by Laura Jiencke | Feb 6, 2020 | Bluebee News |
The University of Central Florida’s PedsAcademy at Nemours Children’s Hospital is the world’s first pediatric school program designed to provide children in hospitals with extraordinary, research-backed educational opportunities specific to their respective disease or condition. The team of UCF affiliated faculty is on site Monday through Friday from 10-5 to help your child succeed in school. Their faculty are experts in the fields of mathematics, science, reading, engineering education, the humanities, and special education. https://pedsacademy.org/about-variant-1/
Bluebee Pals Collaboration and PedsAcademy
Bluebee Pals were donated to the PedsAcademy to assist early childhood educators in literacy and reading. The hospital setting created a challenging situation considering the strict sanitary protocols ingrained in most hospital policies. Rebeca A. Grysko(Associate Director of Teacher Education) created the idea to dress the Bluebee Pals in costumes, specifically, astronauts themed outfits that would cover the Bluebee Pal head to toe. The customers were approved and Bluebee Pals were introduced on reading aloud day!
“Yesterday’s event was a great success! We were able to introduce Bluebee to patients and families. We used Bluebee to read-aloud books to patients using a children’s digital book application called Epic. I have attached a few photos as well as a video. We had a few parents inquire about Bluebee. I was able to speak about the many educational uses of Bluebee and direct them to the Bluebee Pals website for additional info. I also posted about the event on Twitter and tagged @BluebeePals in all posts.” Rebeca A. Grysko, Associate Director of Education
Rebeca A. Grysko, Ph.D.
“In addition to yesterday’s event, I have conducted professional development sessions for our student-teacher interns. I modeled how to connect Bluebee to a device via Bluetooth and demonstrated how Bluebee can be used with a variety of educational apps. The student teacher interns have been exploring different ways to utilize Bluebee in their instruction. They were all asked to complete the Bluebee Pals Project Questionnaire to provide feedback and information about their experiences. We are currently working on scanning all the questionnaires into one PDF document to send to you. We look forward to continuing to use Bluebee pals with patients here at PedsAcademy.”
We greatly value the collaboration with Bluebee Pals and see a lot of potential for using them to foster reading motivation and engagement with the patients here at Nemours.
Rebeca A. Grysko, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Teacher Education; Post-Doctoral Scholar
UCF’s PedsAcademy at Nemours Children’s Hospital
by Laura Jiencke | Jan 7, 2020 | Bluebee News |
Frances Amato Dominguez, David Marquis School of the Arts: Bluebee Pals Pro
“Functional educational toys for young children are not something common to find. Many items available these days have gimmicks and look to create a cycle where you have to keep purchasing more and more kits for the products to be fully functional. As a mother and a teacher, I look at educational toys in a different light. One of the best toys that I have seen as of late has been Bluebee Pals Pro. Many years ago when I was a special education classroom teacher, I had purchased their original Bluebee pals and used it to have stories read to my class and to practice vocabulary. After using the Pro version, I was in awe. I cannot believe everything that it can now do. There is a free app that pairs with your new plush friend that has all different educational opportunities split into different rooms of a house. The app is well though out and easy to navigate. My students were able to follow along and complete activities with very little prompting and information.”
Attributes of Bluebee in the Classroom
“My favorite part of the new updates Bluebee Pals Pro is the functionality with Speech and Language apps. I work in a population where many of my students are non-verbal and use a device to facilitate communication. This can pair with the apps and speak for the child. Not only that but I have seen my students engage with their new toy and trying so hard to talk and interact with it. Computer generated voices are not the best outputs or appropriate models for my students to follow. I have found that when my bear talks to them in a more human voice than naturally produced by the app, there is a huge change in the child.”
“Bluebee Pals provide a way to learn functional life skills and the support of cognitive development of early learners. Children can fully immerse themselves into a connected experience through nine educational games. In addition to speech and language apps, Bluebee Pals pair with many apps and narrate them to the child. This is perfect for mainstream and special needs children. My work is targeted to special needs children and they love it. From a simple cuddle buddy to a talking companion it provides the right resources for children to learn.”
Literacy and Bluebee Pals
“I am a STEM Teacher at The David Marquis School of the Arts; Bluebee Pals are instrumental at helping my students learn our fringe vocabulary words. It pronounces the words for them and they get a chance to then hear them, repeat what they are hearing and them complete our spelling and writing activities. This month we are learning words like food chain, relationships, patterns, predator and prey. These are not words typical to my student’s lives. With the help of Bluebee Pals my students are starting to say and pronounce the words correctly. It is such an amazing visual model. Many of my students are visual learners so it is the perfect classroom tool.” http://The David Marquis School of the Arts”
Bluebee Options
“There are also many options to choose from so you can find the perfect friend for your child’s educational journey. Your lineup of available friends are Hudson the puppy; Parker the Monkey; Lily the Lamb; Sammy the Bear; Leo the Lion and Riley the Zebra. I personally have both Sammy and Riley and they are too cute for words.” https://www.bluebeepals.com
“In this educator’s opinion, Bluebee Pals are the perfect educational companion for any child. I have the privilege of sharing it with my students and colleagues and will continue to use it in my classroom.”
