Brain Pop as an Educational Tool

What is Brain Pop?

*Beep*, *Beep*, *Beep*. Moby, is that you?

Did you have a flashback to the good old days? I for sure did. I remember using Brain Pop all the way back in elementary school. You truly have to have been in the North Pole to not know what Brain Pop is. I feel like almost every teacher I had one year would use Brain Pop for anything and everything.

Brain Pop is an educational website that offers resources for different content areas in an animated, engaging format. Subjects include: Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Engineering & Technology. Many different characters are introduced to us to present and take us through a mini-lesson video. For example, if you went under science, you can find videos and other resources about energy and other topics.

Since Brain Pop has first come out, the program has expanded. Brain Pop has been converted to an app. Making it, even more accessible than it was before. Brain Pop now has other apps, beside the main one about movies. If you would like to look at their other apps and more information about them, you can go to this link to find out more.

How Do I Sign-Up and Use Brain Pop?

The very first thing to do, which I think you know what, is to get an account. You can do this by downloading the app or by going to the website. At the homepage, you have two options, you can either explore more by clicking the free demo or you can click the log in button.

When you click the log in button, you will begin to put in your information. You can do this through normal sign-ups or by signing into your Clever or G Suite for Education. My suggestion, like always, is to use your Google account to keep your password and log in information the same for all of your education accounts. A G Suite for Education, in this case, is more than just your Google account, so you may not be able use that for log in.

From here, I do not have any information to go further. Brain Pop, if you want more resources and access, requires you to buy a subscription. But, maybe, your school already has one and they will be able to give you a discount or code to be linked to their account.

Brain Pop does offer free mini-lessons and features though. This is a nice option if you want to do a sample run in your classroom with this program. That way, you can get opinions and feedback from your students, before making the commitment to paying for it.

Just from doing some exploring and looking into Brain Pop, I can tell you a few features that you will be able to use, once you have an account. Brain Pop allows for games to be played on content areas. You, the teacher, can assign quizzes to your students through the program. Students, in general, have access to quizzes to test their knowledge. Brain Pop also has games to play with certain topics. This is a fun and interactive way for students to learn about a difficult topic because it doesn't feel like work, but they do have to work and think in order to play.

There are some other features that Brain Pop offers. Brain Pop offers website and resources for English Language Learners (ELL). They also have the website translated in Spanish and French. Brain Pop also offers specifically a website for educators. This page lets you walk through all the steps to sign up for an educator subscription. It also does go into further detail what this type of subscription would mean. It also gives a lot of great information in general.

If you would like more information on how to set up an account, for educators, this website goes through it step by step. They also give you detailed ideas and information tips to know about using Brain Pop. She is someone who has an account, so she will be able to give you more knowledge than I have experience with, at the moment.

How Do I Incorporate Brain Pop in My Classroom?

Brain Pop is a very flexible and multi-modal educational resource. It seems like it can be easily put into your lesson plan or used for homework/review purposes. I can see myself assigning students to review a subject on Brain Pop, either before the beginning of a lesson or after. Before, would be good to use for them to be introduced to the subject that we would be discussing in class the next day. This way, students come to class prepared with some background knowledge and questions that they want answered. Assigning a Brain Pop for after, is a good way for students to review for a test or a topic in general, to make sure they have their facts and knowledge reinforced.

The Brain Pop mini-lesson and videos can be used in my lesson plans. Using the videos is a good way for me to differentiate the way in which I present topics. It spices things up from me just doing a powerpoint or standing there lecturing them (which, I have no intent on doing anyways!). This helps students who respond better to visual aids, rather than just auditory approaches. It also helps those who may be ELL, I can put on captions for them. This would let them associate the English speech, with their written language. It also gives them another way to learn, from just the visuals being projected. they can rely on context clues, instead of just words.

Another way to incorporate Brain Pop into the classroom, is through stations. Assuming that I have an iPad or two or even a few desktops, I can set up a station where my students interact with Brain Pop. It could be that they view a mini-lesson. They could play a game to further their knowledge in a certain topic. They could be working on quizzes for topics that I assigned them. They could also be working in pairs to complete and assignment or task.

