LEGO gets into classrooms with WeDo robotics systems

There was a time when the world was more innocent and Lincoln Logs in elementary classrooms were a given, but now that teachers are looking to squash every ounce of fun between 8AM and 3PM (okay, so maybe we just had a rough experience or two), LEGO's taking the back door in. The WeDo robotics kit is marketed toward elementary schools and the younger kids within them, with each package containing 158 blocks, gears, levers, etc., a USB hub for connecting to your Mac / PC, OLPC XO or Intel Classmate, a motor, one motion sensor, one tilt sensor and a CD with a smattering of sure-to-be-riveting activities. Mum's the word on pricing for now, but considering your tax dollars will be paying for 'em, it's not like you'll really benefit from knowing.

[Via BoingBoing]

[Jason @ Jul 25th 2008 6:15PM]

mv Geqxon -r /hell

[imacmatt09 @ Jul 25th 2008 3:44PM]

I love LEGO's. Sometimes I bust out my giant bin of them and make something.

[Forrest @ Jul 25th 2008 4:47PM]

I love lamp!

[Jason @ Jul 25th 2008 9:12PM]

I know, being single is tough work :)

[DarkFader @ Jul 26th 2008 9:54AM]

You don't love LEGO's, but LEGO !

[John H. @ Jul 25th 2008 3:45PM]

sicko

[neofolklore @ Jul 28th 2008 8:34AM]

"LEGO gets into classrooms...."........LEGO's taking the back door in"

[jason @ Jul 25th 2008 3:47PM]

OLPC's===Suck


The software is horrible.


I dont care if it is for a good cause, lousy software means an unpleasant experience.


I remember I volunteered to write some software for the OLPC, but when I got my OLPC, it was so terribly slow that I couldnt even do anything with it. Not being able to change settings/update teh OS just isnt right.

you cant even do normal computer functions.

[fred @ Jul 25th 2008 4:02PM]

Lego LOGO for life!

Those were the days.

[iofthestorm @ Jul 25th 2008 4:04PM]

Fail.

[Stevo @ Jul 25th 2008 4:07PM]

Maybe instead of "low ranked", Engadget should have it say "fail" so that we wouldn't be subjected to the constant "first" post always followed by the obligatory "fail"

I don't know which one annoys me more.

[deyanimay @ Jul 25th 2008 8:33PM]

If low ranked enough a big red stamp saying "Fail" should be put over their comment.

[Dagreenman18 @ Jul 25th 2008 4:15PM]

Really wish i was in elementary school right about now.

[Conor Maher @ Jul 25th 2008 4:17PM]

Lego is awesome, It really is a great toy, More kids these days should be building crap out of lego instead of playing lame wii games :D Lego broadens the mind... Mechanical / Logical thinking and such

[E.J. @ Jul 25th 2008 4:24PM]

Are those kids Black Panther party members?

[DeusExMach @ Jul 25th 2008 5:22PM]

6th Grade. Lego Technix was new(ish). We had these as a shop class project. This kind of thing is not news to me. But MAN, would I have loved Mindstorms as an assignment when I was 12.

[ZackDanger @ Jul 25th 2008 5:29PM]

LEGO had a similar product back in the 90's. Motors, sensors, etc... all controlled by a basic computer program.

(It was called "Lego Dacta Robolab")

[Jason @ Jul 25th 2008 6:21PM]

wholly crap!! I just entered 'mv -r Geqxon /hell' and that nasty pervo comment immediately disappeared.

Am ah root?

[Jason @ Jul 25th 2008 6:24PM]

More like fffdd1st!

[Jason @ Jul 25th 2008 7:30PM]

Okay, that was a reply to some 2 hours late firster, but the firster got deleted, so now I'm just sitting here lookin dumb. Yeah.

[Gav @ Jul 25th 2008 9:19PM]

There have been lego robotics things in classrooms for years. They've always been very popular too (at least in my experience).

Looks good anyway.

[Andy @ Jul 25th 2008 9:24PM]

I am in favor of my tax dollars going to lego. prefer lego to bombs :P

[Kasona @ Jul 25th 2008 9:31PM]

LEGOs can make awesome educational tools. I do robotics workshops with junior high and high school students a few times a year using Lego Mindstorms kits and it's probably just as much fun for me as it is for the kids.

[loosely_coupled @ Jul 26th 2008 12:13AM]

Oh man! Schools should get 6-9th graders interested in science and technology by doing classes where they build useful projects out of Lego's more advanced MindStorms robotics kits!

[youngcalihottie @ Jul 26th 2008 12:41AM]

i think hispanic workers at lego were making fun of those white kids when they named the system. lol. "wedo robotics systems"

[Geqxon @ Jul 26th 2008 8:17AM]

I must say, it's pretty chilly in hell!

And yes, I was indeed testing out Engadget's automated comment removal system. :-)

[Jason @ Jul 27th 2008 4:56AM]

'm not root.
rm happiness; mkdir loneliness
echo cry
#well at least those poor impoverished suburbanwhites got their OLPCs.

[Markarian @ Jul 27th 2008 7:59AM]

I'd be willing to bet that CD full of riveting activities is Win32 only. Sorry, OLPC.