LEGO introduces Mac-compatible educational tool

Jul 1, 2008 20:06 GMT  ·  By

LEGO Education, The LEGO Group's educational division, has announced LEGO Education WeDo, one of the company's new educational products. The Mac-compatible tool teaches classroom robotics to students 7-11 years of age. Using the provided software, primary school students are going to be able to program the robots they craft out of LEGO pieces.

WeDo is touted as bridging the physical world (represented by LEGO models) and the virtual world (computers and programming software) providing a "hands-on, minds-on learning experience that actively involves young students in their own learning process." LEGO's WeDo is generally aimed at promoting children's creative thinking, but also teamwork and problem solving skills, some of which, LEGO reckons, are "essential in the workplace of the 21st century."

According to the famous toy manufacturers, the complete LEGO WeDo package includes:

- 158 brightly colored LEGO elements, including gears and levers

- One LEGO USB Hub that connects directly to a Mac/PC laptop, desktop, OLPC XO or Intel Classmate computer to allow control of hardware input (tilt and motion sensors) and output (motor), thereby bringing models to life

- One motor, one motion sensor and one tilt sensor

- Drag-and-drop icon-based software that provides an intuitive and easy-to-use programming environment suitable for beginners and experienced users alike, developed by a leading provider of engineering hardware and software, National Instruments

- Activity pack CD-Rom that provides up to 24 hours of instruction and includes 12 activities based on four themes: Amazing Mechanisms, Wild Animals, Play Soccer and Adventure Stories, running alongside programming software, activities are introduced via animations. Teacher notes and glossary are also included.

"While still meeting state curriculum standards, the LEGO WeDo platform enabled me to start facilitating a new but natural process where my students had an opportunity to direct their own learning," said Debra Heath, science lab teacher for Don T. Durham Elementary School. "All of my students were so engaged in the lessons that they didn't realize they were learning; even the students who struggle in every subject were able to excel during LEGO WeDo projects."

The new product is currently available only on display at the National Educational Computing Conference in San Antonio, Texas. LEGO promises to make WeDo available for the public starting January 1, 2009 in the United States and Brazil.