If you want more ideas, you can go to this link and it gives you several ideas. These ideas all revolve around Brain Pop being used in the classroom. Some examples are, pause points, "come on down!", or pair share. The possibilities are endless. Another way to think of or find ideas is to just look on Google or even talk with your fellow teachers to see if they use the program. They may be able to share with you some ideas that you haven't thought of before.

My Experiences and Opinion
I mentioned in the beginning that I interacted with Brain Pop quite a bit in elementary school. I always enjoyed using this website to look further into topics. I personally, respond very well to visual resources and tool when it comes to learning and retaining information. So, for me, the videos and online games were very helpful for me, if I needed more help on a certain topic.

I think Brain Pop has done a great job at expanding and broadening their resources and programs. They now have apps where kids can view at home, videos and movies. This creates a sense of intrinsic motivation because students are wanting to learn for themselves. They also get this sense of relationship with the characters, like Moby. Everyone knows Moby and they enjoy seeing him.

Brain Pop is a great tool to use for differentiation, IEPs, 504s, and universal design learning. This program offers an online, visual, auditory, and interactive way to learn. Not all students will love it, but some students may need the resources that Brain Pop offers. The fact that this website is easily accessible to ELL, Spanish, and French students is so incredibly helpful. It makes learning more accessible to them and easier for them to understand. It also means that people all over the world can be using this program.

References
Wikipedia. (2018, Dec. 4). Brain Pop Logo [online photo]. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrainPop.

Christie. (2013, Feb. 20). Brain Pop Main Page [online photo]. Retrieved from https://consortiumlibrary.org/blogs/eresources/2013/02/20/brainpop/.

Millstone, Jessica. (2016, Oct. 27). Brain Pop Usage Cycle [online photo]. Retrieved from https://educators.brainpop.com/2016/10/27/using-brainpop-outside-classroom-linking-parents-students-teachers-together/.

Maria. (2018-accessed). 6 Ways to Use BrainPop in Your Classroom [online link]. Retrieved from http://www.everyonedeservestolearn.com/2014/12/6-ways-to-use-brainpop-in-your-classroom.html.

BrainPop Educators. (2018-accessed). Classroom Ideas for BrainPOP [online link]. Retrieved from https://educators.brainpop.com/creative-teaching-with-brainpop/ideas-for-integration/.

Twitter as an Educational Tool

What is Twitter?

*Tweet Tweet* Breaking News! Notification! Are you ready for the 4-1-1?

If you have not heard of Twitter, I do not know where you have been for at least the past decade. I'll have to admit, I did not join this bandwagon until two years ago; it was because of a class. For the most part though, EVERYONE, is on Twitter, even my mother.

Twitter is another online, social community page. In the most basic way, it is similar to just about any other social media platform. You can share via retweeting, you can like posts, you can post texts and/or pictures, you can comment, and follow other accounts. Maybe you want to keep up with the Kardashians, just incase you didn't already know what Kim was up to today.

All jokes aside, Twitter is another form of communication. You may be sitting there wondering how Twitter can be used educationally and in your classroom, because usually teachers stray away from social media websites being used in their class. This is a very odd educational tool to use in your lesson plan, but for many teachers, it works.

The fact is, is that Twitter, can be a great way to engage students and connect with them. This may not be your style, but it takes a step to expanding your classroom. The truth is, kids don't connect with you just through email or by talking to you anymore. Besides that, sometimes they spend class on social media anyways. So, why not use this to your advantage?

How to Sign-Up and Use Twitter?
The very most important step of using Twitter, is do make an account. You can do this by either downloading the app onto your technological device, or by going to the homepage. Either way is fine and just as easy.

To begin, you will click the "sign-up" button on the homepage. From there, you will be prompted to putting in your name and your phone number. If you prefer to use your email, they allow you to do that as well. Then, all you have to do is to complete the action of setting up your account!

After the nitty-gritty part of creating an account, it is now time to start following people, groups, or hashtags that you are interested in. Twitter will give you a few suggestions based on their little questionnaire at the beginning. For example, they may suggest you follow a dog account, if you said you like dogs. To be honest, who doesn't though?

