Posts on “ professional development ”

Guest blogger and Technology Integration Specialist for the Madison School District (Phoenix, AZ), Kim Thomas, shares her experience using BrainPOP Educators for professional development. In the Madison School District (Phoenix, AZ) we are all huge BrainPOP fans, from preschool to 8th grade. Sadly, I must admit, over the last couple of years we have become a bit lax in exploring all the resources available. In my role as the Technology Integration Specialist for the District I had a tendency to look over the BrainPOP newsletter and not really think much about it. Not sure what made me take the time to really read the newsletter, just glad I did. WOW! I promptly shared the link so that other teachers could sign-up for it as well. The MICE teachers (Madison Integrating Computer Education, 3-4 teachers at each site who help their peers with integrating technology)at each school now receive the BrainPOP newsletter and have shared the information (and link for signing up for the newsletter) with their fellow teachers. The newsletter was only the first step. (Ok, actually reading it was the true first step!) Then I explored the BrainPOP Educators site. Another WOW! Love the webinars! This summer we are using… Read the Rest»

BrainPOP Webinar: Artful Thinking Routines With the DIA Art Center’s April Lee Tuesday, June 18 at 3:30 pm ET  Designed for educators of all disciplines, this webinar focuses on the Artful Thinking Routines – a group of protocols designed by Harvard researchers to help people think deeply about artwork. We’ll look at web-based collaboration tools for this program, examining individual artworks and other ephemera while considering the effective use of online platforms for future educational experiences. Event Password: moby https://brainpopevents.webex.com/brainpopevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=663973046  

BrainPOP Webinar: BrainPOP: Looking Back and Looking Forward Wednesday, June 12 at 3:30 pm ET  Round out the school year with a review of all things BrainPOP and get some great ideas for next year. We’ll discuss best practices and teaching strategies for integrating BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr., ensuring you get the most out of your subscription. We’ll cover the assessment Mixer and BrainPOP Educators, making sure you’re in the know about all the valuable features that support you in the classroom. Event Password: moby https://brainpopevents.webex.com/brainpopevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=661115782

Mooresville North Carolina has gotten national publicity for their successful implementation of a one to one laptop program. So we were thrilled to see that BrainPOP was featured in a video about Mooresville on EdWeek’s “Digital Curricula Evolving” video series. In this video, see how 6th grade teacher, Judy Cohen, assigns BrainPOP videos as homework “to introduce, to reinforce and to remediate.” She also describes how video is engaging today’s students. “it doesn’t replace the interaction, but it does help them to formulate questions.” Cohen is clearly a gifted teacher, and she describes how using online video has profoundly changed the way she teaches. Visit EDweek to learn more about Mooresville, and approaches to teaching with video content.

BrainPOP Webinar: Using New Media to Develop Social Emotional Learning Skills Wednesday, June 5 at 6:30 pm ET  Join us for an interactive and informative session exploring the connections between social media and social emotional learning (SEL). You’ll hear the unique perspectives of our guests Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D – faculty member at Boise State, Walden, and American Intercontinental Universities – and Joan Young, a fourth-grade teacher who also holds a master’s in clinical psychology. Learn how the social media resources that most of us use everyday are also great tools for building self-awareness, awareness of others, and emotional regulation skills in students of all ages. Event Password: moby https://brainpopevents.webex.com/brainpopevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=660189366 After registering, check your inbox for an email with link to the webinar. If you don’t see one, check your spam folder!

BrainPOP Webinar: Martin Esterman: Games, Math Fluency and Award Winning Ways Wednesday, May 29 at 3:30 pm ET  Martin Esterman, the National STEM Video Game Challenge winner, joins us for a webinar on fluency and the Common Core State Standards for Math practice. Martin tells us why he’s decided to use games for instruction and touches on the importance of fluency in math development. You’ll see some of the games he uses to help support these skills, including Addition Blocks, the one he designed for the Challenge and is featured on GameUp. Event Password: moby

BrainPOP Webinar – 1-to-1 and Blended Learning: The Essentials Wednesday, May 22 at 3:30 pm ET  Join Common Sense Media and BrainPOP for a look at tools to help make 1-to-1 and blended learning realities in your classroom. Hear about Common Sense’s 1-to-1 Essentials, a comprehensive roadmap for schools integrating a tablet program. It covers everything, from engaging parents to digital citizenship to the best learning apps. We’ll also look at best practices for using BrainPOP’s apps in 1-to-1 and blended learning environments. Event Password: moby

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»

The Game-Based Curriculum: Directing Learning with Quests, Badges, Achievements, & Truly Personalized Learning Tuesday, May 14, 2013- 4pm / Eastern Time REGISTER HERE for the webinar. What would school look like if it “played” like a video game? Researchers and faculty at Boise State University have created an experimental game-based learning management system to find out. In edWeb.net’s next webinar, Boise State’s Chris Haskell will share their work over the past two years on the principles of quest-based learning. Chris will discuss key design elements of quest-based learning, such as points, badges, achievements, leveling, and student choice. He also will demonstrate their tool and its pedagogy. Join Chris on May 14th to learn how quest-based learning can deliver personalized learning with student success and satisfaction. *Please note that this webinar is not hosted by BrainPOP and all professional development certificates will be issued by edWeb.net.

BrainPOP Webinar - Text Demands and Best Practice for Leveling Books Wednesday, May 15 at 3:30 pm ET  Language arts teachers know that leveling books is both art and science. In this webinar, Kathy Burdick, president of Mobile Learning Services and developer of https://www.textdemands.com/, discusses various approaches. She’ll explore different leveling systems, quantitative and qualitative text attributes, and the dangers that arise when using an incomplete diagnostic system. Event Password: moby