Terrapin Resources
Volume 12, Number 5
Spring 2017  
Greetings!
Welcome to the Spring 2017 issue of Turtle Talk, the Terrapin newsletter.  
Extend Blue-Bot Commands with New Tiles
The
TacTile Reader Extension Pack
TacTile Reader Extension Pack

A new Extension Pack, with the extended commands of the Blue-Bot app, is now available for the Tactile Reader. The set of 25 additional tiles includes:
  • 45ยบ Angles
  • Repeat Sequences
  • Extra Pauses
Once students have mastered Blue-Bot commands, the extended tiles may be used to introduce additional coding concepts such as measuring turns and repeating.

The Extension Pack may be purchased separately or bundled with the TacTile Reader for extra savings.

From Concessions to Coding
Students use Pro-Bots to tackle angles in Wisconsin
Students use Pro-Bots to tackle angles in Wisconsin
There are many innovative ways to raise funds for Terrapin products - local grants, PTAs, support from foundations, and fund-raising efforts are just a few.

Recently we heard from Kathy Bruno who works in the Gifted/Talented Program of the Sauk Prairie, WI School District. She and her colleagues staffed the concession stand at high school athletics events to raise funds for Pro-Bots for their students.

That isn't their only creative idea. After initial exercises to learn about Pro-Bot, they used colored masking tape to create "town roads" on the gym floor and watched students develop strategies for calculating distances and angles to send Pro-Bot to its destination. They also plan to incorporate language arts and social studies by having students invent back stories for their 'Bots and then tell about their adventures.

Control 'Bots with Chromebook
Connect Chrome to Blue-Bot and Pro-Bot
Connect Chrome to Blue-Bot and Pro-Bot
Control Blue-Bot and Pro-Bot using Chromebooks or the Chrome browser on any computer with Terrapin Logo/Web. Terrapin Logo/Web brings the full Logo programming environment to your web browser.  When running on Chrome, the native browser for Chromebooks and freely available for all PCS, installation of a free app allows Logo to communicate with Blue-Bot and Pro-Bot. 

Bluetooth capability allows interactive Logo control of Blue-Bot.  Create programs on screen and watch the screen turtle and/or Blue-Bot go! Logo Blue-Bot controls include both standard and extended commands.

Use the USB cable included with Pro-Bot to upload and download programs between Terrapin Logo/Web and Pro-Bot. Develop and test programs with the screen turtle and then download the final version to run on Pro-Bot. Alternately, Pro-Bot programming may be uploaded to Terrapin Logo/Web to store for later download, allowing utilization of Pro-Bots among multiple students while saving each student's work.

The connections between Terrapin Logo 4 and Terrapin Logo/Web and Blue-Bot and Pro-Bot continue the long Logo tradition of encouraging exploration and learning through coding and robotics.
In This Issue

Mindstorms by Seymour Papert

Mindstorms, the revolutionary book by Prof. Seymour Papert, introduced the idea that children can learn by coding. Now freely
available online,
the vision outlined in  Mindstorms is as relevant now, or more so, as when the book was first published.
Terrapin Ambassador
Crystal Trice

Crystal Trice, librarian and author of MAKERSPACES: Creating Motivating, Engaging Work Spaces for Your Library, leads makerspace workshops through BER and often recommends Bee-Bot and Blue-Bot as exciting additions.  
 
ISTE 2017 San Antonio

SAVE THE DATE

Terrapin will exhibit at ISTE 2017
San Antonio, TX
June 25-28

Visit Booth # 1162 to try the 'Bots, browse the accessories, and check out our latest products.
Spring 2017 Issue
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