Have something to shout about BrainPOP UK? Would you like to appear on this page? Email us and let us know your comments and we will post them here (and link back to your website or blog if you include your web address). If you want to see what all the fuss is about take out a free trial and see for yourself: http://www.brainpop.co.uk/freetrial/ "I used to using BrainPOP in Primary teaching. GREAT short movies to support teaching - children LOVE it! I like the "more advance" movies of BrainPOP too...great to stretch some children. I haven't checked out Secondary resources on BrainPOP, but for Primary it's worth using it, definitely. I will subscribe soon, before 1st Sept this year. I used my previous subscription for 2 years in Science specially and it was really GREAT!" Krista, Primary Y5 ICT teacher (August 2010) "I first discovered this site on Twitter via someone else who had mentioned them so I thought I would follow them. I then went on and explored their site as much as possible on the ‘free’ bit (which is a good amount). I fell in love with the site...seriously I cannot recommend these films enough! Check them out and ask for a free trial if at all possible because it really is worth it!" Mrs Nat, Primary teacher, www.mrsnat.com (May 2010) “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 Secondary school student quotes from Saltash.net Community School's evaluation. Read the full evaluation (April 2010): BrainPOP UK Evaluator: Saltash Community school, Cornwall “I have to admit it, I love Tim and Moby! For those of you who don’t know who I’m talking about(!) Tim and Moby are the 2 wonderful characters who explain lots of things in really clever,simple and entertaining short movies to children. They are, in my opinion, simply the best at explaining things and my placement classes LOVE them. They have films for practically every subject and are always adding more. Tim and Moby do a very good job at introducing themselves in this video and you can access the featured video each week for free. Subscription does cost money (but they aren’t too expensive for a school to buy) and they offer a 1 month free trial anyway!" Tim Handley (@tomhenzley), Primary PGCE Student, specialising in KS2, from his blog post (April 2010): Tales from a trainee teacher - my web tools armoury “I...recapped briefly volcanic eruptions to Year 9 (who had looked at volcanoes during the Autumn term) and introduced them to Years 7 and 8. For this I used the featured (volcano) video from the excellent BrainPOP UK site. The video was just over 3 minutes, but allowed me to introduce the basic mechanism of volcanic eruptions and some key terms. If you haven’t subscribed already I fully recommend that you do!" David Rogers, 11-16 Curriculum Leader for Geography, from his blog post (April 2010): David Rogers - Why connected teaching is the way forward “There are many ways BrainPOP UK can be used in the classroom. In my classroom I have been using the maths animations as a reminder/revision tool during lesson introductions and plenaries. I find in maths that often ‘one-off’ topics, for example mean, mode and median averages, are taught and understood by children in that specific lesson, but maybe a month later some of the children will have forgotten which is which, or how to work one of them out. I used BrainPOP UK ‘Mean, Median, Mode and Range’ to reinforce previous weeks learning before beginning a new maths session. This refresher use seemed to work really well in my maths class with many children mentioning using BrainPOP UK when we did some end of term assessments. The huge range of BrainPOP UK animations mean that the areas where the site can be used as a lesson starter are endless. I think the site is great as has many uses in class and in the home to enhance learning...the children in my class have really enjoyed using it, it has enhanced their learning and made it more memorable for them. Well done Tim and Moby!" Robert Drummond, P7 Classroom teacher, Uphall Primary School, West Lothian (April 2010) Read the rest of Robert's review “BrainPOP UK is an excellent website that contains simple animations that explain lots of different topics. They are great for use on an IWB to introduce a topic or as a lesson starter." Danny Nicholson, Freelance Educational Consultant (Jan 2010) The Whiteboard blog "I would just like to add that since my school subscribed to your site we have had a fantastic time looking at a number of lessons based on what we are doing in the classroom. My students love your lessons and often ask if Tim and Moby have got something to share on the topic we are focused on. Really enjoyable stuff and especially helpful to teachers." Antony Grigson, SJI International School “BrainPOP UK switches on learners and not only helps explain the world around us, but fits with great things that already go on in class." Tom Barrett, ICT Subject Leader, Assistant Headteacher, Year 5 Classteacher at Priestsic Primary School "The website is incredibly easy to navigate – first choose your subject matter such as Maths, and then find a video to suit, Algebra for example. Once chosen, the video loads in the centre of the browser but does not interfere with the framing of the website, so viewers can continue to navigate around BrainPOP UK. No downloads are necessary to play the videos, bar the usual install of Adobe Flash, and the site has been configured to work across multiple browsers. After spending many hours watching videos and trying the quizzes (inadvertently proving to ourselves why we would never be very good contestants on Mastermind) we have been incredibly impressed and captivated by the educational yet often comical animations of Tim and Moby. The short length of the videos ensures pupils do not get distracted, but there is a surprising amount of knowledge being taught within the 3-5 minutes. BrainPOP UK certainly gets a big two thumbs up from us!" Ease of Setup: 5 Ease of Use: 5 Fit for Purpose: 5 Value for Money: 5 Bryan Plumb from Bee-it.com, "BEE gets BrainPOP!" review. “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! We discovered some great resources for Literacy and Maths which we watched before we sat the SATS....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?” Dawn Hallybone, Year 6 senior teacher and ICT Co-ordinator, Oakdale Junior School (read the rest of her review here: Dawn Hallybone reviews BrainPOP UK) “BrainPOP UK is always at the top of my list of recommended resources. Why? Because it works. 