Posts on “ agardnahh ”

“If you understand something in only one way, then you don’t really understand it at all. The secret of what anything means to us depends on how we’ve connected it to all other things we know.” – AI researcher Marvin Minsky Many of you may use the technique of visualizing or using metaphors to help remember peoples names, personal responsibilities or even your grocery list.  It’s a powerful way to learn.  You can actually strengthen the cognitive pathways associated with subject matter through making many connections to the material through many avenues.  A novice adult and a novice child have many similarities in processing and in instructional needs. Just think about how having the ability to follow hyperlinks as you are web-surfing has enriched your experience learning something new.  That cross-linking of content for multiple interpretations serves to deepen your understanding of whatever subject it is you are interested in. Learning through rote memorization is the opposite of learning through connections.  Rote memorization involves learning through repeated exposure.  That’s great for some things, but it rarely produces the kind of high order critical thinking skills that we associate with extraordinary mental abilities. At BrainPOP, we are hopeful our visual and engaging animations and games model… Read the Rest»

Announcing the GLS Playful Learning Summit! Are you an educator passionate or curious about game-based learning and digital media?  You are invited to register for the 2013 Games+Learning+Society Playful Learning Summit (formerly GLS Educators Symposium, or GLSES).  The inaugural Playful Learning Summit at the GLS 9.0 Conference will take place on Tuesday, June 11th at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Memorial Union from 8 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Come Play: Keynote and Workshops The Playful Learning Summit will feature: A keynote address by Dani Herro, Assistant Professor for Digital Media and Learning at Clemson University.  Dani is a teacher educator with deep Wisconsin roots – she is the former Instructional Technology Administrator of Oconomowoc Schools and is a GLS alumna having earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010.  The theme of her keynote address is “connected learning.” Over a dozen hands-on workshops relevant to educators across grade levels and content areas.  This year’s workshops will explore STEM education, digital storytelling, video game design, affinity spaces and literacy education, and the design of “gameful” classrooms, curricula, and experiences.  For educators interested in playful “low-tech” games, come learn about improvisation, engaging lessons through physical movement, and gaming for social justice…. Read the Rest»

Congratulations to GameUp partners Filament Games and Learning Games Network for their nominations in the “Best Gameplay” category at the annual Games for Change awards this June. LGN’s game,  Quandary, is a part of the GameUp game network and was the first title in our English Language Arts section.  In this popular game,  ”players shape the future of a new society while learning how to recognize ethical issues and deal with challenging situations in their own lives.”  By creating complex decision making situations in which players must weigh fact, opinion, trustworthiness and risk this title supports teaching toward many ELA common core state standards. Filament’s Game, Reach for the Sun has players,  ”help a young seedling grow and reproduce before winter approaches.” Though Reach for the Sun is not featured on GameUp, many other Filament games are, including:  You Make Me Sick, Cell Command, Crazy Plant Shop and The Sports Network 2.  Be sure to check out the Games For Change Blog for more information about all the nominated games. And may the best game win!

BrainPOP is proud to be sponsoring the Apps that Close the Gap Summit at Teachers College, Columbia University this Saturday May 11th.  This unique day long summit is designed to address using technology to accelerate achievement in black and latino students while incorporating Common Core State Standards into classroom instruction. Andrew Gardner, senior manager of BrainPOP educators will co-present about digital citizenship with Desiree Bayonet from GameUp partner iCivics.  In addition there will be panels addressing innovative use of virtual learning spaces and future technologies featuring presentations from Google, Dreambox Learning, ifoster, Coder Dojo,  Global Kids.  Click the link above and register for free!

