Posts on “ mobile learning ”

Last year, Dr. Kari Stubbs was recognized as one of Daily Edventures’ global heroes in education and they’ve recently caught up with her again for an update on BrainPOP’s work, her thoughts on the intersection of education and technology, and future trends. Daily Edventures is an education-centered blog that has a focus of identifying inspiring advocates for education, 365 days a year.  The site’s editor, Anthony Salcito, is Vice President of Education for Microsoft Corp.’s Worldwide Public Sector organization and works with education institutions around the world to facilitate optimal use for technology in learning environments. Head on over to read about Kari’s thoughts on mobile learning and BYOD environments, and catch a short screencast of BrainPOP’s Windows 8 app in action. She also goes on to discuss the growing popularity of game-based learning and BrainPOP’s ability to meet these new demands for educational games with GameUp. Kari’s interview further includes news on BrainPOP’s future plans for more individualized instruction, as well as an audio clip of her discussing BrainPOP’s recent work around education and technology. We have a lot of exciting plans on the horizon, so be sure to check back often for updates!

Thanks to all of you, our newly launched Featured Movie app for Windows 8 just reached a big milestone! The Windows 8 app – for devices like the Microsoft Surface – has now been downloaded more than 10,000 times. Remember, your BrainPOP username lets you log in directly from the app at no additional cost. A second milestone? The app earned front-and-center placement last week, when the Windows Store featured it in the Education category.

It’s with pride and excitement that BrainPOP has released a new app for Windows 8 and its sidekick Windows RT for use on mobile devices such as the Microsoft Surface.  Our Windows app highlights the “tiled” beauty of the operating systems, incorporating an elegant look into the topic search and quiz features, while providing a gorgeous two toned blue sunburst background. It’s simply pretty to look at! The Windows app is available free of charge and provides access to the featured movie of the day. Featured movie topics tie in to current events, historical milestones and figures, holidays, and more! Additionally, current site subscribers can log in directly from the app to access all of BrainPOP’s award-winning content at no additional cost. This is a great benefit for school subscribers who want to provide access to BrainPOP content on Windows device that students may have at home! So, if you’re using Windows 8, download the app from the Windows 8 store and let us know what you think! After all, “the more you know, the more you know!” (and the more we want to know!)  

Digital Learning Day is a national campaign that celebrates teachers and shines a spotlight on successful instructional practice and effective use of technology in classrooms across the country. Here at BrainPOP, we strive to engage students by providing the best in digital learning content, and we’re committed to supporting teachers in their quest to utilize digital technologies in the classroom. Be on the look out for our newest tool in development called My BrainPOP that will enhance your students’ learning experiences, and give you the ability to track and assess student progress via tailored content. My BrainPOP is currently being piloted in select classrooms across the country and we can’t wait to make it available in your school! You can follow the Twitter hashtag #DLDAY to participate in discussions about the future of digital learning and see how teachers are celebrating digital learning in their classrooms today. A big thank you to Sharon LePage Plante (@iplante) for tweeting about using BrainPOP to teach verb tenses in celebration of this special day. How are you celebrating Digital Learning Day with students? Share your ideas in the comments!  

Join the POParrazi We are excited to be in Austin, Texas, this week for the 2013 TCEA Conference.  If you’re at the conference, stop by Booth # 1717 to take your picture with Moby and participate in our #mobyandme POParrazi photo collection!  While you’re there, find out about the latest developments at BrainPOP, including the mixer, new Educators pages ,and a special first glimpse of new teacher and student accounts!   BrainPOP is also featured in the conference program – our own Arturo Guajardo will present BrainPOP Basics and Beyond Thursday, FEB. 7th from 12:30 – 1:20pm in the Hilton ROOM 406. See you there!  

Wednesday, January 30th at 3:30 PM ET- Get It: iOS Accessibility We welcome Leslie Schecht, Director of Technology for Special Education District 75 in New York City, for a look at the iOS platform’s accessibility features. See how Leslie uses technology to provide educational, vocational, and behavior support for students who are on the autism spectrum; have significant cognitive delays; are severely emotionally challenged or sensory impaired; or are disabled in other ways. You can follow Leslie, an Apple Distinguished Educator, on Twitter: @techdiva. Her district’s innovative use of technology was recently profiled in Fast Company magazine!

Angela Nixon Kiser is a National Board Certified Teacher who works tirelessly to provide interactive and meaningful learning in a technology enriched classroom. She provides technology tips, fun, and advice through a collaborative blog called www.techieteachertales.blogspot.com  If you missed her post on BrainPOP Educators last week, be sure to check it out here! I have one iPad in my classroom. How do you use one iPad with 26 greedy little fingers dying to get their hands on the technology? I think that is one of the biggest mountains to climb in our world of learning. I have researched numerous websites and blogs looking for helpful tips just to keep the growl of “my turn” to a patient whisper. So I endeavored to explore what many sources suggest. Adding the iPad into your center (or stations if the students are older) rotation. Easy enough, right? I would have hoped so, but it had its kinks. I encountered a kink with the length of time each child, in the group of four, would spend with an app. The first few center rotations became problematic primarily due to the game I featured for the week. Not every student played and not every student even touched… Read the Rest»

As we reach the end of the year, we reflect on the developments and accomplishments at BrainPOP over the past twelve months. So here it is,  the top 10 BrainPOP highlights of 2012! 10) Few in New York City were spared the devastation of Hurricane Sandy this fall.  This included many employees at BrainPOP and our office space too. Even without electricity, running water or heat many members of our district relations, customer support and production teams all rallied to help each other and did their best to continue working with you too.  We made BrainPOP free for the week as many schools along the North East and Mid Atlantic coasts were closed. 9) On the second to last day of August, we were pleasantly surprised to see BrainPOP’s mobile apps featured on the Today Show in a segment entitled “Best Back to School Apps“  with former child star (and parenting expert), Soleil Moon-Frye! 8) BrainPOP attended and sponsored our first show in Australia - As part of the ISTE Australia Study tour, VP of 21st century learning, Kari Stubbs, presented at the prestigious ACEC conference! 7) The family of BrainPOP APPs including BrianPOP, BrainPOP Jr., BrainPOP UK and BrainPOP Español were downloaded over 2 million times! 6) GameUp™ continued gaining popularity with students logging… Read the Rest»

On Friday, December 14th, ALTEC will be hosting a mini-conference at the University of Kansas School of Education building in Lawrence, KS.  Focusing on mobile learning in the classroom, this action packed day will engage educational technology leaders in sharing what mobile learning strategies and tools are successful in schools.  Breakout sessions will be led by teachers, administrators and technology directors from Kansas districts implementing mobile learning solutions. Our very own Kari Stubbs, Vice President of Learning and Innovation, will be presenting “Forward Thinking: A Look at the Ed Tech Horizon” at 11:00 AM.  This session will focus on the path that education technology will likely take over the next five years. Taking a look at the Horizon K12 report, a go-to resource by leaders in education technology, Kari will discuss the report findings, including both trends and challenges in the field on the foreseeable horizon. She’ll focus on the collaborative process that is used by experts across the world to develop the findings each year, as well take a close peek at two of the predicted technologies – Mobile Devices & Apps and Game Based Learning – to see evidence of those predictions. If you won’t be an attendee at the conference, you can… Read the Rest»

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.