BrainPOP – Expanding Young Minds

1. BrainPOP – Expanding Young Minds By: Mary Lou Cruz and Heather Weed Presented on January 28, 2013

2. Introduction – Effective Integration of BrainPOP in the Classroom • BrainPOP integrates media and multi-interdisciplinary strategies to produce a student-centered lesson plan with multi dimensions for interaction while facilitated by an instructor. • BrainPOP encourages teacher collaboration by uploading lesson plans for the BrainPOP educator community. Lesson plans involve note-taking, graphic organizing, videos, student shared communication and multi-dimensional platforms for lesson plan sharing. • Common core standards are adapted through teacher-designed application of essential learnings designed to focus on student learning.

3. Introduction cont. – BrainPOP Quotes • Founded in 1999, BrainPOP® creates animated, curricular content that engages students, supports educators, and bolsters achievement (BrainPOP, 2012). • BrainPOP was conceived by Avraham Kadar, M.D., an immunologist and pediatrician, as a creative way to explain difficult concepts to his young patients. Today, we're used in almost 20 percent of U.S. schools, and are growing internationally (BrainPOP, 2012).

4. BrainPOP Use in Music Classroom • Teachers upload lesson plans with video Lesson Plan SummaryIn this lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades 3-12, students use BrainPOP resources to research, evaluate, and synthesize information about the Harlem Renaissance from a variety of resources. Students will work in groups to demonstrate an understanding of the Harlem Renaissance by creating an interactive presentation that teaches their peers. They will also create individual non-fiction comics to demonstrate an understanding of the effects of the Harlem Renaissance on African American culture.

5. BrainPOP Use in Grade 3 Classroom • Free use first – animal classification in science class • Visuals, audio, and text all engaging • Game • Activities • Subsequent uses of BrainPOP Jr. and BrainPOP • Science – States of matter, changes in states of matter • Math – Multiplication and Division • English – Main Idea • Social Studies – Voting • Enrichment - Miranda rights, women’s suffrage, voting, and presidential elections. • Future plans – continuing to integrate into lessons as part of planning, not just to add to what is already planned. Looking forward to: Body systems, reading comprehension, test preparation, geometry, data, graphing, bullying, and wellness

6. A Tool…Not a Toy • Subscription includes teaching tools and lesson plans. • It is easy to fall back on using it as a fun toy or supplement. It takes work to integrate it into plans. • When integrated, it becomes a teaching and learning tool for differentiation for levels and for learning styles. • Can be effectively used to introduce, review, differentiate, apply, provide links to real life and home, and synthesize topics. • Students ask for it and anticipate it as part of the learning process not just a reward. They expect to be held accountable for participatory learning rather than just passive watching.

7. Benefits of BrainPOP • Engaging, exciting, welcoming, and fun • Consistent characters • Easy to use • Linked to Common Core Standards • Variety of subjects: science, social studies, English, math, engineering and technology, health, arts and music • Topics and subtopics organized for ease of navigation • Extensive content • Differentiated • Junior – (K-3) • BrainPOP – (4-High School) • Spanish • ESL • Different subscription levels: homeschool, classroom, school, district, virtual school • Free games, home link, applications • Help desk, educator community for sharing and support • Movies, activities, quizzes (online and printable), printable worksheets, games • Visual, audio, text, and interactivity

8. Examples from BrainPOP website (BrainPOP, 2012).

9. Challenges of BrainPOP • Price – ranges from $85 for Junior level for individual use to $1,495 per year for schools. Districts can receive from 10% to 25% off school price depending upon number of schools • To differentiate by level or language needs, users must purchase multiple subscriptions • So much content, new users can feel overwhelmed

10. Helpful Hints • Search the sight for free movies and activities before purchasing • Print out activities before the lessons, so students may be held accountable for paying attention as they watch the movies • Set up teams to play the games with a team leader to give final answer or have students write answers on whiteboards

11. Quotes from Others • Use of technology vis-à-vis arts education will assist “children in learning musical elements of key, rhythm, tempo, pitch, melody and harmony by feeling, understanding and expressing musical expressions” (Sasaki, Watagoshi, Takano, Hirashima, & Kiyoki, 2010, p. 85). • BrainPOP offers a format both entertaining and engaging. As an innovative way to make some difficult subjects more entertaining, and for encouraging continual learning at the elementary and middle school levels, BrainPOP receives an A+ (Brisco, 2008, p. 77).

12. Concluding Summary • Brain POP is an effective tool to integrate technology into various levels and subjects. • It is user-friendly for both teachers and students. • These writers used it to introduce, review, apply, and synthesize learning for students in different grade levels, with differing needs, in different subjects, all with success.

13. References • BrainPOP. (2012) [Subscription website]. New York, NY: Internet Educational Services. Retrieved from www.brainpop.com • Brisco, S. (2008). BrainPOP. School Library Journal, 54(1), 77. Retrieved from https://sharklearn.nova.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute% 2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_106599_1%26url%3D • Sasaki, S., Watagoshi, K., Takano, K., Hirashima, K., & Kiyoki, Y. (2010). Impression –oriented music courseware and its application in elementary schools. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 7(2), 85-101. doi:10.1108/174156551011071028