POPtalk

We don’t say enough how much parents like BrainPOP UK, to use out of school as a safe, interesting and engaging resource.

So we asked one of our parent subscribers to tell us why they use BrainPOP UK. Here’s her review.

“My 10 year old daughter loves BrainPOP UK.

Here’s why:

• It’s great for people who think in pictures. It suits visual learning styles and it’s perfect for children with a short attention span or for busy people who don’t have time to watch long programmes.
• The range and choice of subjects is fascinating, informative and seems to be well-researched.
• The illustrations are great.
• The tone seems just right, even in subjects that could be controversial or difficult to explain to children.
• Clips can be watched at a time that is convenient for the user, any time of day or night.
• Very educational, but the children are having so much fun, they don’t notice how much they are learning about the world until they impress their parents with something that even they don’t know. And then, when you ask them how they know, they’ll probably say they heard it on BrainPOP.
• School is so long nowadays and sitting at a desk all day can be very tedious for a child.  BrainPOP is so much fun and so different from being talked at by a teacher, that my daughter begs to watch a few more clips even when we’re short of time.
• I have recommended BrainPOP to friends and they seem very impressed and pleased that such resources exist.
• Clips can be watched many times, either because of the humour or to consolidate learning.
• The content offers something for a huge range of ages – I would say from 7 to a 100+

My ideas for BrainPOP UK:

• Personally, I would have liked more voices behind the clips.
• Maybe some children and women could also read some of the material.
• We’re always hoping that you will add more new clips!
• We feel that some of the movies are a bit too short – could perhaps be 4-5 minutes, but then the beauty of BrainPOP UK is that it explains and illustrates everything so clearly and concisely.

We don’t use other resources, apart from BrainPOP UK. Our daughter spends all day at school and it’s important that she has time to play and relax when at home. She used Mathletics and Spellodrome for a little while. They are excellent (award-winning in fact), but it’s difficult to find time for them or any other useful resources.

I enjoy watching the clips with my daughter and learn from them myself, but I know that I don’t need to check the content before I allow access to it. So if I don’t have time to watch them, I know that whatever she is listening to within BrainPOP UK is entirely appropriate.

I consider that her time on BrainPOP UK is time well spent, as she is being exposed to important matters that the school might not cover. This will surely broaden her horizon and help her to become a well-rounded and caring citizen.”

And we’ll save the last word for the daughter in question, Donny, the lucky recipient of some Moby badges:

“Thank you so much for the badges you sent me. I love them! I also love BrainPOP.”

Best wishes, Donny”

by Merita Lumley, from Buckinghamshire.

Related Posts:

• “Why I think BrainPOP is great for learning”
• Moby and the Cybermummies
• Like mother like daughter like BrainPOP UK
• Where did I leave that order form? – Dawn Hallybone reviews BrainPOP UK
• BrainPOP UK – a home educator perspective

We recently asked on the Edugeek forum if anyone would be willing to help us research integrating BrainPOP UK into their school VLEs.

The response from the Edugeek community was amazing (a dedicated blog post about that another time). We’re still collating the research but we wanted to show you an example of how generous and helpful some people can be.

The below are two screencasts made by James May, ICT Manager at St Margaret’s CE Junior School. They are evaluating the Its Learning VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) platform for their school.

Obviously one of the major considerations when buying a VLE is ease of use and ability to integrate the products you know and love. Our request was just the excuse he needed to apply his growing Its Learning skills.

The first movie shows how he inserted our new POPbox (our POPbox shows the current featured movie and can be embedded into a webpage):

The second shows how he linked BrainPOP UK movies directly into a “discussion” page, using an iFrame technique (using an auto-login URL we supplied so the user doesn’t need to login to BrainPOP UK to access the resources). iFrames can show “a webpage within a webpage”. This is useful as the teacher can link directly to an individual movie, invite comments and the pupil doesn’t need to necessarily leave the VLE.

Huge BrainPOP UK thanks to James for his time.

What does this tell us?

1. BrainPOP UK is pretty easy to integrate into your VLE. The techniques James showcases here are fairly standard and could be replicated in the vast majority of VLEs. We’re building a set of “How to” pages for each of the major VLEs in the UK. If you are unsure, let us know and we’ll help.
2. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. We are very grateful to the EduGeekers for their support and experience.

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We are very lucky and privileged to regularly get Tweets and emails from our customers telling us what they think about BrainPOP UK.