A playful, thoughtful professional development day at the BrainPOP office in Manhattan brought designers, educators and gamers together to discuss the future of educational gaming in classrooms across the country. Beginning with a presentation by Nick Fortugno of Playmatics, the New York-based group responsible for The Walking Dead: Dead Reckoning, two Breaking Bad titles, Lego City: On Patrol, Find the Future and Kingdom Keepers, we pondered how to tap into the high engagement potential and adaptable learning opportunities available within games. Noting the natural curiosity youngsters and adults alike tap into whilst exploring fictional game worlds (much like the PS3‘s adventure/art masterpiece and award magnet, Journey), Nick spoke to attendees about team loyalty and motivation through competition. Mastering in-game achievements requires skill, practice, patience and perseverance, just as learning standards in the classroom do, now defined by the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Unlike the sluggish turnaround time for multiple choice or open-ended test questions in school, games provide instant feedback to users so they may refine game-play strategy and persist. The lecture concluded with the group wondering how best to collaborate, given the rarity of serious gamer-turned-educators. Next up, BrainPOP’s Allisyn Levy introduced mathematics puzzler Lure of the Labyrinth:… Read the Rest»

Michael Baer’s passion for teaching mirrors his own passion for learning:  he delights in the thrill of a search, the celebration of a find, and the gift of bringing to light a discovery to share with others.  Widely recognized for his impact on education, Michael currently teaches Earth & Space science, Physics, and Physical Science at South Adams High School in northeast Indiana and is director of highly-acclaimed dots in blue water, a program “Making a World of Difference” by sending teachers and students to deliver student-developed water purifier systems to Haiti and beyond. As a career educator, I could not have received a greater compliment that this from my host teacher on a recent visit to Ukraine:  “A couple of days ago we had crazy time with two Americans who woke us up and made us to think positively” –Oleksandr Korotkov, English teacher at Specialized School of Foreign Languages in Sofiivska-Borshchagivka, a suburb of Ukraine’s capital city, Kiev. You see, I was one of those two teachers:  I was privileged to travel with Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) Program, an exchange and professional development opportunity for secondary school teachers sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the non-profit organization International Research & Exchanges… Read the Rest»

Attention all New York City based Game Based Learning teacher enthusiasts! We wanted to pass along information about a great professional development opportunity.  This Thursday, May 9th, The Tribeca Film Institute along with the NYC Department of Education and the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment,  is presenting  Gaming, Education and the Moving Image - part of the Moving Image Blueprint Professional Development workshop series.  BrainPOP is excited to join the Institute of Play, Quest to Learn, and PETLab to present sessions exploring the intersection of play, education, and the moving image.  Hope to see you there!  

We’re thrilled to announce “Commas and Clauses,” the newest addition to our “reading and writing” notebook on BrainPOP Jr!  In this movie, Moby shows off both his disco and breakdancing moves while Annie teaches how to use commas to separate clauses in a sentence!  They also illustrate how to find the subject and verb of a sentence and how to identify clauses. In the follow up activities on the topic page, students can find ways to combine sentences together using conjunctions, and determine where commas should go.

BrainPOP Webinar: Beyond the Movies Wednesday, May 1 at 3:30 pm ET  We’re stepping up our monthly overview webinar and exploring resources beyond our movies. We’ll cover GameUp in the classroom as well as the Mixer, giving you the ability to customize assessment by creating and remixing your own BrainPOP-style quizzes. Plus, get a tour of all the recent updates we’ve made to BrainPOP Educators. Event Password: moby

On Saturday, our own Maia Weinstock represented BrainPOP at the inaugural Science Online Teen unconference in New York City. An offshoot of the popular Science Online held each year in North Carolina, the event’s aim was to get New York-area teens thinking and talking about STEM education, STEM careers, and the ways in which STEM topics are communicated online. The day started out with a rousing keynote speech by Hilary Mason, chief scientist at bit.ly and co-founder of HackNY. Mason discussed how certain well-respected scientists of the past questioned established facts of the day, and how technology has become an incredibly disruptive force within just about every facet of society, especially within the past decade. She challenged the future leaders in the audience to re-think what they know about how the Internet is shaping the future of science, information, technology, and journalism. Next up were interactive sessions and workshops led by teens and professionals in a number of STEM-related fields. Maia led a panel discussion on women in STEM, and participated as well in an excellent session on educational science video games led by 18-year-old Erik Martin. Additional sessions covered a slew of intriguing topics, from “The future of how we learn”… Read the Rest»