POPtalk

Big news today! Huge! We’d like to announce the launch of a new initiative called “BrainPOP UK Evaluators”.

Our Evaluators program is a new way to help you (and us) get the best from your evaluation. Our regular free trial is still available as normal but we’re now offering the chance for a few schools in each Local Authority to become “BrainPOP Evaluators”.

As an Evaluator, in return for 8 weeks FREE access to www.brainpop.co.uk, a school commits to:

1. Providing a case study (500-750 words + any accompanying multimedia) on a topic picked from a list e.g. SATS focus, Transition, POPquizzes, Geography, Remediation, VLE focus on Moodle, using BrainPOP UK as a homework resource and lots, lots more. Or whatever idea you like! As long as it’s focused on the use of BrainPOP UK in your school/classroom in whatever way appeals to you.
2. Making themselves available to a Local Authority for feedback in the event of an authority wide purchase being considered.

We are also very interested to hear how you might combine BrainPOP UK with other tools and if BrainPOP resources inspired any classroom activities e.g. the Poetry movie encouraged a burst of creative haiku writing!

Evaluator schools are given personal attention by the BrainPOP UK team to make sure they have all the inspiration and support they need to enjoy and get maximum value from their extended trial.

Case studies will be used by BrainPOP UK:

• As a way to help us promote BrainPOP UK best practice
• To help us understand how we can improve BrainPOP UK

How it works:

1. You tell us you’re interested.
2. If we have some spaces available we will send you a simple form, where you indicate your case study topic and tell us when you want to start.
3. When we get that back we send you your trial login details.
4. During the 8 weeks you work on your chosen case study throughout the evaluation period, gathering feedback from colleagues and students.
5. After 8 weeks are up email us your completed case study form.
6. Subscribe to BrainPOP UK or simply let the trial expire.

Is this open to everyone?

It is open to all types of educational services, but there are only a few spaces available in each authority. If you already subscribe to BrainPOP UK then an extended free trial is of no use to you but we’re always interested in hearing how you’re using BrainPOP UK in the classroom (if you do subscribe and submit a case study I’m sure we can find a BrainPOP UK goodie or two as a thank you). This is open to subscribers too.

So this is really for those schools that want to give BrainPOP UK a proper evaluation – spread the login round the school, invite contributions from colleagues, discuss best practice and so on.

This is also open to International schools that follow a UK curriculum and Local Authorities who want a more in-depth analysis from a local school.

Teachers don’t have time to do this! We’re a busy school!

We know teachers are very busy; very busy indeed. Becoming an Evaluator will help you put a framework around your trial experience with BrainPOP UK. You can make your case study in whichever way you like, as creatively as you like. Above all, we want it to be enjoyable. You can drop out or give up at any point. You are not obligated to do anything.

You can still take out the normal free trial.

Can I see an example?

At time of writing this is a new thing for BrainPOP UK. So have a read of this evaluation by one of our pilot Evaluator schools: Saltash.net Community School by Dan Roberts, Assistant Head teacher. Dan also runs a successful blog where you can read about how he approached his Evaluation: Do your sudents like to BrainPOP?.

Do I have to buy BrainPOP UK to do this?

Nope. You only need to evaluate it. You may find that at the end of the evaluation BrainPOP UK isn’t for you. No problem. Simply let the trial lapse. We’d still expect your case study as it’s just as important to understand what we can do better. Your perspective will help.

How do I apply to become a BrainPOP Evaluator?

Email us with the following information to info@brainpop.co.uk:

• Your name
• Your position
• Your school type e.g. Secondary school
• Your postcode

If there’s a slot available we’ll let you know and set you up. If you’ve any other questions please add them below or get in touch.

Related Posts:

• BrainPOP UK Evaluator: Saltash Community school, Cornwall
• 10 top tips on how to effectively evaluate BrainPOP UK
• Highlights from the Scottish Learning Festival
• Say hello to the newest addition to BrainPOP UK: Preview Page

Name: Saltash.net Community School, Cornwall

Evaluator: Dan Roberts, Assistant Headteacher ( blog | twitter )

No. on roll: 1400

Key Stages: 3-4 (Yr7-11, ages 11-16)

Introduction

Dan Roberts evaluated BrainPOP UK specifically as a Science and Homework tool. He ran the evaluation across his school, looking for both teacher and student feedback. Dan also blogged about the process “Do your students like to BrainPOP?”

About Saltash.net Community School

An 11 to 18 mixed comprehensive school currently with 8 form entry. We have specialist status in Science and Mathematics and Computing with a Rural Dimension. Our aim is to ensure that all members of the school are able to:

• be healthy
• stay safe
• enjoy and achieve
• make a positive contribution
• achieve economic well-being within the school, local and wider communities.