A while ago we received a letter. A real letter on real paper from a real person. This is actually a pretty rare occasion in this digital era.

It was from Vickie Bacon, a Maths Specialist and Enrichment co-ordinator (and huge fan of all things BrainPOP) who teaches Years 3 to 8 at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex , and simply had to write in and tell us how much her and her students loved BrainPOP UK.

“…I immediately decided to sign up for a free trial. I am so glad I did! Since then I have been converted into a passionate user of BrainPOP! I couldn’t wait to introduce it into my classes. So much so, that I’d like to share with you the different ways in which BrainPOP is now being used throughout the curriculum…”

Well, it seemed like a perfect excuse for Tim, Moby, Eylan BrainPOP and Mike BrainPOP to jump in the BRAINmobile and go and say hi.

During the first class, Y7 maths, we were impartial observers, seeing how she incorporated Tim & Moby into her front of class teaching. She mentioned on several occasions how well behaved and quiet the children were that day. We’d like to think it was BrainPOP’s super engagement power but we secretly suspect this was mostly because there were two BrainPOPpers watching from the back of the room

Tim and Moby’s movie on Fractions took centre stage as Mrs Bacon framed the whole lesson around it. The movie had the students undivided attention and the message seemed to sink in as the POPquiz was shared by all.

One by one the pupils hopped up from their chairs to tap the interactive whiteboard to answer the POPquiz questions. It’s always fascinating to see how the product we pour our hearts into used so effectively and engagingly. She clicked around the screens with ease, pausing for discussion points on several occasions. We’ll be blogging the detail of the lesson in Part 2.

The lesson came to an end and the children began to pack up their things. At this point, Mrs Bacon officially introduced us to the children, although it felt more like the big reveal at the end of a game show, because the kids mobbed us immediately! We survived the demands for Moby t-shirts and mouse mats, but only just. Vickie was very happy with her new Tim & Moby mug.

It was very special getting to speak with the children, who subsequently never left our side for the remainder of the day, helpfully making suggestions for such things as new products and movies. They were big, big fans.

We went on to have encouraging chats in the staff rooms and corridors, eventually seeing BrainPOP UK used on a one-to-one basis. This showed that BrainPOP UK is just as engaging on this smaller, more personal level, as it is for larger classes.

Overall, it was about as positive as a customer experience can get. We plan to return to Hurstpierpoint in the New Year for an open day, where other schools in the area will attend to see it in action and to share experiences.

Following that, Vickie Bacon hopes to join us at BETT in January as a VIB (Very Important BrainPOPper) to present BrainPOP UK on the Promethean Planet stand. It will be great having her there and suggesting to teachers that they don’t just have to take our word for it.

So we got to spend most of the day seeing Tim and Moby in action across a selection of classes and to not only meet the teachers who use it, but to also meet the children (or should we say BrainPOPpers?) who adored it.

Big thanks to Vickie, her kids and the staff at Hurstpierpoint college for making us feel so welcome.

Related Posts:

• You never forget your first time – My first BETT
• Off to BETT 2010 part 2 – BrainPOP UK lands on Promethean Planet!
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• Back from BETT 2010 Part 2 – Teachers Takeover BrainPOP UK
• Back from BETT 2010 part 1: Sparking conversations – the VIB effect

We met the lovely Annette Iafrate (twitter: @annette__i ) at the recent Scottish Learning Festival Teachmeet in September 2009.

She is a big BrainPOP UK fan and told us stories about how her class used Tim and Moby as characters in their climate change wall posters.

Well, suffice to say (after we waved a whole book of Moby stickers at her), she kindly agreed to tell us the story of that lesson. We just LOVE pupil made Tim & Moby stuff! Anything we can share and enjoy that comes direct from the classroom is the juice that keeps us motivated…

“Hi BrainPOP,

I’m currently doing my probation (NQT) year at Knightswood Secondary, Glasgow.

I have a fantastic S1 Geography class, with whom I have been working through a unit on weather. Towards the end of the unit I decided to include a few lessons on climate change. We focused on the causes, environmental impacts and what pupils can do to help prevent it.

I decided to use the BrainPOP UK movie on Global Warming and quiz as a plenary to the lesson. I signed up for a free trial as I had been directed to the site after reading Ollie Bray’s blog.

I used the global warming movie because it brought together everything we had been learning during the lesson.

