Back in the early 2010, Mr LEGO himself introduced us to the original LEGO WeDo kits as a way of teaching the robotics/control part of the then primary ICT curriculum. Through a USB hub, children could use block-based coding to interact with LEGO models incorporating a motor, a tilt sensor and motion sensor. We used these with our iMac suite and children and teachers loved them alike.
In 2016, LEGO released WeDo 2.0, with a battery-powered Bluetooth hub that could pair to Mac, PC, Chromebook and iPad. We were just beginning our 1:1 iPad journey, and in 2017 we ended up buying two class sets of these kits with the proceeds of the sale of the iMac suite that was no longer needed.
These kits have since served us well, offering an engaging building and coding experience for children, with corresponding curriculum resources in the WeDo app.
Reflecting on the many years of use, there were some pain points:
- Sorting out kits. The kits do come with a labelled sorting tray, but it takes a high level of obsessional conscientiousness to keep everything in order.
- Missing pieces. Kids lose LEGO pieces, either through carelessness, leaving them in random drawers or even theft, so a visit to LEGO spares was regularly required.
- Length of builds. The models that LEGO provides instructions for are really cool (like a Mars rover, a simulation bee or a race car) but they all take quite some time to build, particularly if children aren’t used to playing with LEGO. Often, this meant having a ‘build’ lesson followed by a separate ‘code’ lesson, with plenty of time in between for pieces to get lost.
- Battery drain. As the kits connected wirelessly, they had a tendency to chew throw AA alkaline batteries, adding an ongoing consumable cost as well as the hassle of taking apart the models to put fresh batteries in mid-code.
After an epic 8-year run, I felt it was time to upgrade to the newer Spike Prime Essential kits. With the happy delivery of two classroom sets, here are my thoughts so far…
Thoughts on LEGO Spike Essential
The app
There is a LEGO Spike iPad app, as well as Chromebook-friendly web app, complete with build instructions, curriculum resources and coding environment. The coding comes in two flavours: younger-learner-friendly code blocks that are placed in a horizontal row and older-learner text-based blocks that are placed in a vertical list. This makes for a smooth transition to the more secondary-appropriate LEGO Spike Prime. The app is well-designed and pretty lightweight and links out to curriculum resources on LEGO’s website.
Curriculum Resources
LEGO have created a large bank of lessons with corresponding models. They are linked to a range of possible different subject, such as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and maths) as well as computing. Each lesson has some sort of problem that the LEGO characters are trying to solve and then the app guides them through building a model and putting suggested code together. The Spike app literally shows learners how to combine the code blocks, which means that all learners are able to get the model working. The lessons then pose a couple of challenges: one is to adjust the code to try and solve the initial problem in a different way; the second is to alter the build. This combination of structured guidance and open-ended exploration means that the learning can be low-threshold yet high-ceiling.
Model Design
What’s really nice is that the models are generally much simpler than WeDo 2.0, meaning that they can easily be built and then put away within one lesson. Fun as building LEGO models is, our use of these kits is to teach our computing curriculum and so this definitely helps! They also have more of a child-like design, having just enough pieces to make the models work and to communicate what they are meant to be, without the added complexity and finesse of consumer LEGO models.
Rather controversially, the kits are a complete mashup of System and Technic bricks. I think this is probably inevitable as the moving parts of robotics needs the joins and axles of Technic, and the primary-age focus needs the simplicity of building with ‘normal’ bricks.
The Hub and Accessories
The Bluetooth hub is a clever piece of kit, with a lithium-iron rechargeable battery (for longer use between charges) and a built tilt sensor. It allows for two accessories to be connected at one time, with ports labelled A and B.
There are four accessories to choose from: two motors, one light sensor and one 9-pixel display block
The motor blocks can be both connected at the same time and then controlled with a ‘movement’ block in the app, allowing for an easier way to make wheeled models that can move forward and backwards as well as rotate left and right. The motor blocks also have an awareness of position, so they can turn to a certain angle, as well as fully rotate.
The light sensor block shines a light to detect the colour of a brick, which allows for all sorts of fun ways to trigger code. It can detect nine different colours.
The 9-pixel light block, with a 3×3 matrix display, can be programmed to shine any nine colours from its nine pixels. This provides lots of potential without too much complexity.
Kit Organisation
There are two trays with four compartments each, beautifully labelled to indicate which pieces go where. By organising the bricks by colour, this makes it really easy to both find the bricks you are looking for but also to put them back in the right place when you’re done. In a classroom with lots of potential for kits to get mixed up, this is a very thoughtful design!
Spare Pieces
Each kit comes with a box of spare parts, which a really nice touch. Admittedly, it doesn’t contain every single LEGO piece in the kit, and undoubtedly the piece you need is the piece not in the spares, but it definitely is a help! These LEGO kits will be shared between students and classes and bits always go missing, so these spare parts should definitely help with the longevity of the sets.
All in all, I think LEGO Spike Essential is great!
Primary ICT 