The School is a mixed 11 to 18 comprehensive school established in its present form in 1968. The school is maintained by the Cornwall Education Authority. Situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty, it occupies a 13 acre site overlooking Plymouth Sound and the Tamar, Tavy and Lynher rivers.

The Catchment Area includes Brunel Community Primary School, Burraton Community Primary School, Bishop Cornish School, St Stephens School, Landulph School, Sir Robert Geffrey’s School, Landrake and St Germans School. An increasing number of pupils are now joining the school from outside the immediate catchment area in both Year 7 and Year 12. The school is regularly oversubscribed.

The Facilities in our Community School are enjoyed by many people, though of course our pupils are the first to benefit. The school is well equipped with excellent teaching facilities to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum. We have 12 laboratories, a whole school computer network with over 300 machines, 78 teaching rooms, a gymnasium and sports hall. Specialist rooms are also available for music, art and drama.

Our Technology Department was one of the first in the country to be awarded £250,000 which has enabled us to provide an outstanding range of equipment and facilities. We have a well stocked Library/Resource Centre where pupils can research and access information from a wide variety of resources. Our extensive sports fields, including an all weather pitch, are amongst the best in the county enabling us to offer 15 different sports to our pupils.

Introduction:

Over a couple of months we carried out action research using BrainPOP UK as a learning tool within lessons and as an extension at home. We did this with five different classes from Key Stages 3-4.

Objectives:

• To help students understand new knowledge in Science at Key Stage 3 and 4.
• To allow students to use the movies and quizzes for independent revision and to improve the completion of homework.

Methodology:

There were several different methods used to enhance the learning of all students, some of which evolved as the research commenced:

• Students watched the BrainPOP UK movies and then completed the POPquiz associated with the movie as part of the lesson when the teacher introduced a new topic or learning objective.
• Students watched the BrainPOP UK movies and then completed the POPquiz associated with the movie as part of homework. Students were given the URL for specific movies and quizzes to allow them to use them independently as part of their review, reflection and revision for each module.
• Students watched the BrainPOP UK movies and then completed the POPquiz associated with the movie. Students then requested to extend these activities by demonstrating the knowledge they had learnt through the BrainPOP UK resources to develop their own online quizzes through web 2.0 tools such as Quizlet , Proprofs and Photopeach .
• Students watched the BrainPOP UK movies and then completed the POPquiz associated with the movie. Students then requested to extend these activities by demonstrating their knowledge they had learnt through the BrainPOP UK resources by students creating their own online story boards of potential future BrainPOP UK movies that have not been created yet by BrainPOP UK.

Outcomes:

• Students have really been impressed and already love watching the movies.
• Many have said that they make concepts really easy to understand often easier than the teachers can.
• They have also really enjoyed completing some of the online quizzes to test their knowledge from watching the movies.
• The older students at Key Stage 4 really valued the movies which did surprise me. They found them extremely easy to understand and helped them on certain topics that they found difficult within Science.
• Many students were involved in using the resources and using them independently at home and outside of lessons in school.
• Some students suggested to teachers in their other subjects to use a particular movie during a lesson (this was reported several times).
• Many students often watched other movies and completed the quizzes in other subjects at home.
• It allowed students to become more independent and creative through creating their own quizzes and designing and planning out potential future BrainPOP UK movies.

Feedback from students:

“I loved watching the Tim & Moby movies they were entertaining but also helped you understand the Science behind it.”
Year 8 Student

“I have used the BrainPOP UK movies and quizzes lots at home, I have used in many of my other subjects too when I have got stuck and didn’t understand something. It helped me to move on with my learning.”
Year 9 Student

“I found the BrainPOP UK movies really easy to understand some of the more difficult Science concepts at GCSE. The way the movies explained it made sense and helped me understand the parts I didn’t understand in lesson.”
Year 10 Student

Multimedia:

“Hi, I’m Charlotte”
“And I’m Lauren”
“And we’re from Saltash.net Community school.”
“And we like BrainPOP because it’s fun and it gives you a lot of information”
“…and we like the quizzes after the videos ’cause it makes us understand more about what we were learning about.”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Hi, I’m Lauren from Saltash.net Community school. I like using BrainPOP beacause it’s fun and not boring like reading out of a text book”.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Hi, my names Brandon”
“And I’m James. And we’re from Saltash.net Community school.”
“We like BrainPOP ’cause it told us what we needed to know in a fun way. We used it to do homework in Science to find out the functions of our body”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Learn how you could take part in our Evaluator scheme: Becoming a BrainPOP UK Evaluator

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