Let's start using that Twitter! We will start at your dashboard. Once you have started following a few accounts, anything they post, will show up here. You also have the option to post something yourself on this page. On the sides, Twitter gives you suggestions of people or trends to look at or start following.

There are a few other options to explore on your twitter page, besides your dashboard/home site. The next little tab, says, "Moments". Moments is kind of like a news page. They have posts about current things going on in the world. For example, today, they have a post about Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra's wedding. Don't worry though, they also have actual news stories to be viewed as well. In fact, at the top you can find tabs that say: Today, News, Sports, Entertainment, and Fun. This way, you get to decide what kind of stories you want to view and get more specific content. You also have the option to create a moment as well.

The next tab at the very top of the page, is for notifications. Notifications are varied from any and all that may be going around, to just being notified about mentions. Mentions mean that somebody has mentioned you in a specific post. Twitter makes it easy to find that post by having a more specific notification search. This is super helpful so you can stay up to date and not miss anything.

The tab next to your notifications, if your message tab. This part of Twitter alerts you when you have direct messages from another user. This can be an easy way to communicate on a social media platform, without everyone having to see your conversation. It is also another form of getting in contact with somebody else, incase you have no other way to get in contact with someone.

Another thing to look for at the top of the page, is your search bar. Here, is like any other search bar on anything else. You can look up a specific user, idea, hashtag, or etc. The next icon, directly beside this, is your profile. Here you can look at all the specific things that you have posted or go into your settings to change any information that you would like to adjust.

How Do I Incorporate Twitter in My Classroom?
For me, using Twitter, in an elementary classroom, seems a bit odd. Though, I chose to do some research to be inspired by. Oh boy did I find some things! I found an article, on Teach Hub, that gives fifty ways to use Twitter in a classroom.

One example they gave was, live tweeting field trips. After reading that, maybe you're asking, "What does that mean?" Well, Twitter, has the option, to start a live feed. Parents always want to know what their kids are doing. This is a great way for them to see what their kids are doing/seeing. Not all parents are available to be volunteers for field trips, for multiple reasons, and that's ok. But, they may have really wanted to go. This gives them a way to connect with their child. They could have their own Twitter account and check to see what their student is doing, while they are at work.

Another example I found and thought was very well thought out, was using Twitter for role play. What is meant by this, is creating either your Twitter account or by making a Twitter account, to search or embody a person. For example, in history, let's say that you are learning about Leonardo Da Vinci. Maybe, you use Twitter to find hashtags, quotes, or photos to share with your students. Maybe, you decide to create an account, with the name, Leonardo Da Vinci. You can tweet as him! Students will get the opportunity to view Leonardo Da Vinci through 21st Century means. It is relatable and accessible to them.

Another idea, that I found elsewhere, is to have a "Twitter board", in the classroom. Thinking about this for an elementary classroom, I would create a creative board that replicates a Twitter newsfeed. For a visual example, you can look at the picture beside this paragraph. The way that this teacher used it, is for an exit ticket. Their example, was asking, "The answer is 86. What is the question?" Then students grabbed their own tweet strip to create a math equation that fit the question. This is a great way to get all students involved in class discussion/participation. They really don't even have to talk, they just get to write down their own ideas.

It is also a great way to see what your students know, each student could come up with a different equation or they could all the be the same. This is their time to be creative. It is also a time to do a sort of formative assessment with your class. Maybe they show that they really understand one topic very well, but could use some help in another. This activity also leaves for immediate feedback.

Another great thing about this idea, is that it can be used for any content area or for any type of question. You could use it to discuss themes of a book. It can be used to take a poll in what students want to do next. Maybe you use it to share one good thing that happened that day. The possibilities are truly endless. This also provides a safe way for younger students to interact with Twitter. You do not have to worry about anything inappropriate going on or students trying to use or do something else.

My Experience and Opinion
I have said before, that I did not join the Twitter community until about two years ago. Twitter never really interested me in the beginning. It wasn't until I was in a politics course in college that I used Twitter. I of course knew about it and knew how it worked, but I never really got the point.

