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Welcome to the
winter issue of
Turtle Talk,
the quarterly Logo newsletter
from Terrapin Software.
| Introducing Bee-Bot |
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Bee-Bot is an exciting new turtle robot designed for
use by young children. This colorful,
easy-to-operate, and friendly little robot is a perfect
tool for
teaching sequencing, estimation, problem-solving,
and just having fun!
Sturdy construction and colorful design entice
children to put Bee-Bot through its paces.
Directional keys are used to enter up to 40
commands which send Bee-Bot forward, back, left,
and right. Pressing the green GO button starts
Bee-Bot on its way. Bee-Bot blinks and beeps at the
conclusion of each command to allow children to
follow Bee-Bot through the program they have
entered and then confirms its completion with lights
and sound.
Bee-Bot is a great introduction to the Roamer turtle
robot and the on-screen Logo turtle as well as a
learning tool in its own right. It can be utilized in a
variety of subject areas including math, art, and
social studies. A variety of Bee-Bot accessories
enhances its teaching potential.
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| Bee-Bots Excite Edlin School First Graders |
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Edlin
School
in Reston, Virginia is one of the first in
the United States to introduce Bee-Bots into the
classroom. Computer instructor Ariana Finesmith was
excited about the potential of Bee-Bot to motivate
her youngest students and convinced the Edlin
School PTO to underwrite the purchase of multiple
Bee-Bots and a variety of accessories.
Introduction of the Bee-Bots into Mrs. Young's
first-grade classroom increased the level of
excitement and learning exponentially and helped
students improve their mapping, sequencing, and
planning skills. Bert Schreibstein, Director of
Operations, worked with the students to illustrate
their Bee-Bot experiences with the "comic strip"
shown at right. (Click on the image for a larger
view.) He notes that students "experienced a
hands-on thrill working with the Bee-Bots which make
programming fun for our kids."
As the Edlin School experience shows, Bee-Bots
inspire students to explore and learn and can be
adapted to a variety of situations. The Bee-Bot
Class Bundle offers an economical way for schools to
acquire multiple Bee-Bots and enhancing accessories.
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| Track the Time with the Terrapin Logo Ticking Clock |
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A real-time ticking clock has been uploaded to the Terrapin Logo Project Ideas section
of the Terrapin web site. The ticking clock was
developed by Bill Russell and his son Brady of
Sterling, Virginia in a home school environment.
The ticking clock maintains the current time by
accessing the computer clock through the operating
system. It updates each second, ticking as time
goes by. This project illustrates not only popular
Logo graphics, but how they can be enhanced with
sound and other computer resources.
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