BrainPOP is one of the best educational websites on the market. BrainPOP is an educational website founded in 1999. It utilizes animation to engage students of all ages and presents information in simplified language without dumbing it down. Many students have memories of watching BrainPop videos in class as an introduction to a new topic, and have come to know Tim, the human, and Moby, the robot, as friends. Amariyon Lee, ‘21 reflects “I remember watching BrainPOP videos in elementary school and the whole class begging to watch more.” Students love BrainPOP!

BrainPOP covers many subjects, including science, social studies, english, math, engineering and technology, health, and arts and music. Each area of study has hundreds of topics, ranging from important figures to important topics. The most popular feature of BrainPOP is the videos that each topic comes with. Each video is around 5 minutes long, just long enough to hold a student’s attention. Every video starts with banter between Tim and Moby, and ends with a student-submitted question about the topic discussed. Since 2007, every video has been closed captioned, making them accessible to deaf and hard of hearing students. The videos are a great balance of humor and information. The animation coincides with the information, telling a story and aiding visual learners. Because children regularly watch animated shows anyway, these videos are a great way to grab and hold their attention. “BrainPOP is one of the only educational video platforms that actually makes school fun” says Ari Roseman, ‘22. Although these are less widely utilized, the website also has multiple activities for each topic and video. These include worksheets, graphic organizers, games, related reading, and vocabulary.

BrainPOP has multiple offshoots, including BrainPOP Jr., for younger students, BranPOP ELL, English Language Literacy, for students of all ages learning English, and BrainPOP France, BrainPOP Spanish, and BrainPOP Educators, which provides lesson plans and activities based on their videos for teachers, along with professional development, BrainPOP implementation tips, and academic standards. Despite beginning with videos on just a few topics, BrainPOP has expanded way beyond and has become one of the most beloved educational websites by students. Tyjuan Wetzel, DePaul ‘24 notes “BrainPOP has so much to offer. It’s a great resource for teachers, especially during remote learning.”

Especially now, BrainPOP is an invaluable resource to educators all around the world.