What is BrainPOP?

Happy New Year!

Today I am sharing with you a wonderful web site that will enhance learning for your students.  BrainPOP is an animated, curriculum-based program that enhances student learning by engaging the student through video tutorials.  BrainPOP uses animated characters, robots, diagrams and more to motivate and engage the learner.  BrainPOP also offers free lesson plans, activities and sample video tutorials to try out. 

Currently BrainPOP has a teacher community of more than 125,000 people.  They have even completed a research study on the effect of BrainPOP on students.  To download this PDF click on the picture below:

They have hundreds and hundreds of videos to view. To see how many videos they have just alone in Science, simply click on the picture below.  If you see a pink oval shape that says FREE, then you can view the video without a subscription. To see all the videos yourself, click on the picture below and it will take you to their site.

They have over 50 free videos you can view on their entire web site. If you want to see their Science Units, simply click on the picture below.

If you have never tried out brain pop, you can vist them by clicking on the blue link: http://www.brainpop.com/  BrainPOP is for grades 4 - 8.  It is also a subscription based web site.  If you want to get it for your home use, it will be a $99 investment per year.  Well worth the investment if you use the videos to enhance learning.

Once you arrive at the site simply click on the academic area you are interested in. You can view free videos in Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Art & Music, Health and Engineering and Technology.  Once you click on the Subject area, you can narrow down your search by clicking in the content area, or you can click on the link on the left side that says See All ______ Movies.  Once all the videos pull up, look for the words free next to the small pictures and clickon it.  Once you click on it, the video will begin to load and follow the instructions on the screen.

After you click on the "Click Here To Play The Movie" you can see the video.  Most videos are anywhere from 3 minutes to 5 minutes long.  After the video you can give your students an assessment or a quiz by clicking on the following picture:

After you click on the Quiz picture, you will see the following options to choose from:

According to BrainPOP, the video tutorials are Ideal for both group and one-on-one settings, BrainPOP is used in numerous ways, from introducing a new lesson or topic to illustrating complex subject matter to reviewing before a test. Content is aligned to academic standards and easily searchable with online Standards Tool. Uniquely suited for 21st-century learning, all products are fully compatible with interactive whiteboards, learner response systems, projectors, Macs, and PCs. No downloading, installation, or special hardware is required.

BrainPOP also has BrainPOP Jr. for grades K - 3.  I will be blogging about BrainPOP Jr. next week.  Hope you have a great week.  Take care.

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Teaching with Claymation: Part 3 of 3

Hello

Today I will be discussing animation tips when working with claymation. One of the most important tips I can tell you is to be careful with your background and remember to keep it simple. Here are 10 animation tips.

1. You can simply use construction paper and different color cut outs as well as clay to make scenic items such as clouds, rain, flowers, trees, etc.

2. When you are planning your claymation video, you may want to shoot the scenes backwards with your digital camera.

3. Take 8 - 15 frames per second of finished video (approximately 450 pictures = 30 seconds of video!)

4. Move your character in small amounts at a time.

5. Have handy some wet wipes to keep your hands clean.

6. Avoid moving items in the scene that are not suppose to move.

7. Change the camera view or zoom occasionally.

8. Make sure you set your camera on a tripod and use fresh batteries.

9 Your digital camera needs to be cleared of all pictures before you start taking pictures.

10. Make sure your students have all their materials and supplies before taking the pictures.

Here are 7 video tips you want to be aware of.

1. Take out any pictures where you can see hands.

2. Add background music, sounds and voices. It can be very challenging to use voices to lip movements in stop motion animation; voice-overs are much easier.

3. When adding music use free sources for educators like http://www.freeplaymusic.com/

4. When filming, set the camera on a tripod close to the background. Make sure the background is in the frame.

5. Once filming begins, make sure the camera does not move.

6. Take many pictures. You can always delete excess pictures later.

7. Move characters approximately 1/4 of an inch between shots.

Check out these examples.
Mario's Pizzaria.



Stop, Drop, and Roll!



The Butterfly Cycle


Transformations

After you have all your pictures, audio, and sound bytes, create one folder on your desktop and place all the items in it. To produce your move you want to use a free movie editing program on your computer called Movie Maker 2.
To find Movie Maker on your computer go to "Start" and the program is either in the accessories folder or in your programs file. Look for the little color film real with a tailing filmstrip icon. You want to be familiar with this program. For a free video tutorial please visit: www.atomiclearning.com/moviemaker2 To put the finishing touches on the movie you will add titles, credits, narration and music in Movie Maker 2.
Free Resources
Royalty Free Music Sites
http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/
www.beatmode.com/free-loops/
www.mfwp101.com/freemusic.htm
www.flashkit.com/loops/
www.hooverwebdesign.com/sounds/index.html
http://www.freeplaymusic.com/
Sound Effects
www.pacdv.com/sounds/index.html
Hope you enjoyed the 3 part series on claymation. We will see you next week with another exciting topic in technology. Take care.

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Teaching with Claymation: Part 2 of 3

Greetings,

Today I will be discussing how to build characters and props. I will also talk about how to build your backdrop or background. Let's get started, you will need the following items to build your characters.

* Armature for the Skeleton, which will provide strength and flexibility.

* To create the bulk and shape of the character you will need to cover the wire with foil folded into strips. You can also use styrofoam as well.
* Colored nonhardening modeling clay
* You also might want to visit an art and craft store to get plastic eyes, mouths and noses for your character.

To mold the clay on your character you can use your fingers ore plastic spoons to shape the clay. If parts of the character will move, it may be easier to make two or more clay pieces of that part such as a winking eye or moving mouth. You can also use the clay to build props like clouds, lakes, rivers, trees, etc. on to colored construction paper for your backdrop or background. You can also use sand, grass, dirt, rocks, twigs, marbles and confetti etc.
After you have all the supplies you are ready to set your stage.
1. When students are working with claymation there should be no more than 4 to a group.
2. Students will need to create a flowmap of step by step of the movement of the story.
3. Make the characters.
4. Make the backdrops or background - The backdrops can be done in a shoebox, shad.ow box, on a chair, in a cubby hole, base of a chair, on colored construction paper or poster board (Remember to keep it simple).
5. Work on lighting - Do you want the characters to stand out more?
6. Think about the camera view, taking the photos and making the movie.
Next week I will be discussing animation tips, video tips, filming tips, producing the movie, adjusting timing, adding titles, credits, narration and music. I will be sharing free tutorials and additional web sites for more ideas. I will also be posting more examples of claymation projects. See you next week.

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