Lego Education’s latest sets focus on computer science and AI for students in grades K-8.
Last week at CES, Lego introduced its new Smart Play system, with a tech-packed Smart Brick that can recognize and interact with sets and minifigures. It was unexpected and delightful to see Lego come up with a way to modernize its bricks without the need for apps, screens or AI.
So I was a little surprised this week when the Lego Education group announced its latest initiative is the Computer Science and AI Learning Solution. After all, generative AI feels like the antithesis of Lego’s creative values. But Andrew Silwinski, Lego Education’s head of product experience, was quick to defend Lego’s approach, noting that being fluent in the tools behind AI is not about generating sloppy images or music and more about expanding what it means by teaching computer science.
“I think most people should probably know that we started working on this before ChatGPT [got big],” Silwinski told Engadget earlier this week. “Some of the ideas that underline AI are really powerful foundational ideas, regardless of the current frontier model that’s out this week. Helping children understand probability and statistics, data quality, algorithmic bias, sensors, machine perception. These are really foundational core ideas that go back to the 1970s.”
To that end, Lego Education designed courses for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8 that incorporate Lego bricks, additional hardware and lessons tailored to introducing the fundamentals of AI as an extension of existing computer science education. The kits are designed for four students to work together, with teacher oversight. Much of this all comes from learnings Lego found in a study it commissioned showing that teachers often find they don’t have the right resources to teach these subjects. The study showed that half of teachers globally say “current resources leave students bored” while nearly half say “computer science isn’t relatable and doesn’t connect to students’ interests or day to day.
