Lego Education is on the rise to takeover classrooms. It's a great way to get students engaged in a lesson and interested in STEM Education. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math and has gotten lots of attention in school looking to build on the curriculum of the students.
According to The Center for Engineering Education Outreach or CEEO, at Tufts University, they stumbled upon the Control Lab Interface that connects to the computer through a serial port and controls LEGO motors and lights and reads from LEGO sensors. The program was created for all aged students. "Kindergartners have used LabVIEW and the LEGO bricks to build their own town and automated a bus stop at each house" (Erwin 2000). "College juniors learned about statistical analysis, sampling theory, and report writing whiling enjoying the versatility the LEGO bricks have to offer" (Erwin 2000). But how does one exactly create a program that can be easy for 5 year olds to use while still being able to entertain 20 year olds? "The ultimate goal was to develop software that has a low entry level and high ceiling without either extreme feeling overwhelmed" (Erwin 2000). The program is set up in levels so that you can grow with the program. "The computer becomes another tool rather than the central focus of the project. the software and the hardware have a very low entry level but very high ceiling" (Greene 2013). The next big software tool is LEGO MINDSTORMS. "The true power of LEGO MINDSTORMS and the LabVIEW programming environment is not simply to enhance the pre-existing curriculum, but actually to transform the learning environment into one of an inventor's workshop or engineering design firm" (Green 2013).
iPads are a great tool for the classroom and help engage students during lessons as well as free time in the classroom as well as at home. There are so many useful apps to download for free or for a small fee. And the great thing is that there are so many apps that benefit teachers as well as students.
The iPad app I chose is called Life of George. This app works with iPhones, iPads, and iPods as well as a the game Life of George and Legos. It's an interactive game combining Lego blocks with your electronic device. George shares pictures of his travels and challenges you to recreate the picture as you try and race the clock. You take a picture of your model with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod and George will let you know if it's correct.
I would use Life of George at a station with a small group that would be part of a whole group lesson. I would also have Life of George available in my math games bookcase so that students would be available to play with it whenever they had some free time. If I were going to use Life of George in a lesson, it would be included in an addition unit but during a Spring Time theme because George's pictures are mostly Spring and Summer themed.At the station, I would have a Life of George box for each student. The box comes with a mat as a set of Legos. Each student in the station would also need their own iPad with the Life of George app downloaded. Life of George would not only help the students counts how many Legos they needed but also help them with colors and shapes. Life of George is a great tool to help develop or strengthen fine motor skills. This game also builds teamwork when more than 1 student is using the game. Players are also rewarded points for speed and accuracy so it would develop a healthy competition for the students to beat their previous records as well as their classmates.
