Greetings!
Welcome to the Fall 2020 issue of Turtle Talk, the Terrapin newsletter.
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Try Tuff-Bot On-screen or Off
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Tuff-Bot, the latest in Terrapin's lineup of Programming Journey robots, is designed for challenging environments such as school gyms, playgrounds, and outdoor spaces. The new Tuff-Bot app simulates Tuff-Bot on screen and, using the Chrome browser, lets you remotely control an actual Tuff-Bot.
Use the Tuff-Bot app to exercise the robot's exciting capabilities, such as multiple speeds, obstacle avoidance, repeating, and different turn ratios. Choose your challenge by selecting the number of obstacles to be placed in the robot's field of movement.
There is no charge for the Tuff-Bot app so students can practice coding even without access to a Tuff-Bot. This is a great solution if there are more students than robots or in a distance learning environment.
The Tuff-Bot app joins the Bee-Bot emulator and Blue-Bot app in Terrapin's lineup of robot simulations made with Terrapin Logo. When you can't use an actual robot to practice coding, simulating them on screen can be the next best thing.
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Cross-Curricular Learning, Halloween Style
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Cross a Bee-Bot with a pumpkin and you get a Bee-Kin! Rachel Parker, technology teacher at Nashoba Brooks School in Concord, MA reports that her students converted a pumpkin into a Bee-Bot as their entry in the annual pumpkin carving contest. The pumpkin sported the familiar yellow and black along with GO and movement buttons and some Bee-Bot operations.
Rachel reports that "It didn't function exactly like a Bee-Bot, but we used circuitry equipment to give it some similarities. We made the buttons out of cardboard and the GO button was wired so when the kids pushed GO on the top of the pumpkin, the eyes lit up."
This project illustrates how Bee-Bot inspires cross-curricular learning. Students analyzed quintessential attributes of a Bee-Bot. They used art skills to create the Bee-Bot look and additional STEM skills to wire the functionality, all while working together.
Rachel uses Bee-Bot with pre-schoolers and first graders so students throughout in the school are familiar with it. "Students get to vote for their favorite pumpkin. Ours won!"
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 Terrapin Logo may be adapted to a wide range of environments and preferences. New dialogs make this even easier to do. Simply start Terrapin Logo online or off and make your selections.
- Want many or few windows open? Prefer to arrange them horizontally, vertically, or side by side? Just choose Windows>Select layout... and click to set up your environment just the way you like!
- Don't need the icon bar? Uncheck the check box in the same dialog and it goes away!
- Want easy access to Help without using a window within Logo? A single click opens the entire Help system, including the Tutorial and Reference Manual, in an adjacent tab.
- Choose Tools>Settings... to set a wide range of preferences including turtle coloring, input and output specs, font preferences, and more.
Schools with multi-user licenses may configure Logo in multiple ways including setting up student logins, arranging menus, and sending announcements, examples, and assignments via Logo.
Access Terrapin Logo online or install it as a local program, or both! With the new free trial, you can try Terrapin Logo at no charge and see what works best for you.
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fun and informative videos of Terrapin
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See Terrapin robots at the ISTE pre-conference playground Build IT and they will be engaged at 10:30-12:00 EST on Sunday, November 29. Demos, raffles, and more! |
Visit Terrapin's virtual booth at FETC online January 26-29 for show specials, raffles, and more. The entire FETC conference is free for participants so sign up now! |
See Bee-Bots
and more at these teacher-sponsored events!
November 7
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