Posts on “ Adina Popa ”

With all the hoopla about virtual experiences, there is still nothing like a real life, in person, field trip.  On May 31st, students from BrainPOP Educator Elizabeth Gitzen’s 5th grade class were welcomed to the the offices of JASONlive in Ashburn VA. The event?   A live webcast with NASA Systems Engineer Tracy Drain.  During the webcast, students from all around the world sent in questions and participated through interactive polling.  However, the 20 students in Ms. Gitzen’s class watched from the JASONlive screening room, just down the hall from the production studio.  After the webcast, Tracy and Patty, the host, joined the class for a personal Q&A, and students took a behind the scenes tour of the studio.  It was Interesting to not only hear the life and story of a successful NASA systems engineer,  but to visit the studio and observe the effort and planning that goes into creating such a substantial production.  We saw outlines, scripts, green screens, and computers displaying pre-recorded video questions and interactive polls. The event is archived and available at the JASONlive website, after viewing you may want to learn more about Jupiter and the projects Tracy is involved with.  Take a look at our… Read the Rest»

Dr. Kari Stubbs, VP of 21st Century Learning at BrainPOP, presented the keynote presentation on educational games at the ActivLoudon Plus conference on March 24th. The event brought together 500 educators from the Loudon County School District in Virginia and beyond to learn about the power of technology, including Promethean tools and BrainPOP for teaching and learning. Adina Popa, Technology Resource Teacher and International Ambassador of Loudoun County Public Schools shared these top five takeways from the event: 1.  Gaming in education will become a mainstream initiative within the next 1- 2 years (http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2011/). 2.  BrainPOP is at the forefront of this movement, implementing gaming throughout their rigorous academic content. 3.  Dr. Kari Stubbs is an amazing speaker! 4.  The conference was a success and I enjoyed sharing and learning with/from my colleagues. 5.  I am looking forward to many more collaborative activities between our county and BrainPOP, as well as many more ActivLoudoun Plus conferences! Congratulations to the organizing team, and Mike Speidel, the head of this operation! How are you taking advantage of the BrainPOP and Promethean integration in your district?  

The National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) has named its “20 to Watch” honors for 2011-2012. These education leaders from across the country are being recognized for promoting the incorporation of innovative technology into high-quality classroom learning and school district operations.  BrainPOP sends a hearty congratulations to the 3 BrainPOP Educators who are recipients of this years award! Janet A. Platenberg Principal from Steuart Weller Elementary School in Virginia,  Andrea Keller (also TCEA teacher of the year) a K-3 Teacher Irving TX ISD and Jeannette Gautier-Downes IT Professional Developer from NYC are making Moby proud! Janet Shares: “BrainPOP has become quintessential in our lessons as students are either introduced to new concepts or are reviewing material for mastery.  The short, research-based videos cover a multitude of topics, and we are thrilled that 1) new videos are consistently added to the database, and that 2) existing videos are kept current so that information is always accurate.  The new GameUp addition allows students to practice what they learn in a simulated environment.   Our teachers use iPad and iPod touch devices in their classrooms and they are excited that now they can access all of the BrainPOP content via the BrainPOP app.  Our staff is also consistently involved with BrainPOP Educators, a free service through which they access free webinars… Read the Rest»