Mrs. Frances Amato Dominguez
STEM Teacher, Technology Liaison, Website Master
Public School 37R
The David Marquis School of the Arts
15 Fairfield Street
Staten Island, New York 10308
“Technology will never replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers is transformational.” – George Couros
by Laura Jiencke | Dec 13, 2019 | Bluebee News |
What a great therapy tool! What I love best about our bluebee pal is how diverse it is. We use it in so many ways! We have older kids use it as a projection of their voice to greet the younger kids; increasing peer to peer interaction is such a great foundational communication skill for our kids to learn. Also, the kids are more motivated to pick a song when the bluebee pal is singing it. We are currently using it in our joint action routines (JARs) to teach a variety of communication skills to children with autism.
Therapists utilize Bluebee as a effective speech therapy motivational tool to engage in communication and learning. Bluebee participates in repeating words, answering questions and reading stories. There are variety of popular speech apps from basic to apps to AAC apps for non verbal children. What are the main apps paired with Bluebee Pals? Text to Speech Apps with reading activities, Proloquo2Go is an AAC app to enhance communication, Autism ihelps Apps teaches vocabulary, Super Duper Publications for speech, Smarty Ears for speech and Splingo for speech and language acquisition. Gregory Horan, M.S., SLP Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist.
by Laura Jiencke | Nov 28, 2019 | Bluebee News |
It’s the season for holiday gifting! It can be especially difficult to select quality gifts for young children, and even more difficult to find gifts with excellent educational value that also have that “fun” factor! Look no further…Bluebee Pals are the perfect gift choice for children! They are uniquely suited to engage the interest of little learners, they easily support reading and educational activities, and they make charming friends! Bluebee Pals make stories come to life, encourage listening, speaking, language development, good social skills, and more! They work with any tablet or smartphone, to deliver not only hours, but also years of enjoyment. If the child on your list is also receiving a tablet for the holidays, or already has access to a tablet, a Bluebee Pal gift would be a perfect match!
Bluebee Pals Make Perfect Reading and Learning Companions!
Bluebee Pals are softly huggable, lovable, plush interactive learning tools/toys that connect via Bluetooth to all iOS and Android devices. They wirelessly pair with all apps with a narrative, which provides endless educational opportunities and entertainment for children of all ability levels. Bluebee’s mouth and head realistically move while speaking, making reading, educational apps, games, and activities so much fun! Which Bluebee Pal will you choose? Hudson the dog, Riley the zebra, Leo the Lion, Lily the lamb, Sammy the bear, or Parker the monkey? https://www.bluebeepals.com/Benefits:
- Bluebee is compatible with ALL apps with a narrative.
- Bluebee inspires learning with educational apps.
- Bluebee makes storybook apps come to life!
- Bluebee is compatible with text-to-speech apps
- Bluebee teaches language and AAC (alternative augmentative communication).
- Bluebee sings with your favorite music apps.
- Bluebee acts as an educational tool with voice recording apps.
- With Bluebee, children become immediately more engaged and attentive, and eagerly look forward to focused learning opportunities!
Bluebee comes with a FREE companion app!
The Bluebee Pals app is a fun and easy way to begin learning through play.In the Bluebee Pals app there are 5 colorful and interactive rooms to explore with your child: Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen, Living roomand Playroom. By talking about, asking questions, playing mini-games and encouraging free play, you can focus on and reinforce many early learning, educational, and life skills. https://www.bluebeepals.com/bluebee-pals-app/
Additional Suggested Apps:
Reading: Epic! – Kids’ Books and Videos by Epic! Creations Inc
Voice Recording: Voice Memos by Apple. Quickly and easily record vocabulary words to practice spelling, play matching games by matching words to pictures, use the recorder to have Bluebee give instructions or ask questions, or use the recorder to sequence or retell a story.
Book Creator for iPad by Red Jumper Limited. Easily create your own books! Add music, narration, video, text! Share with family and friends.
Text-to-Speech—-Talk For Me – Text to Speech by Darrin Altman
Interact in real time with your Bluebee Pal by typing in text for your Bluebee to speak! Ask and answer questions, make up your own stories or type in the text of books for your Bluebee Pal to read. Have Bluebee help practice vocabulary by typing in words or definitions, questions, or even tests for him to say aloud.
