Pley

Posted by Franz

We want to increase our loyalty and engagement with strong gamification platform to further incentivize our already loyal fan base to visit Pley for more than just LEGO rental, but to have a complete 360 experience from picking their set to sharing their experience with other members through fun interactive features.
http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com/2014/03/22/collaborative-pioneer-an-inside-interview-with-elina-furman-founder-of-pley

Collaborative pioneer: Inside interview with Ruxandra Creosteanu at Babele
http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com/2014/01/10/collaborative-pioneer-inside-interview-with-ruxandra-creosteanu-at-babele
What tools do you use to foster collaboration between entrepreneurs?
The other key tool is gamification: which is a way to make the whole process more meaningful and fun for everyone. To incentivize people to work together in the most effective way, the platform will include a credit system. This system will reward mentors and entrepreneurs according to the level of contribution to the projects inside the platform. It will enable entrepreneurs to find valuable team members among fans and supporters.

Lego Mindstorms EV3: a 3G automaton

Posted by Franz

Lego Mindstorms EV3
Build a Bot
Wired. December 17, 2013
http://www.wired.com/reviews/2013/12/lego-mindstorms-ev3

Rating: 9/10
Nearly flawless; buy it now
$350

The ultimate Lego Terminator is back. And it’s packing some serious fun power.

Standing as tall as 16 inches, this third-gen automaton has a full range of sensors and motors.
The EV3 does recognize color levels, shoots red balls into the air, and can follow complex programming commands.
At heart, the EV3 is a toy meant for imaginative play.
In practice, it’s a $350 robot programming proving ground.
And it’s worth every penny.

http://www.wired.com/reviews/tag/for-kids

Have You Got What it Takes to Be a Lego Designer?

Posted by Franz

Have You Got What it Takes to Be a Lego Designer?
WSJ. Nov. 13, 2013
http://live.wsj.com/video/have-you-got-what-it-takes-to-be-a-lego-designer/8E3362FD-474B-4520-A259-310F61582FCC.html

The toymaker Lego invited a group of 21 prospective designers to their headquarters in Denmark to see if they have what it takes to become a Lego designer.
Johannes Ledel watches the hopefuls as they are put through a series of “brutal” exercises.

Kids Go Back To Blocks

Posted by Franz

From Classic Toys To New Twists, Kids Go Back To Blocks
June 19, 2013
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/06/19/193514522/from-classic-toys-to-new-twists-kids-go-back-to-blocks

What would Maria Montessori or Friedrich Froebel think of Minecraft?
Montessori was quite a brilliant woman. I think she’d be very interested in what’s going on today,” Hewitt observes dryly. She was polite about Minecraft (“It just doesn’t have that sensory feeling for me”) but copped to a real fascination with new games that synthesize real blocks and with ones on screens.
For example, the inevitable Lego-Minecraft tie-in, or a math-based game, Building Blocks, that uses actual and virtual blocks.

But Hewitt believes the lesson of blocks is even more fundamental and powerful than exploring ideas of geometry, spatial relations, patterning and numbers.
When kids play with blocks, they’re beginning to build.

The UnBlock http://theun-block.com An interlocking, building block system

Computer Programming For Kids 8 And Up

Posted by Franz

Computer Programming For Kids 8 And Up
December 26, 2012
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2012/12/26/computer-programming-kids

Lego Mindstorms lets kids create their own small, customizable and programmable robots.
And the programming language Scratch, developed at MIT’s Media Lab, lets kids create interactive stories, animations, games, music and art, and share them online.

a visual metaphor

Overview of Coding Apps for Mobile Devices
May 2016
http://edtechteacher.org/apps/code/#ipad