Exploring the Features of LEGO Education SPIKE Prime: A Comprehensive Guide

The LEGO Education SPIKE Prime is a versatile STEAM learning tool designed for students in grades 6-8. It combines LEGO building elements, user-friendly hardware, and an intuitive coding language based on Scratch, engaging students through playful learning activities. SPIKE Prime aims to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills, regardless of a student's learning level.

What is LEGO® Learning System?

The LEGO® Learning System is a range of interconnected solutions that work seamlessly together, making it easier to implement STEAM learning at the classroom, school, and district levels. This intuitive, inclusive, and highly adaptable system meets every student wherever they are in their learning journey. Its progression of standards-aligned learning units, LEGO bricks, intuitive hardware, and programming languages helps students of all ages develop essential skills like creativity and critical thinking.

The SPIKE Prime Set: Components and Features

The SPIKE Prime Set contains 528 elements, including intelligent hardware and a colorful selection of familiar, stackable, and age-appropriate LEGO bricks. These features allow students to design and build fun robots, dynamic devices, and other interactive models.

The Programmable Hub

The heart of the SPIKE Prime system is the programmable Hub. This advanced yet simple-to-use, brick-shaped device features:

6 input/output ports
5x5 light matrix
Bluetooth connectivity
A speaker
6-axis gyro
A rechargeable battery

The Hub has many attachment points, which, combined with large building elements, allows students to spend less time building and more time learning.

Motors and Sensors

The SPIKE Prime Set also includes highly accurate motors and sensors, which, together with a large variety of colorful LEGO building elements, let students design and build fun robots, dynamic devices, and other interactive models.

Storage and Organization

The durable storage box and 2 sorting trays also means time spent setting up and clearing away is kept to a minimum, while the smaller trays are ideal when desk space is limited. There's also an unnumbered bag of bricks in the set - it contains some of the smaller elements that are crucial to the building process. This bag can also be purchased separately (2000719 - LE Replacement Pack Prime).

Coding and Computational Thinking

Coding and Computational Thinking with LEGO SPIKE Prime curriculum provides a structured sequence of programming activities in real-world project-based contexts. Over 75 programmable virtual environments are embedded throughout, allowing students to learn big ideas in robotics, coding, computational thinking, and mathematics. SPIKE Prime helps students learn the essential STEAM and 21st century skills needed to become the innovative minds of tomorrow.

Computational Thinking Skills: Develop computational thinking skills using a progression of icon-block, word-block, and text-based coding.
Experimentation: Build, tinker, and experiment - progressing from simple creations to complex structures.
Diverse Applications: Learn to program, test and tweak designs, debug and optimize, create stories with LEGO® Minifigures, prepare for FIRST® LEGO® League competitions, and more!

Coding Languages

SPIKE Prime utilizes a drag-and-drop coding language based on Scratch, making it accessible for students with varying levels of experience. It also offers the option to explore text-based coding with Python.

For those students who have no experience with text-based coding or never thought that this was something that they would be interested in they have really enjoyed coding with Python. To me, that is very powerful to make what can be a difficult concept to learn (text-based coding) accessible for every student.

Activities and Units

The standards-aligned STEAM lessons provide a variety of learning experiences that relate directly back to students’ real-life questions and observations, building their confidence and preparing them for life beyond school.

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Training Trackers: Construct, analyze, and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships between types of energy.
Invention Squad: Apply engineering design skills to each step of the design process.
Kickstart a Business: Develop effective problem-solving skills by decomposing problems into smaller parts.
Life Hacks: Create clearly named variables and lists representing different data types and perform basic math operations on values.
Competition Ready: Learn the basics of building and programming autonomous robots using sensors.
Extra Resources: Develop a collection of key skills to use through your STEAM journey.

Hour of Code

The Hour of Code is a global initiative by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org to introduce millions of students to one hour of computer science and computer programming.

RoboCamp with Virtual SPIKE Prime

RoboCamp with Virtual SPIKE Prime is an informal curriculum that teaches basic programming, proportional mathematics, robotics, and other STEM concepts at an introductory level. RoboCamp is designed with carefully scaffolded virtual activities appropriate for both formal and informal educational settings. All of the activities and challenges use a custom virtual SPIKE Prime build in a space-like environment.

The SPIKE App

The SPIKE App is a student-facing app that can be used with both SPIKE Essential and SPIKE Prime to follow and complete lessons. The app includes “getting started” material, lessons, building instructions, and a series of coding experiences that progress from icon- and word-block coding based on Scratch to text-based coding based on Python.

Language Availability

Like all of the elements in the LEGO Learning System, the SPIKE App is available in 21 languages: English (US), English (UK), English (AU), Chinese (simplified), Japanese, Russian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Italian, Korean, Portuguese (BR), Spanish, Spanish (MX), Polish, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Arabic.

Compatibility

The SPIKE App can be used with both SPIKE Essential and SPIKE Prime.

