Scratch Wiki Home Random Page Special pages Printable version The Scratch Wiki is made by and for Scratchers. Do you want to contribute? Learn more about joining as an editor! See discussions in the Community Portal The requested page title was invalid, empty, or an incorrectly linked inter-language or inter-wiki title. It may contain one or more characters which cannot be used in titles, which are #, |, [, ], {, }, <, and >. If you would like to create a page at this title, choose a different title and put {{Incorrect Title|}} at the top of the page. Return to Scratch Wiki Home. Tech Age Kids Local CODING ROBOTS ELECTRONICS MINECRAFT CROWDFUNDING Image Credit: LEGO Education via Business Wire LEGO have announced LEGO WeDo 2.0, a new version of their popular educational robotics kits at CES. These sets are widely used in primary schools for the teaching of STEM, coding and robotics. The range was due an update.
The original version came out in 2009. Although LEGO WeDo is primarily sold to schools it's also popular with some families. Some schools will be deciding whether to upgrade their kits or possibly add more of the older version for consistency. Let's take a look at what LEGO WeDo is and the differences between the 1.0 and 2.0 kits. What is LEGO WeDo? LEGO WeDo is pretty costly for the hardware that you get, but it's also fantastic. The use of LEGO makes the sets really flexible as well as appealing to children. The kits are durable and include practical storage and the educational materials make LEGO WeDo readily usable in schools that may not have a lot of technical expertise available. Note that WeDo is not compatible with LEGO Mindstorms. WeDo 2.0 uses connection technology that is compatible with future LEGO Power Functions products so there may be future interoperability there. The LEGO pieces in WeDo 1.0 use primary colours whereas the WeDo 2.0 bricks have a more modern and fresh colour schemes with brighter green, blue and yellow shades.
The What's in the Box Video for LEGO WeDo shows the new pieces in detail: LEGO WeDo 2.0 has tablet software as well as a PC version. We're pleased to see support for Android as well as iPads. Chromebook support is coming soon which will be important for a lot of schools. The software is included this time which is a good move. The drag and drop software is actually much better suited to a touchscreen device. The app is available to download for free and works really well. It has video tutorials (no voice overs, it does have music so in a classroom you'd need to get all the kids to mute their devices.) There's a built-in documentation tool where kids can make notes and store photos and videos. You can find the app on Google Play or iTunes (there are Start and FULL editions), and you can register to try the PC software for free. LEGO have also said that Scratch support will be coming out in 2016, first for Macs and then for Windows. This is very good news. LEGO WeDo 2.0 includes a basic getting started project.
You can also purchase over 40 hours of educational material including starter projects, guided activities and open activities. There's lots of STEM focused material and also computing content. The packaging varies between countries to tie in with the local curriculum. With 2.0 the models can move around more as they aren't tethered to a USB port and the new material takes advantage of this. The LEGO WeDo 2.0 content reflects modern primary school computing terminology and themes and feels much more up to date. My kids (aged 7 and 9) really like the look of the models. In the LEGO WeDo 2.0 'What's in the box' video we find out that Milo the robot model that features in the promotional material is male, this seems a shame. I guess LEGO didn't read our article on whether girls and boys need different tech toys. The new projects do include girl and boy characters called Mia and Max (though Max always get the first mention in the material I've seen.) Regular readers of Tech Age Kids will know that I'm rather obsessed with storage for robots and electronics kits.
It's so important not to lose pieces in a kit like this. Sources: Press Release, LEGO WeDo 2.0 FAQs More from Tech Age Kids: We just need a few more details to give you the best answer possible. If you're helping a child, please make sure you select your own age.We only sell individual bricks in the countries on this list.You're not old enough. Maybe you can call us with one of your parents instead? How old are you? Where do you live?Build and Programme with LEGO WeDo New for 2016 - One of Enginuity's Digital Days. Children will work with LEGO WeDo to build and programme a variety of machines. Using motorised WeDo kits children can learn how to solve problems using a variety of sensors. LEGO WeDo uses a block based programming language similar to Scratch that most children will be familiar with. No previous experience is required. Drinks and snacks are not provided. This event is suitable for children aged 6-13. Tickets are £20 per child and must be pre-booked - click here to buy now.
Back to Events & ExhibitionsTo buy the BLED112 dongle to use with LEGO WeDo 2.0 or S2Bot software please click here. What is the BLED112 dongle? The Bluegiga BLED112 is a small BLE dongle that plugs into the USB port of your computer to add support for BLE (a.k.a. Bluetooth Smart / Bluetooth Low Energy / Bluetooth 4.0) communication. The BLED112 is unique in that it does NOT require any special bluetooth software/stack/support within the operating system, so will work quite happily on almost any computer, including many older systems that do not normally support BLE at all (e.g. Windows XP or 7). The BLED112 will work with Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook (as long as the software title such as S2Bot supports it). It is ideal for use in schools. Once again the BLED112 is NOT a conventional bluetooth adapter. It is a ‘BLE to serial’ adapter dongle and creates a virtual COM port for communication. This is how it can work with older computer systems that do not support BLE by default.
Common uses of the BLED112 dongle in schools Where to buy the BLED112 The following mail order companies sell the BLED112 BLE Dongle (as at Jan 2016). Expect to pay around £15/$20 for the dongle. How to setup the BLED112 On Mac, Linux and Chromebook no setup is required, simply insert the dongle into a free USB port on your computer. Note you can sometimes increase bluetooth range by mounting the dongle higher up – e.g. does your monitor have a USB hub you could use? On Windows 7, 8, 10 the driver will automatically download and install the very first time the dongle is inserted. On XP / Vista you can manually download the driver from this link. You MUST restart the computer after the driver is installed. It is strongly recommended to always use the dongle in the same USB port. How to 'pair' the BLE device As the BLED112 does not use any bluetooth driver/stack installed on the computer there is no need to separately ‘pair’ the bluetooth device within the operating system.