Using the clips with the lower school (S1/2) was useful because they are short, fun and cater to different learning styles.

They engage the pupils with their bright and colourful animations and at the same time are packed with geographical content. The quizzes are great too because the pupils are given instant feedback.

After watching the movie the next lesson pupils were given was a task to design a poster to be placed around the school that makes people think about their actions and what they can do to help limit climate change.

I specifically asked them to make the posters fun so as to attract pupils their age to read them. Some pupils had asked me to play the global warming movie again as they wanted to include Tim and Moby in theirs. The poster was then taken away to be completed as homework, and the photos you see below were the end result.

I have also used some of the movies with other classes – PSE and tutor group – the bullying and Swine flu movies.

Annette Iafrate”

Sounds like you used Tim & Moby to inspire some real creativity. You have also inspired the team to establish our own climate change manifesto. Thanks so much for sharing your lesson with us, Annette.

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We’re excited to welcome Dawn Hallybone as an official BrainPOPper today.

Dawn, a Senior Year 6 teacher and ICT Co-ordinator at Oakdale Junior School, has very kindly offered to give us her take on using BrainPOP UK.

Dawn is perhaps best known for her ground breaking work with game based learning in the classroom  – see her presentation here using Nintendo DS in the classroom. She is also deservedly a finalist for the Hand Held Learning 2009 Special Achievement Awards winner of the Hand Held Learning 2009 Special Achievement Awards!! (Well done, Dawn!)

If you’ve been fortunate enough to hear her speak you’ll know what an inspirational teacher she is, and how passionate she is about integrating exciting and engaging ICT into the realities of classroom life.

“I am not sure when or where I first heard of this product but have a feeling it may have been at BETT.

I remember being drawn by the bright colours and the characters of Tim and Moby. This is true as well of the students themselves when they first use it; however there is a lot more to this package than colours and characters.

BrainPOP UK is an online environment, where as a teacher and as a pupil you can watch short (5 minute) videos explaining a range of subjects across the National Curriculum.

The videos are well presented and convey the information in both a child-friendly and factual way as well as injecting humour – a must I feel with some topics! After each video there is a short activity and a quiz, although you do not need to complete this if you chose not to.

I used BrainPOP UK a lot during the Summer Term with my year 6 class, and found their videos covering puberty and PHSE invaluable as they dealt with these topics sensitively, but with a sprinkling of humour!

When I asked the class which part of the topic they had enjoyed – they all agreed watching Tim and Moby as it:

• ‘…made it clear’
• ‘…did not talk down to us’
• ‘…I felt they understood us’
• ‘…I liked the fact that the letters are written by real children’ (a fact that I nor they knew until we asked via Twitter – another recommendation by one of the class when I admitted that I did not know).

Once we had used it for this topic – the class were eager to explore other areas – they wanted to know what else Tim and Moby talked about!!! We then discovered some great resources for Literacy and Maths which we watched before we sat the SATS.

Again this idea came from the children not me and proved a hit as one they were all watching, learning and relaxing before their tests. There are numerous ways of using the resource. I tend to use it to introduce the topic, and use the quiz at the end as I find that this equips the children with a good degree of knowledge before we start any topic.

BrainPOP UK is a subscription service, but the range of subjects that they cover is vast and they are constantly looking at ways of improving and are great at listening and responding to suggestions from both pupils and teachers.

They also offer free videos each month – a great idea particularly when the Swine flu hit schools and children were worried. We embedded this onto our school blog and children were able to share this with their parents at home.

It can also be watched on a trial basis, which as a teacher I feel invaluable when trialling out resources with my children. It can look really good and sound really good in a sound bite or blurb on company website but it is when it is used in a real context that, for me, is the real test!

I and the class thoroughly enjoyed trying out BrainPOP UK during the Summer term – now the only question is – where did I leave that order form?”

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• “Why I think BrainPOP is great for learning”
• Moby makes me feel happy – inspiring a reluctant writer
• Sharing the TeachMeet Takeovers from BETT 2012
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You may not know this but BrainPOP UK is popular within home educator networks, as well as schools.

We wanted to meet some of our home educators so we asked on our Facebook Page if we had any fans who, as home educators, might want to write about how they use BrainPOP UK as part of our Maths Focus Fortnight.

Sister Janet Icha from London quickly responded: “Yes, I would definitely like to do it – my boys think BrainPOP UK is GREAT!“.

So over to you Sister Janet, Joseph and Elijah!