Hub Connection

To connect to a Hub:

Hold down the Center Button to turn on your Hub.
Press your Hub’s Bluetooth Button to enable Bluetooth.
Wait for your Hub to appear in the list of available Hubs. If your Hub is brand new, it’ll appear with the default name “LEGO Hub” until you give it a unique name.
Click/tap the “Connect” button below your Hub to connect.
When you connect to a Hub for the first time, a Windows notification will appear, asking if you’d like to add the Hub as a device. Click on the notification and then allow the pairing.

Giving each Hub a unique name will help you differentiate between multiple Hubs in close proximity (e.g., when using Bluetooth).

Professional Development and Training

LEGO® Education Professional Development inspires teachers to learn, practice, and master competencies so they can facilitate hands-on, playful STEAM learning with their students. At the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy, we leverage a "train-the-trainer" model to enable our curriculum, certifications, and microcertifications to make a large impact while helping to guarantee that implementations are positive and effective for learners. Educators who have been trained and certified by the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy are able to offer certification opportunities for their students. Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy's Onsite Training courses immerse educators in the world of robotics and CS-STEM education. Enjoy the convenience of taking Robotics Academy courses from anywhere in the world.

Competitions

Robotics competitions like FIRST® LEGO® League and World Robot Olympiad offer fun hands-on challenges that get students excited, build confidence, and develop the kind of skills needed for real world success. The SPIKE Prime Expansion set and Competition Ready Unit will have you equipped and ready to take on any challenge in no time! SPIKE Prime is permitted for use in FIRST LEGO League starting in the 2019 season and in WRO starting in 2020. Future competitions will be developed for use with both LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 and SPIKE Prime.

Compatibility with SPIKE Essential

Yes. You can use all of the motors and sensors with both the SPIKE Prime and SPIKE Essential Hubs. There are both icon blocks and word blocks for all the hardware elements.

SPIKE Prime and MINDSTORMS EV3

SPIKE Prime was designed to make it easier for middle school students to build with technology. SPIKE Prime is not meant to replace or replicate EV3 and therefore will differ in features and functionality.

Hub FAQs

Updating the Hub Operating System

When a user connects a Hub to their device, the app verifies compatibility with the installed version of the OS. If it’s not compatible, the app notifies the user that the OS must be updated before continuing. Hub updates differ depending on the device you’re using. To update your Hub, simply follow the instructions below or the in-app instructions that will appear when an update is needed. Note: whenever possible we recommended using a USB connection for updating.

To update your Hub:

Find a compatible Windows, macOS, or Chromebook device.
Connect the Hub to your device using the USB cable supplied with the SPIKE Prime Set.

Battery Information

You can only use the Rechargeable Battery that comes in the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime Set. It’s charged using the micro-USB cable that’s included in the set. The battery is also available to buy separately.
We recommend using a high-quality power charger from a reputable brand because these are often DVP- (dedicated charging port) or CDP- (charging downstream port) type chargers.
The Hub uses standard USB 500mA charging current. The charging time (from empty to full) is approximately 3 hours.
If the Hub isn't going to be used for an extended period, we suggest fully charging the battery before storing it. Storing the Hub with a completely drained battery is not recommended. You can also extend the battery life by removing the battery from your Hub before storing it.

Hub Error Messages

If you’re having issues starting or connecting your Hub, you might see the Light display a color-coded error message. Here's an overview of the error messages and how to fix them.

The Center Button is flashing red: There’s an extended load on the Hub. Turn off the Hub and let it cool down for 15 minutes.
The Center Button is flashing orange: The Hub's battery is running low. Connect the Hub to your device via the USB cable to begin charging the battery.
The Center Button is green: The Hub OS has been updated, and it’s restarting.
The Center Button is blue: The Hub is connected to your device using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy).
The Connection Button is flashing violet/green/blue: Your Hub OS has been recently updated, and your Hub needs to be restarted. Restart your Hub by holding down the Center Button for approximately 20 seconds.

USB Cable

You must use a USB 2.0 cable with a male-to-micro-B connector and an AWG 24 wire gauge. We strongly advise that you only use the micro-USB cable that was supplied as part of the SPIKE Prime Set. This cable can also be purchased separately (45611 - LEGO Technic Micro-USB Connector Cable).

Download and Streaming Modes

No. The SPIKE Essential Hub exclusively supports Streaming Mode, whilst the SPIKE Prime Hub solely supports Download Mode.

Turning off the Hub

You can turn off the hub by pressing the button and holding it down for 10 seconds till the light turns off.

Bluetooth Connectivity

The SPIKE portfolio’s Bluetooth connectivity is based on a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connection. The connection process runs smoothly in a classroom setting.

Getting Started with SPIKE Prime

Please visit LEGOeducation.com/start and follow the SPIKE Prime onboarding guide for your unit grade band.

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