Posts on “ BrainPOP Jr. ”

If you’ve downloaded our BrainPOP Jr. iOS app, you may have noticed an update last week. We’re excited to announce that the new version includes in-app purchasing and updated accessibility features for iOS 6. You will now have the option to purchase the “Explorer” subscription (Movie of the Week plus three additional related movies and quizzes) for $1.99 per month, or Full Access (all topics) $5.99 per month. Of course, you’ll still be able to download the app to access the Movie of the Week plus all free BrainPOP Jr. content at no charge.  Enjoy the update.

Wednesday, September 5th at 3:30 PM ET- Back to School with BrainPOP Kick off the school year with a BrainPOP refresher! We’ll discuss the basics, best practices, and creative teaching strategies so you can engage your entire class from day one. Perfect for both newbies and veteran users alike, this webinar hands you the tools you’ll need to get the most out of your subscription.

BrainPOP Superstar Educator, Andrea Keller, Reflects on the Podstock Conference The middle of July marked the 4th annual Podstock Conference in Wichita, Kansas. Podstock is that conference that once you go, you will keep going back.  I have to say that I am a Podstock Original. Why do people come to Podstock? As their website says, “So what is Podstock? It’s a tech integration conference. But it’s more than a conference. It’s conversation. It’s family.  It’s a bunch of cool folks getting together to learn more about how to improve education.  And we’ll use whatever it takes -technology, PBL, gaming, online tools . . . we’ll try anything as long as it helps kids learn.  Podstock is about creativity, about inspiration, about what’s good for kids. Our formal and informal conversations change how we do school.” The conference is already on my calendar for next year (July 17, 18, and 19, 2013). Podstock is a voice, family, and friendship, and is so much more than just a conference to me. It is a family with the same ideals. It is those who are making a change or who want to make a change to give all of our students the… Read the Rest»

Last week, Senior Manager of BrainPOP Educators Andrew Gardner presented at the Apple Store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  The topic was “iPad in the Classroom” and Andrew spoke about the device and the specific apps using the SMAR (Substitution, Modification, Augmentation and Redefinition) framework defined by Dr. Ruben Puentedura.  The rise of tablet computing and the rapid adaptation of the devices in schools, requires us to think deeply about best use.   “Substitution” apps do things that you can do with regular classroom tools, like reading a ebook, creating flashcards, or practicing fast facts and phonics.  ”Modification” and “Augmentation” apps do things similar to regular classroom tools but with added functionality, like an ebook that reads to you, an encyclopedia that calculates equations or a magazine that is built around your interests.  The most exciting category is Redefinition apps that do things previously impossible without the use of technology and the device, like building collaborative narrated digital slideshows or helping students with Autism learn social cues. BrainPOP’s favorite example of the using a “Redefinition” app is the first grade project that BrainPOP Educators Eliza Chung and Jan Bird submitted at the end of last school year. Using Puppet… Read the Rest»

BrainPOP is now more mobile- and BYOD-friendly than ever before with the recent Android debut of all our apps!  We’re pleased to announce that you can access BrainPOP, BrainPOP Jr., and BrainPOP Espanol on any Android device AND, best of all, these apps are FREE! With the BrainPOP Featured Movie app, you can watch a different animated movie every day and then take the accompanying interactive quiz.  Changing every Monday, the BrainPOP Jr. Movie of the Week app gives you the opportunity to view a different BrainPOP Jr. movie each week.  We’ve even included the featured quiz, Pop-a-Joke, and Belly Up comic for each movie!  Whether you’re fluent in Spanish or just learning the language, we’ve got you covered with the BrainPOP Español Película del Día app.  Learn something new every day- in Spanish!- and complete the interactive quiz after watching the movie. Our Android apps are perfect for taking the BrainPOP gang on the go or using in a mobile-friendly and BYOD classroom and are available on Google Play.  If you’ve already got a username and password for BrainPOP, BrainPOP Jr., or BrainPOP Espanol, you can log in and access all of the content directly from the corresponding app… Read the Rest»

Wednesday, August 1st at 3:00 PM ET- Brush Up on BrainPOP Brush up on the BrainPOP basics before heading back to school. To help you get the most out of your subscription, we’ll share helpful teaching strategies for engaging your whole class as well as best practices and creative ideas for integrating BrainPOP so you’re ready to get back in the classroom. Whether you’re a new or veteran BrainPOP user, you’ll leave this webinar feeling refreshed and ready for school.

Bring learning to your fingertips with Annie and Moby!  We are excited to announce that we’ve recently released our BrainPOP Jr. Movie of the Week app.  You can now access BrainPOP Jr.’s movies and quizzes from an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, as well their accompanying Belly Up comics and Pop A Jokes.  The app itself is completely free to download from the iTunes App Store and we’re proud to say it’s currently the 2nd most popular free EDU app and is featured as “New & Noteworthy”. Current BrainPOP Jr. subscribers can log in from the Movie of the Week app and view all of BrainPOP Jr.’s content at no additional cost.  Non-subscribers can take advantage of our free content by accessing our featured movie of the week and it’s quiz, comic, and joke.  We’re just in time for summer, so whether it’s on vacation or in the car, be sure to take BrainPOP Jr. on the go!  

Even though the school year is coming to a close for many students and teachers, BrainPOP is still rolling out new content!  This week, we mark the debut of Food Groups on BrainPOP Jr.  We all know it’s important to make good choices about what you eat so you can stay healthy. In this health movie, Annie and Moby explore the food groups: vegetables, fruits, grains, protein, and diary. Take a peek and you’ll learn how to choose nutritious foods from each group and create balanced meals. How much of your plate should be made up of fruits and vegetables? Watch the movie and find out!  

Summer is the perfect time for students to take charge of their own learning. Here are some ideas from our lesson plan bank for extending summer learning for students using BrainPOP: Challenge kids to become BrainPOP experts! They can identify their personal interests and connect to their world as they learn about things that are important to them. Encourage students to download the free BrainPOP Featured Movie app. They can watch a different movie every day! Have students blog about the books they read throughout the summer. Invite students to read different books by a favorite author and investigate the life and works of that author. Challenge your class to explore the games in Game Up. Can they “beat” any of the games? Ask students to report back in the fall about the strategies they used to win. Suggest that students document their learning using digital photography and share the images using web 2.0 tools. Encourage students to write their own BrainPOP script or even produce their own movie on a topic they’re interested in. Want even more ideas? Sign up for a special “Summer Fun with BrainPOP” webinar on June 20th. Also, we’d love to see your students’ summer learning projects using… Read the Rest»

  Things get a little weird this month on BrainPOP with June’s spotlight: Weird Science.  We’ve included everything from Bruises to Bats to Boogers.  Yuck!  Explore those strange carnivorous plants and follow up by playing Crazy Plant Shop, available on GameUp.  You’ll find content on creatures from under the sea, including giant squid and cnidarians, as well as a great extension activity to learn about the effects of an oil spill on the ocean.  We’ve even included some topics that are literally out of this world such as black holes and aliens, which has a related game on GameUp. K-3 topics include Fossils, Camouflage, and Ocean Habitats. June’s additional spotlight on Grammar includes topics that cover grammar, punctuation, and fun with words.  Help students put the brakes on those run-on sentences and polish their writing with the correct use of hyphens and dashes, semicolons and capitalization.  Encourage them to add some variety to their work with our Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms movie while getting to the root of their words with the Etymology movie.  The BrainPOP Jr. spotlight offers Possessive Nouns, Tenses, Capital and Lowercase, Types of Sentences, and much more.