Not sure how to keep those wheels turning with your students over the summer? We’re here for you! We’ve got brand new spotlights for summer fun! Check out Red, White, & Blue and Animals, each chock full of related movies, interactive resources, and fun extras from BrainPOP Educators. Have a great 4th of July!

We are having an amazing time at NECC! I’ve met so many cool, creative teachers and will be returning to NY with a ton of inspiration to share with you. Keep an eye out for fun photos and new tech tools to try out with your students in the near future, as well as exciting announcements of new developments from BrainPOP! Stay tuned…

Off we go! A whole bunch of the BrainPOP Team is heading to Washington, DC tomorrow for NECC. We’ve been preparing for weeks! We’re extra excited since we’ll be kicking off our year-long 10th birthday celebration at the show! Visit us at Booth 3704 for educator-led demos of best classroom practices; new BrainPOP goodies for your school; and of course, the company of Moby.  If you’re a BrainPOP Educators blog reader, please be sure to introduce yourself!

Keep this schedule on hand as you plan your conference itinerary, visit us online for the latest NECC news, and follow us on Ning, Facebook, and Twitter.

If NECC isn’t in your travel plans, be sure to take a look at our conference schedule and find out when we’ll be coming to your neighborhood.

If you’re attending NECC, be sure to stop over at our booth (#3704) and let us know you’re a BrainPOP Educator. You can check in on our latest updates and pick up some fun stuff for your classroom. There will also be special ‘BrainPOP Educator’ badges for all members of our community. Hope to see you there!

BrainPOP is proud to announce the debut of an exciting new product - BrainPOP ESL - currently in development. This new member of the BrainPOP family will combine the fun of BrainPOP with an innovative and comprehensive English teaching tool.

The BrainPOP ESL team is seeking input as we move forward. To this end, we’re having a focus group at NECC, on Tuesday, June 30^th.  There are two sessions, at 10 and 11 am, which can accommodate a limited number of participants.

If you’re interested in participating, please come to the BrainPOP booth, #3704, to sign up.  Space is very limited; please come early to register.

In case you can’t make it to NECC in Washington, DC, perhaps you’ll find yourself in NYC, looking for something to do next weekend. I just heard about VONY Speak (Voices of New York) from a connection we made through our Facebook page. This is the first annual Youth Media Arts Conference and Benefit, being held at the 92nd Street Y.  The description of the event sounds fantastic!

Social networking has great perks like learning about local events like this! Wish I could be there. I’d love to hear about it if you attend! Please post comments. Thanks for letting us know, Joėl!

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There’s actually something for everyone on our New Subscribers page! Whether you’re entirely new to BrainPOP, new to just one of our resources, or an all-around expert, be sure to visit the New Subscribers page for tools and materials that’ll help you get the most out of your subscription. You’ll find links to our Getting Started Guide, a Webinar Archive, a Spread-the-Word kit, and more.

How do you let your colleagues, staff or community know about BrainPOP? Share ideas below!

Constellations

Talk about an end of the year project! Research, writing, collaboration- making movies utilizes so many important 21st Century skills! Robert Miller’s 4th & 5th grade class in Port Orange, Florida made their own BrainPOP-inspired movies, creating a fantastic learning opportunity for every student involved. We were wowwed once again by the movie magic these students created, using BrainPOP as inspiration. We know you will love these as much as we do!

You can find info and resources on how Robert created these movies with his students in the comments of the NECC post.

We’ve got our finger on the pulse! If you’re not already a fan, please join us on the offical BrainPOP page of Facebook. We’re building up an exciting community and enjoy reading everyone’s comments and sharing special resources with you. Thanks to those of you who are already participating.

Please spread the word to your colleagues, and let us know what else you’d like to see on our Facebook page by commenting below.

Had she not died in a Nazi concentration camp at the age of 15, today would have been the 80^th birthday of Anne Frank, the young German girl whose diary gave us a powerful glimpse into the lives of Jews during the Holocaust. Her autobiography has become required reading in many classrooms around the country, and her death is a powerful reminder about the dangers of hatred and discrimination. With the added news this week of a tragic attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., some teachers are taking time to talk with their students about the Holocaust and concepts like racism and anti-Semitism.

We encourage you to watch and discuss the BrainPOP movies on Anne Frank and the Holocaust with your students. Please share your class’s comments or feedback below.