voice control and to practice fine motor skills! (See link below to watch how each of these modes work.) The settings area lets you control the LED color, the bright- ness, the maximum speed of the robot, music and volume. In ad- dition, Sphero is known to continually update their robots and apps, adding functionality and new features all the time. To charge the robot, you need to open the outer shell, plug in the mini USB cable (included) and connect to a power source. It will then pair easily with your device over Bluetooth. The original packaging is an excellent way to store the Mini. Since the robot is small and can roll around, this is very helpful, especially in an active classroom or a busy household. Those 7 driving modes would be enough to highly recom- mend this robot, but there is so much more. There is the includ- ed set of mini bowling pins and cones that you can set up in any configuration you want. Drive the Mini to go through an obstacle course or to knock down the pins in a game of bowl- ing. There are three games to play on your device using the Mini like a joystick controller (for older users). You can also download the Sphero Edu app which provides an introduction to program- ming. The app contains lessons for various ways to program the robot- Draw (for beginners), Blocks (for intermediate coders) and Text (for learning to use JavaScript to write text programs). With Blocks, you can just drag and drop blocks of code, modify numbers if you want, and watch how the change alters the pro- gram. The Mini is an excellent choice for classroom learning and exploration or for use at home for motivating and challenging educational fun. Look for reviews in the future of some other outstanding Sphero products.
MORE NEW WAYS TO PLAY AND LEARN WITH THE IPAD
Marbotic (www.marbotic.com)
Marbotic is the company that brought us Smart Letters and Smart Numbers , sets of 26 high quality wooden upper case let- ters and 10 numbers that work together with a group of excel- lent, free literacy apps and with the iPad2 and later. The front of each letter has a metal handle that makes it easy to grasp and press. The back of each has here small rubber-like “feet”, all in varied spots that identify them as particular letters or numbers when they are placed on the screen. A full review of Smart Let- ters and Smart Numbers and all the Marbotic apps appeared in DISKoveries in the April/May 2017 and the June/July 2018 issues of Closing the Gap Solutions magazine. New from Marbotic :
Deluxe Learning Kit (www.marbotic.com)
Marbotic Deluxe Learning Kit: (www.marbotic.com)
The new Deluxe Learning Kit contains a set of three wooden puzzle trays, containing the 26 lower case letters and the num- bers 0-9 in a sturdy, well-constructed wooden case. The first tray has the letters a-m, the second has n-z, and the third holds the numbers 0-9. All the apps now work with both lower and upper case letters. The Deluxe Learning Kit is a great way to keep the letters and numbers together, while at the same time offering an alphabet puzzle play experience. An excellent classroom addi- tion, it also reinforces organizational skills and helps with alpha- betical sequencing.
Sphero Mini Robot: YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4XBH5ggq-w&t=63s
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