In October of 2016, I became a Certified BrainPOP Educator
(CBE). This program recognizes
teachers who demonstrate a mastery of BrainPop resources and notable creativity
when using them to help students learn.
To become a CBE, I completed an online course with the
BrainPOP Educators team, fulfilled supplemental requirements and participate in
the global community of fellow certified educators – a forum for sharing the
exciting things that students and educators are doing, and gathering other
educators’ ideas and best practices.
I have had the opportunity to consult with the BrainPop
production team, tried beta launches of new features and professional
development. And in June, I was also honored to present at ISTE for the
BrainPop Sprint Session (an Ignite like event where you have five minutes to
share your integration story).
I have really enjoyed being a CBE and have developed a
passion for mashing other resources with BrainPop. In fact, that was the subject of my “sprint” at ISTE. However, my best BrainPop memory to
this date is the incredible honor to be selected for and attend the CBE Summer
Institute in August.
Through an interview process, nineteen CBEs were selected
from around the globe and brought together for four powerful days of learning
and sharing. To say that we bonded
immediately is an understatement.
I cannot begin to explain how this group of diverse, yet very
like-minded educators connected and worked together to impact student learning
using BrainPop resources.
We had the opportunity to hear a “sprint” from all
attendees, broke into special topic groups ranging from Social Emotional
Learning to Supporting ELs, spent time with Mitchel Resnick (founder of Scratch
and author of Lifelong Kindergarten), learned more about professional development,
completed an escape room experience and toured One World Tower.
I am so appreciative of the learning, the resources I have
been able to bring back to share with other educators (including a free year of
Creative Coding for Twining School), and the life-long friendships and
professional learning network created during my time in New York City. I would also like to express my gratitude to the team
at BrainPop for this life-changing experience.
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