The way that my professor used it, was for a line of communication. Ever since he began teaching this course, he created a hashtag, #HPUPolitics. This was a way for him to share news feed and articles for this course with his students. We were expected to keep up and check on it daily. There were times when he would use the post in his class discussion or he used it to plan a quiz for us the next day.

This was a super easy way to stay connected with the class. While I still may not be a Twitter user, I like the idea of using hashtags to stay connected to a certain community or idea. It was specific to the class and I didn't have to go on a wild goose chase to find it. Twitter gives you to option to receive notifications on anything that you want to follow. So, this includes hashtags, as well. For some students, especially ones in college, it is a lot more convenient to look at our twitter for class news than our emails. Let's be honest, most of us are more likely to keep updated and have the app on all of our devices than that of our emails.

The biggest feature and pro to this app, is communication. You get to communicate with people from all over the word. You could follow teacher Twitter accounts or hashtags. They could give you ideas about classroom management, how to use technology in the classroom, classroom design ideas, lesson plans, and more. Maybe you want to start a communication line with a teacher in Australia, you never know. Twitter could be a great way to learn about new things, believe it or not. It all just depends on how you use it to your advantage.

References
Das, Papri. (2016, June 15). Twitter Logo [online photo]. Retrieved from http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/marketing/mam/twitter-and-kingfisher-co-created-name-targeted-videos-for-ipl-fans-160615.

Comms, Punch. (2014, April 10). Twitter Layout [online photo]. Retrieved from https://www.punchcomms.com/blog/new-twitter-layout-what-you-need-to-know/.

Miller, Samantha. (2018-accessed). 50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom [online article]. Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom.

Bouabdallah, Mahammed. (2017). Hashtag Photo [online photo]. Retrieved from https://education.viewsonic.com/twitter-classroom-teaching/.

Epic!: Online Book Resource

What is Epic?

What is so epic, you may ask? Well, Epic!, is what's epic!

If you haven't heard of the app, don't feel like you have been under a rock. If you have been under a rock, welcome to society again! Get ready to be introduced to a very tech-savvy, 21st century teaching tool and resource!

When I heard about this app, I suddenly got very excited and jealous at the same time. I love to read books! The fact that books are so accessible and at your fingertips was so impressive to me. I was very jealous that this resource was not available to me when I was a kid, but I now get to use it for my own students. Which, is always a win-win situation!

Epic is an online library full of childrens' books. They have have everything from picture books to chapter books. They cover all topics: animals, science, fantasy, informational, graphic novels, and so much more. The best news, is that this is all for free!! If you aren't excited yet, well I am just not sure what will excite you at this point. For those who are intrigued, down below you will get a more detailed view on Epic!

How Do I Sign Up and Use Epic?
Not sure how to sign up for something? That's ok, I am here to help! First thing is first, you need to either: a) download the app on a device, or, b) go to the Epic! website. Once you have done this, you are ready to sign up for an epic experience!

Let's get started! Epic offers three different sign-up options: as an educator, as a parent, or as a student. Here, you will choose, an educator. You will put in your name, school, grade, and position. After, you will give your email and any other information they may ask for.

Once you have your account set-up, it will take you to your dashboard. On your dashboard, it will take you through six steps. The first is already done because you created an account. The second step is to add students. You can add students through your class roster, through Google Classroom, or by doing it individually. When you add students, it also gives you the option to add parent emails.

The third step, is to get your students logged in. When they login they will be asked for a classroom code. Every classroom that you setup, will have it's own unique class code to be included in that online community. The fourth step, is to assign readings. As the teacher, you have the power to assign reading assignments to your class. It could be something you want all students to read or maybe you assign different books depending on their book reading groups. It all depends on what you want them to read. This can also be an easy way to assign reading as homework.

The fifth step in the process, is to share with families. Parents and/or other family members should be encouraged to sign up for an account. The app and program is all free! This way, they know what books are available and what their child is doing. Epic allows you to communicate with parents through emails, text, and through letters. Epic has templates for each of these communication examples to send to parents.

