“Many educational materials foster logical thinking. KOOV nurtures creativity and curiosity,” so says the smiling Ryo Ando of the SGED’s Corporate Planning Office. Ando (or “Andy” to students) helps people get started with KOOV, in addition to lending a hand in programming workshops and other activities.

“In developing KOOV, one consideration has been the growing need for IT skills as technology, especially AI, continues to advance,” said Ando. “SGED was founded in 2015 and helped pioneer programming education, which was made compulsory in Japan in 2020 for elementary school students and older. Since then, we’ve continued to refine learning materials that help children build the skills they’ll need, while considering what role Sony can play in developing them.”

Programming can be taught in countless ways, but in keeping with Sony’s focus on creativity and technology, KOOV emphasizes open-ended learning that allows students to explore and create in their own ways.

Finding the single best answer to a given problem is something AI will excel at,” said Ando. “That makes it essential for future generations to be able to identify problems on their own and approach them with diverse thinking, curiosity, and creativity.”Without self-motivation, we won’t be able to overcome setbacks while solving problems, and only through inventiveness and curiosity can we demonstrate our creativity.”

Nurturing creativity and curiosity is a goal that resonated with many of the companies and organizations that have adopted KOOV since its launch. One of them is KodoLabo, a programming lab for elementary- and middle-school students. Its director, Kenta Masagaki, recalls that KOOV immediately aligned with KodoLabo’s founding mission: to encourage children to think independently and engage in meaningful activities.

“KOOV is carefully designed so children can enjoy working with it,” Masagaki said. “A big part of Koov’s appeal is that it is very open-ended. But the most important thing is that when children work with it, they have fun.”

This resonates strongly with Masagaki, who worked in game development for many years. To him, KOOV feels less like a lesson and more like an extension of play, making it a more natural fit for how children learn and explore.

So how do students actually learn with KOOV?

Robotics instruction with KOOV is built around two core elements: hardware and software. “You write code in the app, send it to the robot you’ve built with the blocks, and it starts moving,” said Ando. The physical components are designed to invite experimentation. “There are seven different types of blocks and colors, and an array of electrical and electronic parts,” he said. “Look closely, and you’ll see that all the blocks are translucent, which I personally like because when they overlap, new colors appear, which makes the building process even more engaging.”

Masagaki is especially drawn to how the learning experience is structured. “KOOV includes a detailed study guide, but it remains open ended,” he said. “The building process itself, and what comes after, encourages children to think freely. If the goal were only to master coding, it would be organized very differently. Instead, the message is that you’re free to learn in your own way.”

According to Ando, the freedom of open-ended learning can sometimes slow progress. That, he argues, is part of its value. “Spending time thinking through a problem is quite valuable and helps children grow,” he said.

He compares the experience to choosing a toy. “People tend to be drawn toward toys with clear instructions that are easy for anyone to follow, But they rarely hold long-term interest,” said Ando. “More engaging experiences require trial and error. Rather than producing something successfully on the first attempt, learners move gradually toward an idea, adjusting along the way.”

Another key principle is to focus on how ideas are developed, not just on what is ultimately built. “Even if everyone ends up building the same thing, each person will have arrived there differently,” Ando said.

Regular contests and KOOV robot examples within the app allow users to see those differences. By exposing children to multiple approaches, the platform broadens their thinking and strengthens motivation.

After hearing Masagaki describe how children’s eyes light up when their creations come to life, we visited a KodoLabo workshop in December 2025 to see KOOV in action. The theme that day was making futuristic musical instruments. As the children learned how servo motors control speed and angle, and how variable-speed DC motors work, they eagerly reached out to examine the components themselves.

The children’s initiative was impressive. Rather than hesitating or worrying about mistakes, they jumped straight into trial and error, testing ideas, adjusting when something didn’t work, and starting over without frustration. No one complained. Some smiled as they worked; others stayed intensely focused, eyes fixed on their creations. Throughout the two-hour workshop, their concentration never wavered. As time ran short, several protested: “There’s only ten minutes left,” and “I still have more things to make.”

The futuristic musical instruments they created that day exceeded expectations in both imagination and variety.

Speaking to the children and their parents after the workshop yielded all kinds of feedback.

One sixth grader said the experience stood apart from his other lessons, including English conversation and private tutoring, which he found less motivating. What he enjoyed about the workshop, he explained, was the freedom to build whatever he wanted while learning new ways to make things move. A parent whose two sons attend KodoLabo said that watching her children work reminded her of how distinct their personalities are: the older brother focused on understanding structures and refining his robots, while the younger expressed his love of the holidays by decorating his creation in seasonal colors.

After saying goodbye to the children, Ando noted that work on the KOOV platform was hardly finished. “We often talk about the importance of nurturing creativity and curiosity,” he said. “But those qualities are difficult to measure. That can make it hard for parents to know whether their children are truly benefiting, or whether to continue enrolling them in KOOV classes. At the same time, as AI becomes increasingly capable of outperforming people in clearly measurable skills, it’s essential that we help parents understand why these less quantifiable abilities matter.”

As SGED works to address that challenge, Ando says one of his goals is to expand how KOOV is used beyond physical creations. “Rather than focusing only on building objects, we want KOOV to encourage students to design experiences meant to engage or surprise others. When people start thinking about how their creations affect someone else, it strengthens the kind of creativity that benefits society. We believe that awareness of others will be what drives the future.”

Masagaki echoes this sentiment. “Rather than focusing on what children can do with KOOV itself, we hope they develop the habit of thinking about how to solve everyday problems,” he said. He also spoke about creating opportunities for former KodoLabo students to support the education of younger learners as they grow older, helping build a continuous cycle of learning.

Ando agreed. “KOOV itself is not the goal but a catalyst for shaping future education,” he said. “There is still a great deal of potential in the platform, and I hope we continue to develop it in ways that truly support learning.”

Together, these perspectives position KOOV as a tool for developing problem-solving approaches, rather than simply teaching technical skills. Judging by the focus and enthusiasm visible in the classroom, that future is already beginning to take shape.