Bongiorno_Cameron_Blog Post #3 - Technology Hardware



LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set


     Hi again! I selected the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set as the technology hardware I wanted to examine for its teaching and learning capabilities. Since my eldest daughter is a member of her high school robotics team, I was able to get access to this set. Her team uses LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Sets in their community outreach programs to teach coding to elementary and middle schoolers. Since I honestly did not have any idea what this set was all about or what it was capable of doing, I first did some exploring on my own at SPIKE™ Prime – STEAM Set - Grades 6 - 8 | LEGO® Education. The Product Description on that webpage states:

The LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set, part of the LEGO® Learning System, is the go-to STEAM learning kit for grade 6-8 students. Combining colorful LEGO building elements, easy-to-use hardware, and an intuitive drag-and-drop coding language based on Scratch, the SPIKE Prime STEAM set continuously engages students through playful learning activities to think critically and solve complex problems, regardless of their learning level (LEGO Education, 2025a).

This learning kit costs $399.95 per set, and each SPIKE™ Prime Set is designed for two students to use together.

      I then explored the actual kit I had gotten from the robotics team. That kit had all of the parts that you see in the image below, but there was also a connection cord.

This is a photo of the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set. It is a yellow, plastic box with a white, plastic cover. In front of the plastic box are its contents: three sensors, three motors, one Hub, and two white trays filled with LEGO bricks and pieces.


According to LEGO Education (2025b), the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set contains more than 500 LEGO bricks. So many bricks! Following my exploration of the kit, I dove right in and watched the provided video tutorials for educators that introduced the kit in more detail. You can access those videos at Teacher Student Gate. I then downloaded the required LEGO® Education SPIKE™ app on my computer, and I was able to follow along with the tutorial activities provided there. As I do not consider myself a “techie”, I was extremely proud of myself when I was able to display a smiley face on the Hub, make the motor turn, and successfully use the three different sensors for color, distance, and force. (I did not, however, correctly identify two of the sensors on my first attempt.) I even used the Gyro sensor that registers tilts and movement (LEGO Education, 2025e)!

     Afterward, I delved deeper into the teacher resources that LEGO provides at STEM & STEAM Lesson Plans & Activities | LEGO® Education. They are amazing! Five unit plans contain a set of individual lessons (LEGO Education, 2025c). Each STEAM lesson has instructions on how to implement the lesson, an introduction video to share with students, and extension activities. The sidebar for each lesson includes key objectives, learning outcomes, and curriculum standards for Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) with which the lesson may be aligned. The extension activities align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for literacy and math. I am truly blown away by all that this site offers!

     I explored the Super Cleanup lesson within the Invention Squad Unit Plan to get an even better understanding of how the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set is used with students during a lesson (LEGO Education, 2025d). This is a lesson for beginners (which is definitely what I would need) that should take 30 – 45 minutes. In this lesson, two students work together to build a hand controller and two grabber designs – one with a flexible claw, the other with a split claw. 


This is a photo of the two grabbers that students design in the Super Cleanup lesson. One grabber has a split claw. The other has a flexible claw. Both are made of LEGO bricks and pieces.


To do this, they will use the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ set and app that they have already downloaded on their school devices (tablet, Chromebook, etc.) for constructing the grabbers and coding the hand controller. The pair will predict which grabber will be the best design. They will then perform tests using each grabber to pick up different objects varying in weight and size. The webpage provides a Test Table sheet where they will take notes on the test results and record the score for each grabber based on its ability to grab, lift, and move each object. Based on the test results, the students will draw conclusions to determine which grabber is more efficient and if their previous prediction was correct. I think that this is a great lesson! It seems fun and offers the students an opportunity to utilize the design and scientific processes, collaborate, and practice coding.

     After learning about the different technology-enabled learning models in Module 5, I decided upon the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) to evaluate the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set.  I like how the TIM brings together characteristics of effective learning environments and levels of technology integration when considering how technology is being implemented within a lesson (Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 2019). In my opinion, the Super Cleanup lesson I described above is at the adoption level of technology integration in the TIM. Linda Shriver (Roywinkelman, 2023) explained that at this level, the teacher leads the lesson, determines the technology that the students will use, and dictates when and how they will use that technology. The students most likely have little or limited experience with the technology tool but can understand the necessary steps to utilize the technology within the lesson. The Super Cleanup lesson also incorporates all five characteristics of the learning environment at the adoption level.     

