This project (2018-1-SE01-KA201-039098) has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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TITLE
BrainPOP cast
WEBSITE OF THE PRODUCT
NAME OF AUTHOR(S)
BrainPOP Educators
TYPE OF PRODUCT
Web Site/Portal, Online Game
SUBJECT TAUGHT
Math, Chemistry, Natural Science, Biology, Physics
TARGET GROUP AGE
10 – 13 years old
TUTORIAL SUPPORT
Yes
DESCRIPTION
BrainPop is a group of educational websites with over 1,000 short animated movies for students in grades K-12 (ages 6 to 17), together with quizzes and related materials, covering the subjects of science, social studies, English, math, engineering and technology, health, and arts and music. BrainPop is used in schools and also offers subscriptions for families and homeschoolers. It also offer videos in local languages that are designed for students in those countries.
BrainPop is available by subscription but has some free content, including a movie of the day, several free movies from each topic area, educators materials, including lesson plans, and an extensive library of educational games called GameUp.
Its free smartphone and tablet application accesses BrainPop's free and subscription content.
The videos and other materials are designed to engage students and assist teachers and home schoolers; they are aligned to state education standards.

BrainPop Educators, introduced in 2008, is an online community of teachers, and parents who use BrainPop. This free site offers answer keys to activity pages, graphic organizers, professional development materials, posters, clipart and other resources for educators. It also allows educators to collaborate and share resources, such as lesson plans, organizers and activities for students. The site also offers video tutorials and webinars.
COMMENTS
BrainPOP makes rigorous learning experiences accessible and engaging for all.
The videos are very funny, plus they explain information in a way that is easy for kids to understand and remember.
It covers several subjects: Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Engineering & Tech, Health, Arts & Music.
BrainPOP has built a reputation for quality, thoughtfulness, and robust support for teachers". BrainPop and its products have earned numerous awards and recognition.

Teachers can use BrainPOP to introduce new topics into the classroom. Individual logins are available for teachers and students, or teachers can share the content with the whole class. Teachers can print out materials like quizzes, but students can submit their work for feedback online as well. BrainPOP Educators offers professional development (PD) and training opportunities, lesson ideas, best practices, and other resources to help teachers with integrating BrainPOP into the classroom. BrainPOP offers a separate space for younger students, BrainPOP Jr., and a space for English-language learners, BrainPOP ESL. Unfortunately, these require separate accounts and cost more money.

After watching the video as a class, have students create concept maps that specifically address connections between the keywords and images in the content. Or, have them choose another way to demonstrate understanding, like making a movie or taking the quiz. Depending on the learning goals, teachers can pick and choose specific topics for students to study, or they can let kids explore and follow their interests for some independent study time.
INNOVATIVE WAY OF USING THE DIGITAL TOOL
I used Brain POP with high school students to address the topic of Earth's resources. The title I gave to the lesson was: “The future is renewable”. Committed to achieving the objectives of the United Nations SDGs, relating to the quality of education, clean and economic energy and the fight against climate change, I have tried to bring young people closer to the problems of a development model, oriented towards environmental and social sustainability, providing clear, in-depth knowledge, but at the same time easy to understand and calibrated them on the specific peculiarities of my class. Brain POP allowed me not to tackle the topic in an integrated way but also to enhance the skills necessary for independent learning. I used a one-month free trial and I provided students with a BrainPOP link and the username and password, and prepared the project directions. I report the lesson procedure: I invited students to choose a topic they would like to know more about (air pollution, energy, global warming, humans and the environment, hybrid cars, population growth, recycling, water supply or wind energy). Having made their choice, they watched a corresponding video on BrainPOP and explored the associated activities. After gathering the necessary information, the students created a concept map which they developed into a 6-slide PowerPoint presentation, in which in the first they reported the main reasons why awareness of their topic was important. After completing the PowerPoint, the students presented the results to their classmates. Subsequently, the students wrote a screenplay on the chosen theme and then, in collaboration with the drawing teacher, they developed a comic that they edited and dubbed into a short film. BrainPOP invites students to discover, play, and create, enriching and deepening their understanding of topics. The contents and resources of Brain POP have been the engine of a process of critical analysis, which I hope will find effective application in the future in conscious and responsible choices in favor of a better quality of life.
TEACHERS’ COMMENT
This website has a very colorful and multi-ethnic home page, therefore open to all. It is also graphically oriented upwards, towards the curiosity of the discovery that is represented by climbing a mountain: the more you climb, the more you look far and more it turns out.
We can immediately understand that this site is aimed at children and young students (up to about 13 years)
We can notice eight animated icons that capture the attention of the kids: the electrons that move around the nucleus of an atom, the earth that rotates, the book that leafs through, the calculator that does the calculations, the drawing board with the brush that paints, the heart that beats, the gear wheel that turns and the star that shines. All this, for student’s future, greatly stimulates the curiosity and encourages them to go further, discovering the taste of knowledge step by step.
For each proposed topic, which is found in the chosen icon, there are linked explanatory videos of the various concepts with which children can get a general picture of them. In addition, there are quizzes where the kids can confront each other having immediately the result of the correct and incorrect questions. For the latter there is the exact answer with the explanation.
Always remaining in the same topic, the kids can create videos themselves, thus consolidating their learning, taking advantage of the acquired notions and thus stimulating their imagination.
The playing area is very engaging, full of colors and activities and allows you to select the various interactive games according to the age of the children.
It is however easy to choose the topics to be covered, the images interact with the text and this is a very important aspect. The drawings are simple in their features but very colorful in order to immediately capture the gaze of the students.
In some units there is also the vocabulary section where students can read and understand new words to describe the topic addressed. The information on the topics explained is always up to date and current (for example, there is information on COVID-19) and there is the possibility of also finding written texts.
We found this site very engaging and suitable for giving children a taste for research and discovery, based on curiosity and on going further to find the answers to the initial questions.
Using this site, it is easy to observe and be caught by curiosity, a fundamental element for knowledge.