In case you missed it, the shift of the former STEAM supplier, littleBits, to Sphero has seemingly come full circle. Last week, some social media posts on the old littleBits channels indicated that everything would be moving to the Sphero channels and, earlier this week, that’s exactly what happened. That @littleBits Twitter handle displays an “account doesn’t exist” message, and typing littleBits.cc in browsers redirects everyone to Sphero’s website. While this seems like an end of an era, we're also excited to watch how these product lines continue to develop under the Sphero name and we’re excited to share some of their latest resources!
The STEAM solutions from Sphero and littleBits help you create amazing interactive learning environments. Now fully under the Sphero name, they continue to provide incredible resources for students and teachers, including upcoming webinars, this Learn From Home YouTube series, and their Sphero Global Challenge. Whether you'll be teaching coding, engineering, electronics, and even art, there is something from Sphero for you. As you prepare for the 2020-21 school year, we can provide quotes for classroom kits, single units, and anything else.
For teachers of middle or high school computer science (or other STEAM subjects), the Sphero RVR is an awesome solution. Using this multi-purpose robot, kids can code in a whole new way with the customized platform. Available as single units or 5-packs, the RVR also offers third-party hardware integration, so kids can combine coding with engineering. The robots are compatible with the Raspberry Pi, Arduino, databot, micro:bit, and littleBits. This enables children to stretch their invention capabilities and to program in three unique modes: draw, blocks, and text.
For children who are a bit younger (elementary and middle school), the Sphero BOLT is also an awesome coding tool. It works within any academic subject and features a built-in LED matrix students can program using the same three options. With the free Sphero Edu app, students could learn about how to write code that displays data in real time, harnessing their creativity to control each of the messages it displays on the matrix. Like the RVR, the BOLT is available as a standalone robot or in a classroom pack of 15!
As for the littleBits kits, educators can still purchase them, but they will not be able to do so from littleBits since they have now fully become Sphero. We’re still offering these kits, including our favorite, the littleBits Code Kit. With this kit, children can construct circuits using the littleBits modules and program them online with their Code Kit app. Plenty of project guides are available and come in that single unit or 10-pack Code Kits. Expansion packs for teaching with the Code Kit are also available on our store.
In addition to the Code Kit, we also recommend the STEAM Student Set for students on the younger side or anybody who might want to experience more of the engineering potential of littleBits without the coding. This kit can be used starting in early elementary and also has options for adding the expansion packs. The Educator Starter Kit, on the other hand, is designed for either teachers or district leaders to roll out in the classroom for evaluation purposes to gauge how kids respond to the littleBits system and invention cycle. Finally, the littleBits PD course is also available and helps teachers expand their littleBits knowledge.
We’re excited for this transition and look forward to continue providing these Sphero Robots and littleBits circuitry kits to educators. In addition to providing amazing STEAM tools for all teachers and students, we mentioned the Sphero Global Challenge as well. We’d definitely encourage today's computer science and STEAM teachers to check that our and see how students can get involved. We’d also love to let you know that the Sphero team is hosting a webinar tomorrow on ‘Connecting to Your Environment During Remote Learning.’ If you could benefit from some expert tips, feel free to check it out at 3 PM ET/12 PM PT. Check out our webinar as well on the topic of using Sphero robots in remote or hybrid learning.
If you'd like to submit an order or quote for the upcoming school year, please get in touch with us! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram as well to keep up with news from the world of STEAM education. You could also join our mailing list to make sure you never miss any important updates!