Technology Tool 6: Brainpop

About:
     Brainpop is an interactive website loaded with engaging videos that teach about various elementary topics.  Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts topics are all covered as well as many others.  Tim, Annie and their robot friend Moby take you through the various videos and accompanying quizzes and are essentially Brainpop's mascots.  Brainpop Jr. Is for the younger grades (k-3) and Brainpop is for grades 4 and up.
     This website is also full of age-appropriate online games and even has the capacity for the teacher to set up a class for her students and allows for the teacher to assign quizzes and assignments to them. The quizzes can be created and customized by the teacher or she can choose from quizzes that have been created and posted by other teachers to use freely.  For assignments, the teacher can assign videos for the students to watch and the website will provide notifications to the students that they must be completed.

How This Tool Aligns to UDL Principles:

• It provides multiple means of engagement by optimizing relevance, value, and authenticity in the animated videos of Tim, Annie, and Moby, and provides options for self-assessment when completing the quizzes. 
• It provides multiple means of representation by activating and supplying background knowledge within the animated videos while also highlighting patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships.
• It provides multiple means of action and expression by guiding appropriate goal setting through the assigned quizzes and activities, while also using multiple media to learn about the subject (videos, games, etc.).

Implementation:
     These engaging videos are a favorite for my students.  They absolutely love Tim, Annie, and Moby!  I use the videos as a supplement to what I am teaching and we take the easy quizzes as a class to check for understanding.  The website will read aloud the question and each of the answers as the computer mouse is placed over it, which helps my kids to be able to take the quizzes since they cannot read yet.  The questions really challenge my students and make them think about the video they watched.
     For an older classroom, I would definitely implement the classroom function and assign my students videos and quizzes to be completed either as homework or within the classroom during center rotations.
     I have included a screenshot showing a typical Brainpop Jr. webpage.  It shows the animated video, quizzes, games, and activities related to the video.