Happy Holidays!
by Laura Jiencke | Nov 25, 2019 | Bluebee News |
Bluebee Pal Pro
Ages: 3 – 7
Price: $84.99
Type: Toy, App, Game, Book, Audio, Gear & Equipment
By Kayle Concepts LLC
Description
NEW 4.0 Bluebee Pal Pro is an interactive plush learning tool with a FREE companion (life skills /educational app) that connects to all IOS and Android Devices. Our patented technology allows Bluebee’s “mouth and head” to move while reading stories, teaching through educational games, learning a language and singing songs.
It’s an assistive Technology Tool for all mainstream children and special needs.
The Bluebee Pal Program includes:
• Interactive Plush Learning Tool (Animal of Choice)
• Bluebee Pal Curriculum
• Bluebee App
• Bluebee Pal Book
• Bluebee Pal Activity Guide
Academics’ Choice is the only international awards company designed to bring increased recognition to publishers, manufacturers, independent authors and developers that aim to stimulate cognitive development. A panel of highly qualified academics, parents, teachers, homeschoolers and children evaluate products based on educational benefits such as higher-order thinking skills, character building, creative play, durability and originality. Only the genuine “mind-builders” are recognized with the coveted Academics’ Choice Award™. Awards: Smart Media Award, Brain Toy Award, Smart Book Award, Mind Spring Award…..http://www.academicschoice.com/toys/bluebee-pal-pro.php
We loved the “huggable” technology concept and so did our daughter. Setup is very easy. It’s essentially a bluetooth speaker wrapped in a cuddly animal that will lip-sync whatever you want. It will read aloud anything, from anywhere, not just their apps. It can even act as a speaker phone, which was a neat feature when dad was out of town. We limit our child’s screen time and this toy helps bridge the gap so your child doesn’t have to be glued to a screen to get the benefits of a story, a riddle, or a lesson. It’s hard for a “teddy bear” (or lamb) to compete with animated graphics after a while so I’d recommend simply not letting your child control whatever synced device you’re using, at least at first. We’re currently using Lilly the Lamb to teach our child basic Spanish words. I also use it when I don’t want to read the same story again. Put the physical story book in their hands and have them follow along to develop word-sound recognition, phonemic awareness, and practice their sight words. It’s a helpful, engaging, and open-ended teaching toy/platform that makes for a better distraction than simply handing your child a tablet.
We opened the box to find Lilly, a very soft sheep doll. The sheep is well made with high quality materials and a pretty good speaker. The mechanics in the animal made the stories come to life. Lilly moves her head and mouth and sometimes it really looks like she is talking! After playing part of a story we decided to download the educational app. Bluebee app was on par for other preschool level apps. It had opportunities to record our voice, read, letter/color identification and solve puzzles via mini games that incorporated skills such matching, eye-hand coordination, and basic observation/analysis. We really enjoyed our time with Lilly and still have her tell her stories and sing funny songs for us. We liked that we could play any podcast or story and Lilly would tell it! I’d recommend this toy for preschool-second grade.
Voice recording and playback kept my child busy and entertained for over an hour. He especially enjoyed the moving mouth during playback. The material of the toy was very soft yet easy to spot clean.
Bluebee pals offer a wonderful opportunity for students to be engaged during a lesson. Children in my class really loved watching the lion talk as well as listen to a story or sing a song. Children were less visually distracted because they were watching the lion! Set up was so easy and I could turn on any app for the lion to talk out. My first graders loved to hear him sound out words on different apps.
This Assistive Technology Tool provides a great opportunity for both fun and learning! It’s engaging for young students of all learning types. The Bluebee Pals can enhance learning in a variety riveting ways. Any song, app, or story (in any language) can be read by one of the plush characters. The cuddly animals are relateable to kids, which makes the teaching become more meaningful as kids view the Pals as their peer more than an adult. The depth of understanding and retention increases as a result. The creative play and serious learning possiblities are endless.
by Laura Jiencke | Nov 21, 2019 | Bluebee News |
My name is Sarah Winzer and I am the librarian from New Jersey who attended a demonstration of Bluebee Pals this past June 2019 at the ISTE Educational Show. I am so very grateful for your offer to send our library Bluebee Pals! You are making 200 K-1 students very happy and we can’t wait to share a wonderful testimonial with you about how amazing this product is! Our school is Cedar Mountain Primary School and our address is Vernon, NJ 07462. Thank you again for the amazing gesture without which we wouldn’t be able to have this amazing product.
The Bluebee Pal Project
Kayle Concepts donates Bluebee Pals to schools and organizations across the country for use in their classrooms and therapy sessions. Teachers, parent’s and therapists are experiencing the impact of using Bluebee Pals as educational tools. Feedback from hundreds of special needs educators said our “talking tech buddies” encourage communication, language use, attentiveness, sensory processing, and positive behaviors.
Our students are in love with Leo , our Bluebee Pal! They are engaged and actively listening to Leo read the story which in turn has improved their listening comprehension skills! They are constantly wanting to be the group that gets to read with Leo. I love the positive effect he has had on our students and in the Media Center.
