In this episode of Trending in Education, Mike Palmer welcomes Andrew Sliwinski, Global Head of Product Experience for LEGO Education, on the day of a major product launch. Together, they explore the intersection of physical play and artificial intelligence, revealing how LEGO is redefining AI literacy for the next generation.
Andrew shares his winding career path from tutoring in Detroit to directing Scratch at MIT and serving on the board of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The conversation dives into LEGO Education’s new Computer Science and AI curriculum, a hands-on, privacy-first platform designed for students from kindergarten through eighth grade. 🧱
They discuss moving beyond screen-based learning to collaborative, physical experiences—like building a dancing robot owl to understand machine learning. Andrew explains why we should stop teaching kids to just tread water with AI tools and start helping them understand the “black box” through first principles like data, probability, and bias. 🤖
Whether you are an educator or a parent, this episode offers a unique look at how “learning through play” prepares children to be the architects of the future. 🎓
Timestamps:
- 0:00 – Introduction: A Big Day for LEGO Education
- 1:15 – Andrew’s Journey: From Detroit Classrooms to MIT Scratch
- 2:55 – The Legacy of Mindstorms and the Genesis of AI at LEGO
- 4:45 – Launching the New K-8 Computer Science & AI Curriculum
- 6:10 – Learning Through Play: Only the Best is Good Enough
- 9:15 – Shifting AI Literacy from “Use” to “Understanding”
- 11:40 – Collaboration vs. “Maze Solvers”: The Power of Hands-On Teams
- 14:30 – Children as Role Models: Learning from the Next Generation
- 17:30 – Vocational vs. Defensive Perspectives on AI Education
- 22:15 – Passing the “Substitute Teacher Test”
- 24:00 – Dancing Owls & Machine Learning: Cool Things You Can Build
- 25:50 – Screen-Free Tech: Starting AI Concepts in Kindergarten
- 29:20 – Solving the Privacy Puzzle: Local Data & No Accounts
- 36:30 – Durable Skills: Data, Statistics, and Probability
- 39:30 – Closing Thoughts: Handing Kids a Screwdriver for the Black Box
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Palmer Media 2026-01-15 19:23:00
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