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.” Sister Janet Icha, Home Educator (read the rest of her review here: BrainPOP UK – A home educator perspective") "While there are a number of other websites out there that offer PowerPoint presentations, shared teacher resources (of varying quality) and even whole-unit plans, it seems so far that BrainPOP UK is the only one with a steadily growing collection of engaging, quality movies – it will be interesting to see how it evolves over the coming months…the possibilities are endless.” Andy Brooke, Primary SENCO and Music coordinator writing in Classroom Music magazine, Rhinegold” "A truly unique resource that’s clear, concise and heaps of fun” Ian Pittman, Learning Technologies Leader, Alice Smith School “Our kids really enjoy the site, it has become a bit of an icon at our school!” Ben Porter, Maricourt Catholic High School "Congratulations on an EXCELLENT site – my student benefit tremendously from the clear lessons and Moby is becoming a folk hero!!! I have recommended the antics of TIM AND MOBY to others – your site is unique, innovative and captivating for students – well done!” Dr Bruce Duncan and the home school students at Sanctuary Services. "Very rarely does a website actually completely fulfil my criteria as a teacher; but I am excited to say that Brainpop has managed to be both educational and entertaining at the same time!" Vickie Bacon Head of Enrichment Hurstpierpoint College West Sussex “BrainPOP UK could well become an integral part of every classroom in the UK as it offers a new way of learning by engaging students from Year 3 and up through its deep and rich content”. Technology in Education No. 163, November/December 2008 http://www.technology-in-education.co.uk/ “I love BrainPOP UK – I really mean that! I have used the American version with my classes for years and the children (particularly S1, S2 and S6) love it! But I have used it with all year groups. I was really pleased to recently see that BrainPOP UK has launched a UK version of the website with an English speaking Tim. The great things about the videos is that they are all really short – just enough to capture and engage children. There must be 100`s videos on a diverse range of topics and many of the videos are cross-curricular.” Ollie Bray, edublogger, http://olliebray.typepad.com/ and Depute Head Teacher Musselburgh Grammar School, Scotland (N.B “Depute” is NOT a typo, this is the Scottish title for his role!) The ease of use and the product content makes this a real winner, and it really does live up to expectations, being a massive time saver and a hook for students. The flexibility of the product means that it can be used to start off a lesson (as a stimulus), as part of a lesson, or as a ‘stand alone’ filler, such as during registration, when there are a few spare moments. Pupils engage with BrainPOP UK when using it as a whole class, in a group, working with a partner, alone, or even through choice during a wet dinner time! Children view the films as entertainment and not just for learning. During the trial of BrainPOP UK it proved an invaluable aid when pupils were struggling with the use of a semi-colon in their literacy lesson. A quick search, using the ‘Curriculum Planning Tool’, provided a film on exactly what was needed (Colons and Semi-colons). The concept was explained really clearly and the learning was excellent throughout the class, bringing instant results to their writing and an increased confidence…Overall, this product is a real winner and will quickly become an invaluable classroom aid for everyone. Schoolzone evaluation by Naomi Muzoka Year 5 Class Teacher, January 2009 “I use BrainPOP UK all the time in my lessons because I find that the animation holds the pupil’s interest and really helps them to learn the topic as the videos are colourful, informative and educationally relevant. I often use the keywords during the videos to prompt discussion and introduce a new topic and the quiz at the end is useful to help sum the lesson up. I couldn’t live without it!” Sally Mills, Head of the science department Glenthorne High School, Surrey “BrainPOP UK is an essential tool for me when trying to approach some of the more difficult subjects in the curriculum with my pupils, especially the more boring topics. If we cannot do many practicals, or the ideas are very abstract, I know that BrainPOP UK can engage and motivate the class in a fun way. Text books and traditional board work just don’t catch their attention in the same way. I also like using the additional quizzes as they test the students’ comprehension in an immediately measurable way, and sometimes spark debate in the classroom, which both the pupils and I enjoy.” Charlotte Read, Head of Science New Horizons, Sussex "I use BrainPOP UK in my classes because the kids can relate to it and it keeps them engaged in their learning" Becca Taylor, Science Teacher and Assistant Director of Learning Tendring Technology College, Essex "Right from Year 7 up to sixth form, you can get some value from the BrainPOP UK movies. At two to four minutes, they're short, sharp and students love them. I've invested in a wireless mouse and keyboard, which you can pass around the class, making the quizzes really interactive." Nick Dixon, science teacher Magdalen College School, Northamptonshire "One of the great things about BrainPOP UK is that it's really up to date. When explaining world events in class, I often use one of the clips to help illustrate the lesson." Ken Brechin, head of science Cramlington Community High School, Northumberland "The videos are fantastic and a great way to introduce a topic or summarise it. I have used them in the past with S1-3 classes and the pupils have responded really well to them." Portobello School, http://ltportobello.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/brainpop-uk/ Do you also like what we do and want to show your support to BrainPOP UK? Email us and let us know your comments and we will post them here (and link back to your website or blog if you include your web address). If you want to join our rapidly growing BrainPOP UK Community why not take out a free trial and see what everyone’s talking about: http://www.brainpop.co.uk/trial/trial_step1.weml