BrainPOP UK resources and approach shares much with Australian education and we’ve really started to take off in Oz, purely through word of mouth.

So with her kind permission we have posted her article in full below.

“Now in our second year of our BrainPOP UK subscription. This is an awesome comprehensive website which is constantly being added to. Currently we have school access from 8:00 am to 4.00pm enabling all 1500 students and teachers to access this engaging and informative website.

The range of content, subjects covered combined with quiz material cover most concepts, subjects taught including being able to access all the content in French which is great for our French classes. Every day there is a new ‘featured’ free movie which makes BrainPOP UK a constantly growing resource for your staff and students to explore.

The website is easy to use, students at all year levels can navigate the site easily. You set up the user name and password for the school so you can make it as complex or easy as your students and staff need. The movies/animations are great as introductions or revision material for students as they encourage curiosity.

BrainPOP UK uses short unique movies/animations to explain complex and challenging concepts to students in an interesting engaging format. They use basic language so all students can understand the concept and then move on to test and apply their knowledge.

Why BrainPOP UK? Language similar, measurements and history, our systems of government and law all are similar and this is why it was essential for us to have a subscription to UK BrainPOP rather than BrainPOP USA.

As of next year with all content available on their free app we will move to a 24/7 subscription where all content will be available to our staff and students anywhere, anytime.

Given it’s range of content and annual subscription cost it is true value for money – ‘cheap as chips’, used by a huge range of subjects and pitched at the level students need and want. Sign up for a free trial at http://www.brainpop.co.uk you won’t be disappointed.”

Clare Raffetry, http://raffsrant.global2.vic.edu.au/ and at http://twitter.com/#!/craff2008 .

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.

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?”