LEGO Education launches new online resources

New online resources – available for free – have been announced by LEGO Education.

LEGO Education has announced new, free online resources, emphasising that they can be used anywhere, suggesting that they may help while remote learning is more commonplace.

“It’s more important than ever to continue learning through play – wherever the learning happens,” says Esben?Stærk, president of LEGO Education. “LEGO Education solutions provide playful learning experiences that not only teach important STEAM skills, but also social and emotional skills that together help build the confidence and resilience needed among students, teachers, and parents to rebuild and thrive this school year – and for years to come.”

Here are the specific new resources that LEGO Education is launching, announced in the press release:

New science and math lessons incorporate both physical activity and hybrid learning

LEGO Education is launching a brand-new unit, called Training Trackers, to teach core science and math concepts with its middle school solution, LEGO® Education SPIKE™?Prime. With personally relevant?and engaging lessons, the new unit will support in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning with a focus on core subjects to complete the robust STEAM curriculum designed for SPIKE Prime.

Featuring seven lessons, the unit is focused on physical science and data – complete with new coding blocks to better collect and visualize sensor data. Taking hands-on learning a step further, students will learn about kinetic energy, speed, potential energy, and more as they stretch, walk, and squat jump to collect data in real-time and then analyze and interpret it. To support hybrid learning, each lesson plan identifies which of the five learning stages can be completed asynchronously or in person.

STEAM learning goes virtual

Teachers can adapt any LEGO Education lesson to virtual learning with the help of new guides, which include tips on preparing for online learning, engaging online learners, and managing materials at home. Since every lesson incorporates hands-on learning and collaboration, students get needed sensory breaks and develop social and emotional skills even during virtual learning.

In addition, LEGO Education teamed up with popular coding and robotics platforms CoderZ to feature a virtual SPIKE Prime experience and allow students to practice their coding and STEAM skills in an entirely online setting. The online experience can complement hands-on building activities with a physical SPIKE Prime Set, either before or in parallel.

Teachers can also engage with students via LEGO Education lessons using the popular Flipgrid video discussion platform. Using discussion prompts and short videos, teachers can see and hear from students and foster fun and supportive social learning, whether in class or at home. Visit the Flipgrid Discovery Library to see available LEGO Education content with more being added soon.

Building a community of educators

Launched this summer, the LEGO Education Community is an online platform that brings together passionate educators and technologists from around the world who believe play and exploration build successful, lifelong learners. Educators and parents are encouraged to inspire, support, and learn from one another, while connecting with their peers. The community features active discussions, a lesson plan exchange, community events and challenges, exclusive updates from LEGO Education, and more.

“I’m a teacher, but I’m also a lifelong learner. The LEGO Education Community is a diverse and exciting group of educators willing to share their expertise, as well as learn from others and take these skills back to the children we teach. Sharing and collaborating on ideas with other teachers from around the world will be an incredible resource for both new and experienced teachers, especially as we look to adapt and continue learning in the new school year,” says?Jacob Woolcock, Head of Computing and Digital Learning at Penpol School in Hayle, Cornwall, UK, who recently became a LEGO Education Master Educator.

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