Technology Tips For All Teachers -TeacherTechBlog » BrainPop

Back to normal…

Scott Walker — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:33:04 +0000

I’m on my way back from NECC, which means that blogging will go back to normal. I hope the Brainpoppers that hang around enjoyed the updates. There are a couple of other BP posts that are still in the works, but for the most part I will return to blogging about the other resources, tips, and ideas.

Just a reminder for anyone still interested in checking out BrainPop for the first time. Check out BrainPop.com/necc2008 and grab yourself a free 30 day trial.

Thanks for an incredible week BrainPop!

Creating Your Own Comics with readwritethink.org

Scott Walker — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:48:31 +0000

As attendees of one of BrainPop’s presentations were discussing some of the cool ways that they were using BP in their classrooms, I had a chance to pick up an awesome tip. Monica Nahas, an Instructional Technology Specialist, mentioned that Readwritethink.org has a tool for creating your own comics, and it could be used to create your own BrainPop styled comics.

Taking this tip, I decided to check it out. The tool is simple, and probably best for younger students, but I could imagine that even older kids could enjoy flexing their creativity with the comic tool. The interface consists of drag and drop characters, objects, and text. The background can be changed as well.

Monica mentioned to me that she wished students were able to save their work and come back to it later, but at least they could print it out. Regardless, it would be yet another great way to get students interactive with their learning.

Thanks for the tip, Monica!

BrainPop in the Classroom: An Interactive Science Lab Demonstration

Scott Walker — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:59:20 +0000

Robert Miller, one of the very talented educators traveling with BrainPop at NECC, presented how he uses BrainPop to make science lessons more interactive, something that Robert seems to be quite good at. My first meeting with Robert gave me a chance to see how his 5th grade students took "interactive" to the next level by making their own BrainPop videos. Link.

During the presentation, Robert walked through a typical science lesson that incorporates the BrainPop videos and activities. He started right off using the added activities included with each BrainPop movie by utilizing the printable quizzes as a pretest.

Quizzes have been used with the BrainPop videos for a while, but as new videos are debuted there are also new types of activities. Those of you that have been BrainPopping for a while will be noticing that even the old videos are starting to get the same extra features that are coming with the newer movies.

Robert’s presentation continued with a Lab that followed the video. This lab lead participants through a scientific exploration of candy. And while his lab was great, the thing that really stood out to me was how the new educator page is going to shine because of users like Robert. The new Educator page on BrainPop features a lesson upload section where teachers can share the lessons and handouts that they create. Since he custom made his lesson including some very cool worksheets, many teachers will be able to download, customize and take advantage of the hard work that he has put in.

Another interesting strategy used in his presentation was his use of screen shots(still frames) from the videos. Visual reminders of the videos that they watch will help them to recall the information. Grabbing screen shots can be easily done by hitting the print screen button while holding the ctrl and alt buttons. This takes a picture of everything that is currently on your screen and places it on your clipboard. You can view and edit it by opening your favorite graphics editor and pasting(CTRL V).

Get a shirt, get spotted, get a free subscription

Scott Walker — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:20:42 +0000

At 10:00, 11:00 and 12:00 Brainpop will be giving away free BrainPop shirts at booth 8074. Wear it while you explore NECC because three times a day, they will be flagging lucky shirt-wearers to win a BrainPop School Combo subscription. Stop by booth 8074 for more information.

Sneak Peak of BrainPop’s New Educators Page

Scott Walker — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:40:49 +0000

This week at NECC, BrainPop will be debuting a new section of their site just for teachers. I had a quick chance to look it over yesterday, and was thoroughly excited. The idea behind the section seems to focus around tieing together the network of educators that use their services. So it’s no suprise that a blog is at the center. I’ll be talking more with their blogger to find out exactly what the blog means for BP and what kind of information they will be featuring, but in the meantime I will mention that the site also boasts a more streamlined curriculum alignment feature, lesson plans(and the option to submit your own), tons of resources to help educators use BP, plus quite a few add-ons for for other lessons currently featured on the site. More to come after the official announcement!