Volume II, Issue 1 ~ September 2023

Bee-Bot Buzz helps you make the most of the Bee-Bots, Blue‑Bots, and other related technology products for your school. Learn how to engage students in curriculum concepts and problem-solving using these fun robots and find out how other educators use them.

In this issue:

• Kinderlogo: Math and Coding Fun for Young Learners!
• Tennessee Brings Terrapin Robots to Every Elementary School
• Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots — What's the Same? What's Different?
• Do Your Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots Sound Spooky?
• Quick Links to Resources

Click to view archives of past Bee-Bot Buzz issues.

Kinderlogo: Math and Coding Fun for Young Learners!

Kinderlogo immerses your K–3 students in a world of mathematical explorations and discoveries. Using easy-to-remember keystrokes, students move and turn the screen "turtle" to make shapes, repeat patterns, add color, and create original designs.

When they start out, students discover that they can repeat these letters — F R R R — to draw a small square. (In Kinderlogo, the turtle turns 30° at a time.)

Then, how could they draw a bigger square? What designs can they make with their squares? What other shapes can they draw? How might they think about drawing a circle?

Each of five sequential levels offers new commands to explore and activities that reinforce the concepts introduced. At the final level, students can teach the turtle a design and then repeat it around the screen, harnessing the power of Logo.

Many of the 28 activities are open-ended explorations while others have a specific goal. Students can traverse mazes, sort toys into colored boxes, play a musical keyboard, try a matching game, and much more.

These images show a Level 1 "Turtle Dance" activity using 5 turtles, a bus drawn using Level 2 commands, and a Beads activity for copying, extending, and creating patterns.

Students like to draw their names at Level 3, create colorful designs at Level 4, and teach the turtle how to draw and then repeat a set of instructions at Level 5.

Kinderlogo debuted many years ago, and author Dorothy Fitch has recreated it multiple times as technology evolved. Most recently, she used it with 700 students in a K–2 computer lab where Kinderlogo and Bee-Bots were their favorite activities. What a terrific combination they make for exploring and learning!

Kinderlogo is available as a one-, two-, or three-year subscription and runs online in a browser on all desktop and laptop computers, including Chromebooks.

Interested in learning more about Kinderlogo?

• Visit the Terrapin website to learn more about Kinderlogo.

• View Kinderlogo's Table of Contents. (PDF)

• Read about all the activities. (PDF)

• Preview Kinderlogo: Read the guide and try some of the online activities.

• Contact Us if you wish to attend a 30-minute small group "Overview of Kinderlogo" via Zoom and we'll offer some times.

Tennessee Brings Terrapin Robots to Every Elementary School!

Tennessee has launched Reach Them All, a statewide computer science program that trains teachers to use age-appropriate technology in every school.

From Memphis to Johnson City, every elementary school in the state—all 1,321 of them—has received:

• 2 Bee-Bots
• 2 Blue-Bots
• 2 Pro-Bots
• 4 Command Card Decks
• Bee-Bot Lessons curriculum for use in the classroom and online
• Pro-Bot Lessons curriculum for use in the classroom and online

Each school district's Delegate selects Ambassadors to deliver training at the schools. Over 500 Ambassadors receive multiple days of training and support to prepare them to lead professional development sessions.

Terrapin also participates in other statewide initiatives.

• Storytime STEM, developed by Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) as part of a National Science Foundation I-Corps grant, engages students through stories and original mats for Bee-Bots to explore. Visit the Storytime STEM website and learn more about their products.

• Iowa's statewide program STEM Scale-Up has adopted AIU's Storytime STEM-packs into its PreK–2 curriculum. Read more.

This video speaks volumes about the excitement of teachers and the power of their initiative.

Terrapin will exhibit at the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) annual conference in Nashville, November 15–18. We look forward to meeting teachers from Tennessee and other states.

Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots: What's the Same? What's Different?

In most ways, Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots are alike. They are the same size. They make the same sounds. They travel the same distance. They use the same accessories.

But how are they different? They don't look the same, but that is just their appearance. The biggest difference is that Blue-Bots can connect via Bluetooth to other devices, such as TacTile Code Readers, the Blue-Bot emulator, and Terrapin Logo.

The chart below has more details.

Fun Fact: How Fast Does a Bee-Bot or Blue-Bot Travel?

Their user manuals say they move about 65 mm (2.56") per second.

That's about .145 miles per hour, depending on the condition of the battery.

How long would it take to travel a mile? Nearly 7 hours! (6.8966 to be exact)

Do Your Bee-Bots or Blue-Bots Sound Spooky?

Students may have accidentally recorded sounds for them to play!

The newest Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots are "See & Say" models with more capabilities than the original standard version.

How do you tell which model you have? Turn your robot upside down and count the switches. Standard models have 2 switches. "See & Say" models have 3 switches.

Customers occasionally ask us why their Bee-Bots make unusual noises when students press the command buttons. How does this happen and how do you fix it?

"See & Say" models have a personalization feature that allows you to record up to 2 seconds of sound on a command button. To do this, press a command button for 2 seconds. After the beep, make your recording. You will hear two beeps when your time is up. Now, pressing that command button plays the sound you recorded.

Students might hold down buttons and record sounds without being aware of it! That could account for mysterious sounds coming from Bee-Bot or Blue-Bot!

To erase a recording, press the command button for two seconds and wait for the double beep (without making any sound). You can also press the X (Clear) button for 2 seconds and listen for three beeps, which means that all sounds are erased.

What recordings could you make? You could speak the function of the button or, for older students, you could record "Right 90" for the right turn button and "Left 90" for the left turn button to start introducing them to commands for Pro-Bot and Logo.

Read more in the User Guides for "See & Say" Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots.

Quick Links to Resources

Kinderlogo ~ A collection of Logo-based activities for K–3 learners to explore online. Preview it!

Bee-Bot Lessons ~ Explore 190 lessons and 580+ online activities for K–2 learners in all curriculum areas. Preview it!

Problem-Solving with Bee-Bot ~ 150 challenges to complete in the classroom or online. Preview it!

Pro-Bot Lessons ~ Guided explorations, videos, and tips help teachers learn about this fun 'bot. Students navigate Pro-Bot on the floor or online in dozens of activities. Preview it!

Bee-Bot Online (free) ~ Explore with Bee-Bot in your web browser using a variety of mats.

Blue-Bot Online (free) ~ Choose a skill level and expand learning to include angles and loops.

We Want to Hear from You!

We love feedback about our products and suggestions for new content and features. Send your ideas to beebotbuzz@terrapinlogo.com.

Would you like to attend a 30-minute small group "Overview of Kinderlogo" Zoom session? Let us know and we'll offer some times.

Do you have photos or videos of students using Bee-Bots or Blue-Bots that you have permission to share? We'd love to see them and perhaps feature them in a Bee-Bot Buzz or in a Customer Story on our website.

How have you been able to fund robotics purchases? Let us know so we can share your strategies.

Terrapin | 955 Massachusetts Ave, Suite 365 | Cambridge, MA 02139 

800-774-LOGO (5646) | +1-508-487-8181 (international) | Fax 617-302-9778

terrapinlogo.com | facebook.com/BeeBot.us | instagram.com/terrapin.tools.for.thinking

Find our Turtle Tuesdays Logo coding challenges on Facebook and Instagram each week!

Visit the Turtle Tuesdays web page to see all the challenges and solutions.