-        Active adoption - The students are engaging with technology.

-        Collaborative adoption - They are working with a partner when using the SPIKE Prime Set.

-        Constructive adoption - The students use their previous experience with LEGOs and knowledge of coding to create a movable object, thus enabling them to perform the assigned task.

-        Authentic adoption – The context of this lesson is meaningful as the students can relate to picking up trash/litter with a grabber.

-        Goal-directed adoption – The students follow normal, step-by-step instructions in using the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set to build the grabbers, to code the hand controller, and to monitor their performance.

 

     Although I did not deeply investigate other Unit Plans and individual lessons that LEGO Education provides at STEM & STEAM Lesson Plans & Activities | LEGO® Education, I am confident that most, if not all, are similar to the Super Cleanup lesson in that they are at least at the adoption level of technology integration in the TIM and successfully include the characteristics of an effective learning environment (active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, goal-directed) at that same level. To advance to higher levels in the TIM, the teacher can easily offer the students the option of creating their own version of the grabber using the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set pieces of their choice. After testing their grabber creation, the students could then select another technology tool (video, Google Slides, Screencastify, etc.) to present their results. I truly believe that the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set is a great example of technology hardware that provides wonderful teaching and learning opportunities!  

 

Please visit the Modern Teaching Blog at LEGO Education® SPIKE™ Prime Activities - Modern Teaching Blog NZ for more details about the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set and to view their extension activities in the classroom using this set!

    

 

References

Florida Center for Instructional Technology. (2019). Technology integration matrix.

     https://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix/

 

LEGO Education. (2025a). Product description.

      https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-spike-prime-set/45678/  

 

LEGO Education. (2025b). Introduction.

      https://education.lego.com/en-us/start/spike-prime/ - Introduction

 

LEGO Education. (2025c). Resources.

     https://education.lego.com/en-us/start/spike-prime/ - Teacher-Resources

 

LEGO Education. (2025d). Super cleanup.

     https://education.lego.com/en-us/lessons/prime-invention-squad/super-cleanup/

 

LEGO Education. (2025e). SPIKE app (Version 3.5.1) [Education app]. Microsoft Store.

     https://education.lego.com/en-us/downloads/spike-app/software/

 

Roywinkelman. (2023, August 27).  Technology integration levels by Linda Shriver

     [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7JeBI8Xwno

 




Comments

  1. Sarah LilesJuly 11, 2025 at 9:00 PM

    Thank you for this detailed look at the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime Set! Your personal, hands-on approach to learning the kit was a great way to frame the review. Walking through your own learning process makes the technology feel accessible, and your deep dive into the provided lesson plans effectively highlights the support resources LEGO has built around the hardware. I appreciated your use of the Technology Integration Matrix for this analysis. Your point about how a teacher could guide students toward higher levels of the TIM by encouraging more open-ended creation was valuable. You've provided a very practical model for how educators can think about implementing this technology!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Renee ZubJuly 12, 2025 at 6:45 PM

    I have never heard of this set before but it looks fun! Do they make this kit for younger grades too? I am wondering what kind of extension activities there are that are aligned with CCSS for Literacy and Math. While I think technology is a wonderful tool, I know teachers do not have a lot of time to just teach technology and need to align it to their standards. I am excited to do some more research on this product and see if it is something my school would be able to purchase for our students in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  3. In the Moody to ReadJuly 12, 2025 at 8:46 PM

    Cameron, this is so cool! After reading your post, I had to look into it furthur to see if it was offered for the early childhood sector...and it is! I even found one that goes with first grade standards as well as the techonlogy ones. This fosters such critical thinking skills and will enhance a love of learning and problem solving. The way you explained the learning environments made complete sense to me as well. Thank you for your share!

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  4. Madison FrankJuly 12, 2025 at 11:12 PM

    Wow, I had no idea just how much the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime Set could do until reading your blog! As someone who grew up with older brothers who lived for building LEGO creations, this brought back so many fun memories. It’s amazing to see how far LEGO has come. I love how you described your own hands-on experience with the kit, especially as someone who doesn’t consider themselves “techie.” That made your learning feel really relatable and encouraging. I’ll definitely be bookmarking the LEGO Education lesson library and the Modern Teaching Blog.

    Thanks for sharing!

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