Are you LEGO® Smart™? Are your students? Being LEGO Smart is more than building with LEGO® bricks. It’s having the ability to work in teams, solve problems, and create solutions. It means understanding key science, technology, engineering, and math concepts – not just on paper, but through demonstration. LEGO Smart students don’t just know it, they DO it. The sets, software, and curriculum designed by LEGO Education harness the power of the LEGO brick and combine to create learning opportunities for students that will help develop the skills needed for a lifetime of creating, solving, and contributing to a global society. Be LEGO Smart – be the future.
My success story. I am 23 years old and currently the Director of IT for North Cross School in Roanoke, Virginia. I received your LEGO Club Jr. Magazine and corresponding Teacher's Guide in the mail today and it reminded me of how everything got started.
I was in 5th grade and my teacher had ordered a kit for the classroom. She deemed it a special product and only kids that could stay after school could work on it. Everyone that could stay would put their name into a hat and 3 people would be chosen. I was one of the lucky ones.
We got to build and program a LEGO elevator/crane. It was amazing. We got to see what happened when the programming was correct and when we messed up. It kept us occupied for weeks; finally we got to demo it to the class. Everyone was so impressed.
In high school I started taking programming and networking classes. Finally, I ended up at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and graduated in 2007 with a BS in Business Administration, with a concentration in IT.
Throughout my college years I had worked as an assistant systems administrator for NCS, after graduation I went to work full time as an IT Analyst for Roanoke City Schools and a year later I was looking at a Directors position at NCS.
I give that little LEGO set the credit for getting me interested in computers and programming and to this day have LEGO Education to thank for getting me started and achieving my goal of being the Director of IT for a company.
So to you, I tip my hat and with a warm heart say, “Thank You”.
Zack DeMoss
Now through August 2009, LEGO Education is hosting an activity challenge for educators of all grades and subject areas!
The LEGO Smart Creativity Contest begins with your imagination and ends with one Grand Prize and eight monthly winners, online recognition, and the chance to share your activity with thousands of students across the nation!
The task is simple. Create an activity using only the bricks included in a LEGO Smart Kit.
Anyone employed or working in the education field is eligible to participate. This includes teachers, home school educators, classroom aides, after-school facilitators, coaches, and administrators! One free kit is provided per request. The contest is limited to online participation only, no purchase necessary.
Come join the challenge! Visit www.LEGOeducation.us/CreativityContest or click the contest logo found on our homepage for details!
The 2009 LEGO Education Main Catalog is here and ready for distribution!
For the first time in LEGO Education history, a complete continuum of robotics hardware, software, and curriculum for students in elementary school through university level is available! Check out the catalog's robotics section to see what you can add to your tech-savvy classroom!
Updated programming software, a new NXT touch sensor, fresh activities from Carnegie Mellon University, and an updated Simple and Motorized Mechanisms Set round out the enhancements viewable in this year's main catalog.
With color-coded sections for each topic, the 2009 LEGO Education Main Catalog is organized in a way that makes it easy to find the right product for any lesson or activity.
CLICK HERE to order yours today!