building five starter robots and combine the programming blocks to elicit independent and diverse robot behaviours.
Platforms and Availability
Lego Education WeDo 2.0 is compatible with iPad, Android and even the desktop versions. Chromebook support is also expected this year. The WeDo 2.0 Core Set is priced at $160 while the Student Class Pack is heavily pricey at $2,260. The YouCreate bundle which sells for 1930 does not consist of extended software.
Keval Padia is the founder & CEO of Nimblechapps, a fast-growing mobile app development company. The current innovation and updates of the field lures him to express his views and thoughts on certain topics.