The final step, is to create quizzes. You, the teacher, will assign your students quizzes on their reading. This can be a quick and convenient way to assess students on their comprehension of the books that they are reading. You decide on the types of questions, the formatting, and how many questions. You will also decide on what days they will be assessed. You can tailor anything to the student's need with this feature.

There are other features that Epic gives you that are pretty helpful as well. One of them, is having access to videos. For example, one video is on prefixes and suffixes. Other videos can be something as fun as hair hacks too. Besides videos, the app has "Read to Me" books. These books are ones that have recordings of a read-aloud to go with it.

The app also offers other things to use as well. It offers: collections, recommendations, quizzes, books in different languages, educator resources, Readerpillar, monthly calendar for activities, and class logs. There are four more features I want to add to this discussion. Epic allows you to track what books students are reading, how many books they are reading, how many hours are spent reading per student, and a summary of their readings and quizzes. These are great ways to keep track of student progress and to make sure that they are reading outside of the classroom.

How Do I Incorporate Epic! Into My Classroom?

The most obvious way to incorporate this app into my classroom is to have it as an option for independent reading or in a station center. In this situation, I am assuming that I have one iPad or a few desktop computers in my classroom. For a station, students can be working on reading a short text and taking a quiz afterwards to see what they got from it. They could also be working with a text to draw a story or example from it to share later with the class.

This could be a nice alternative or special treat for students to do their independent reading. Depending on my classroom setup and access to technology, I could pick one or two students daily to go and use Epic for their reading time. This allows reading to be fun and differentiated.

Another way that I can think of using Epic in my classroom is for assessment. As I have talked about before, Epic allows for the teacher to give students assignments and quizzes on their readings. Using the app for quizzes is a low-stake way to assess how students are doing on their comprehension strategies. It would not be as scary as say, DIBELS or a written test, because students are familiar and comfortable with this tool.

The last way that I can see using this in my classroom is to create extrinsic and intrinsic motivation within my students. Epic has available, what is known as, a Readerpiller. A Readerpillar, is a caterpillar that tracks all the books that students have read. This is a great visual way for your class to see how much they have read. It could be used for extrinsic motivation, if you decide after you reach a certain number, your class is rewarded with a movie day or another thing. Intrinsically, it motivates students to continue reading and enjoy reading.

My Experience and Opinion
I was first introduced to this app when I had a project in my Children's Literature course. The assignment was to read and review forty children's books. They had to be all kinds: chapter, picture, informational, fantasy, graphic novels, historical, and etc. This app gave me an easy access to books on the go.

Epic was such an easy app to sign up  for and use. I literally read from anywhere. I would read while I was waiting for other classes or when I couldn't make it to the School of Ed's library. It gave me so many options to chose from. I was able to fulfill all of my requirements for that assignment and this app helped me a lot. I also learned about an app that I know will be incorporated within my future classroom.

While I may prefer hard-copy books, the truth is that we are in the 21st century, and that means that everything is technological. Of course this isn't the first way to view books on technology, but it is free and accessible. Books can be viewed on a desktop, phone, or iPad. It is a different way than a kindle or e-reader. It can also be accessed from school, home, or on the go. This app makes things easy for students to get in their reading. They already are on their technology devices, so they will be able to just switch over and start reading.

One really positive thing about Epic, is that it allows teachers to have differentiation and universal design learning in their lesson plans. This is a great option for students if they have issues decoding, but do great at comprehending. They can use the read aloud option. That option is also great if you have students who are blind or have difficulty with speech or learning disabilities. It also helps students who need a more interactive way of reading than what a physical book can offer them. Online books also offer students an easier way to annotate or mark their texts with notes and questions.

References
Apple Store. (2017). Epic! Logo [online photo]. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/epic/id719219382?mt=8.

Nicolanti, Tesa. (2016). Books on Epic! [online photo]. Retrieved from http://www.2wired2tired.com/reading-app-for-kids-epic.

Dabrowka, Vicki. (2015, July 25). Epic! on Devices [online photo]. Retrieved from http://www.greenteamgazette.com/2015/07/epic-for-educators-ereader-app-bringing.html.