What is BrainPOP?
BrainPOP is an educational platform designed to make learning engaging, fun, and effective for students from kindergarten through the 8th grade. Founded in 1999 by a pediatrician, BrainPOP has evolved into a trusted resource used in over two-thirds of U.S. school districts and reaching millions of learners worldwide.
Key Features and Functionality
Educational Content
BrainPOP offers a vast library of animated educational videos, games, and quizzes that cover a wide range of subjects, including math, English, science, health, social studies, arts, and engineering. These videos are hosted by consistent characters, such as the big, orange robot Moby, which helps students feel comfortable and engaged with the content.
Learning Tools and Activities
- Videos and Quizzes: BrainPOP’s core content includes videos that simplify complex topics, followed by quizzes that help students practice what they have learned. These quizzes use multiple-choice questions to assess understanding.
- Make-A-Map: This tool allows students to create concept maps by combining images and words, which can be used for planning, revising, and laying out work.
- Make-A-Movie: A basic video editor that enables students to create their own video content, promoting creative learning and presentation skills.
Tracking Progress
- My BrainPOP: This feature, included in school subscriptions, allows teachers to track students’ progress and for students to monitor their own work. It provides a history of watched movies, completed quizzes and activities, and snapshots from GameUp games using the SnapThought tool.
Accessibility and Flexibility
- BrainPOP is an online-based platform, accessible from any browser on devices with a good internet connection. This makes it versatile for use both in the classroom and at home.
Support for Diverse Learners
- BrainPOP Jr.: Designed for younger learners (grades K-3), offering active, animated learning experiences.
- BrainPOP ELL: Provides vocabulary and grammar lessons specifically for English language learners.
- BrainPOP Science: Tailored for middle school science classrooms to support high school readiness.
Additional Resources
- Reading and Writing Materials: Additional sections with reading material are available to deepen students’ understanding of the subjects covered in the videos.
- Social-Emotional Learning: BrainPOP also includes content aligned with the CASEL model to support social-emotional learning.
Impact and Benefits
BrainPOP is rooted in research on how kids learn best, aiming to boost academic confidence, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. It motivates independent learning, empowers kids to feel confident in school, and sets them up for lifelong success. The platform has been proven to build background knowledge and improve literacy skills across various subjects.
In summary, BrainPOP is a comprehensive educational platform that combines engaging videos, interactive tools, and robust tracking features to create a fun and effective learning environment for students of all ages.