“Whenever I am asked about what tools or methods I use whilst home-educating my children, BrainPOP UK is always at the top of my list of recommended resources. Why? Because it works. During recent BrainPOP time, my son Joseph interrupted:

“BrainPOP is the best website ever!! I like Moby best because he is silly.”

What is BrainPOP UK? It’s a website that has educational videos for primary and secondary age children, teaching about most subjects that our children learn in school – and more!

BrainPOP UK movies are approximately 5 minutes each and teach the viewer all about the subject in such an engaging, succinct and humorous manner that you can’t help but like the main characters Tim and Moby the Robot.

Specifically, Maths tends to be a subject for concern with most parents – but not if you use BrainPOP UK it isn’t! For example, as a parent, one of the things that I like most about BrainPOP UK is there are the usual functional videos such as decimals, prime numbers and how to measure circles.

But there are also movies which teach the theory of mathematics such as What is Calculus? What is it used for and by whom? Euclid or even (I’m showing off now!) the ‘Sieve of Eratosthenes‘ .

Of course, learning the history and theory helps children (and us adults!) have a much better and stronger understanding of any subject, and builds their confidence, which also strengthens their ability to use the subject matter.

So how do I use BrainPOP UK on a day to day basis?

Home-educating means we do not have the same time restrictions that are upheld within schools. We don’t necessarily spend one hour on one subject, then move to the next one, so we have the freedom and luxury of watching the same movie over and over again, or moving onto other movies that are connected to the same topic.

We have found the children have the time to not only learn about a specific theme or subject, but actually have the time and space to enjoy it and appreciate it without having to rush off to their next lesson or off to do something else.

My 12 year old son Elijah says:

“Brain POP UK is easy to use, because every thing is set out neatly. If there is a special film you want to watch quickly, you can go to the search box. The only thing I’d change is there should be a few longer movies, like 10 minutes. I want Tim and Moby to elaborate on some things like ‘PI’, and ‘Flight’ “

Because the movies are presented in such an engaging, light-hearted manner we have found a method which works very well for us:

1. We watch each video twice. During the viewing, we pause, rewind or stop when we need to in order to discuss what is being said, or even to link it to something else that we have been learning.
2. Then we try the graded version of the POP Quiz. Sometimes, I may print a quiz and allow the children to complete it later in the day. This is really to test to see not only how much they learned from watching the video, but also how much they remember from it. They usually remember almost everything – particularly the ‘jokes’.
3. We compete to see who can get the most correct answers - and/or who can say the answer the quickest!

Of course, school teachers have their resources and information given to them, which are all in line with the National Curriculum.

With home-educating I decide and plan what the children learn, how we learn it, and when.

On the Internet there are so many different resources, websites and locations that it can make your head spin and leave you (or me, actually) in confusion about what to do and how to do it.

BrainPOP UK’s teachers’ tools help greatly with this because everything is in one place. I don’t have to keep changing sites, looking for things or even worse, trying to remember what resource was where – it’s all there.

It also has Primary and Secondary resources organized according to the National Curriculum guidelines, so I can see year-by-year what school-based children are learning and what the standards are. There’s also a link that can even take me to videos related to the specific subjects we are working on.

It’s an easy and very efficient way of planning our days, weeks and learning years without having to rely on a vast amount of ‘classroom’ equipment such as books, CDs , whiteboards, blackboards etc.

We laugh a lot whilst working with BrainPOP UK – which absolutely re-inforces the learning process – particularly at the jokes in the movies and during the POP Quizzes which sometimes have funny comments or remarks within the questions.

My children are so enthusiastic about ‘going on BrainPOP UK’ that they don’t actually see it as ‘school work’ or ‘work’ – even when we do the quiz.

During their own free time, they choose to go on BrainPOP UK and watch interesting movies, so I know they find learning with this site fun (it’s also a great and safer alternative to TV/Internet).

We all find the site easy to navigate, accessible and practical to work with for both me as the adult and the children.

BrainPOP UK videos are interesting, contemporaneous, humorous and engaging for people of all ages.”

Many, many thanks Sister Janet Icha. We will be posting you out some lovely new Moby tshirts for your boys.

If any other home educators out there want to tell us how they use BrainPOP UK we’d be more than happy to hear what you’ve got to say.

Related Posts:

• Like mother like daughter like BrainPOP UK
• BrainPOP UK – A parent’s perspective
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