TECHNOLOGY MINI-GRANT PROPOSAL

Name of Applicant Ashley Allgood

Administrators Name William Bo Ford
District/School Brookwood High School
District/School Address 1255 Dogwood Rd, Snellville GA 30078
Applicants E-mail Ashley_allgood@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Date 7/10/2015 Total Cost of Project: $350.00

(up to $500.00)

Title of Project: Improving Student Engagement Through BrainPop

Improving Student Learning Through BrainPop

I.

Why is this project important (describe the need)?

In order to achieve our School Improvement Goal of increasing student performance on standardized
testing and increasing the graduation rate, we must increase student engagement in the classroom.
Numerous studies (http://www.edutopia.org/blog/engage-with-7x-the-effect-todd-finley) have shown
that traditional lessons, where the teacher lectures students, are not engaging our students minds. Our
classroom lessons must contain multimedia and interactive elements. Integrating technology in the
classroom will excite students; thereby, increasing student engagement and performance. BrainPops
website and mobile application would help teachers effectively integrate technology into their
curriculum. BrainPop contains animated videos, games, quizzes, and other content-related materials for
teachers to use in their lesson plans. BrainPop materials cover a wide range of curriculum and are
aligned with the Common Core standards. By incorporating BrainPop into the classroom, teachers will
easily be able to create more engaging lessons. BrainPop also has a site for English Language Learners.
It is important to help and engage our EL students, since this subgroup is struggling to pass standardized
tests and are frequently dropping out of school. Studies of BrainPop
(http://educators.brainpop.com/printable/study-effectiveness-brainpop-full-report/) illustrate that
students who use BrainPop have a greater increase in performance than their peers who do not use
BrainPop.
II.

What would you like to accomplish (describe the unit or lesson and list instructional
objectives)?

I would like to improve daily classroom instruction by making the lessons more interactive, multimedia,
and student-centered. I would like lessons to meet the varying needs of our students. I would use

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BrainPop to help teachers address and students achieve both curriculum and technology standards. By
addressing and achieving the ISTE standards for teachers and students, we would provide student with
21st century skills necessary to be successful in the modern world. Since BrainPops contains lessons
and activities for various content areas, the curriculum standards that will be covered will vary according
to the class that uses it. However, for this grant, BrainPop will be used to address the Georgia Standards
for high school world history:
SSWH1 The student will analyze the origins, structures, and interactions of complex societies in
the ancient Eastern Mediterranean from 3500 BCE to 500 BCE.
SSWH2 The student will identify the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from
1100 BCE to 500 CE.
SSWH3 The student will examine the political, philosophical, and cultural interaction of
Classical Mediterranean societies from 700 BCE to 400 CE.
SSWH4 The student will analyze the importance of the Byzantine and Mongol empires between
450 CE and 1500 CE.
SSWH5 The student will trace the origins and expansion of the Islamic World between 600 CE
and 1300 CE.
SSWH6 The student will describe the diverse characteristics of early African societies before
1800 CE.
SSWH7 The student will analyze European medieval society with regard to culture, politics,
society, and economics.
SSWH8 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in
Central and South America.
SSWH9 The student will analyze change and continuity in the Renaissance and Reformation.
SSWH10 The student will analyze the impact of the age of discovery and expansion into the
Americas, Africa, and Asia.
SSWH11 Students will investigate political and social changes in Japan and in China from the
seventeenth century CE to mid-nineteenth century CE.
SSWH12 The student will examine the origins and contributions of the Ottoman, Safavid, and
Mughal empires.
SSWH13 The student will examine the intellectual, political, social, and economic factors that
changed the world view of Europeans.
SSWH14 The student will analyze the Age of Revolutions and Rebellions.
SSWH15 The student will be able to describe the impact of industrialization, the rise of
nationalism, and the major characteristics of worldwide imperialism.
SSWH16 The student will demonstrate an understanding of long-term causes of World War I and
its global impact.
SSWH17 The student will be able to identify the major political and economic factors that
shaped world societies between World War I and World War II.
SSWH18 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the global political, economic, and
social impact of World War II.
SSWH19 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the global social, economic, and
political impact of the Cold War and decolonization from 1945 to 1989.
SSWH20 The student will examine change and continuity in the world since the 1960s.
SSWH21 The student will analyze globalization in the contemporary world.

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III.

How will you complete the work?

A. Describe how the instructional objectives will be met.
Two teachers, one social studies teacher and one English Language learner support teacher, will
use BrainPop videos to created blended learning and flipped classroom lessons by embedding the
videos into the classs learning management system pages. The teachers will use a combination
of the BrainPop games, activities, and quizzes to provide the students with practice and to assess
their understanding. The students will work both in class and at home on these assignments.
The use of both blended learning and flipped lessons will enable the teachers to use class time to
address the needs of the students, either by creating enrichment or remedial activities. This
differentiation will help the students stay engaged and will increase student performance.
B. Describe the time involved (project length including amount of time each day/week).
BrainPop would be integrated throughout the semester; therefore, the teachers would be using
BrainPop content weekly to teach the lessons within larger units. BrainPop content will be used
for two-four hours per week throughout the year. For one unit, the teachers will create blended
learning lessons that would take about three weeks for the students to complete. The English
Language learner support teacher will use ESL BrainPop twice a week to improve EL students
understanding of English in coordination with the social studies curriculum.
C. Describe the people involved (grade level/subject & # of students, teachers and/or staff).
The social studies and EL teacher collaboratively will create these lessons for three classes of
tenth grade social students. Each class contains about thirty-two students with mixed abilities.
The teachers will work in collaboration with the social studies and EL department, instructional
team, and technology team to gain feedback on the lesson design and effectiveness.
D. Describe the materials needed for the project.
The teachers will need a class subscription for BrainPop ($220) and BrainPop ESL ($130). The
students will be using web-connected devices (i.e. tablets, smartphones, and computers) to
complete the digital elements of the unit. Due to the school wide, Bring Your Own Device
initiative, students will likely be using their own personal device. However, to ensure equitable
access, the teachers will borrow devices from the media center for classroom use.

IV. What is the timeline for assessing accomplishments and objectives (describe program evaluation
procedure)?
The BrainPop project will be assessed at the midpoint and end of each semester. The students
and parents will be asked to complete an online Google Form (www.google.com/drive) survey in
order to gain feedback and insight to how they feel the blended lessons and integration of
BrainPop are working. The social studies and EL teacher will review the both formative and
summative assessments in order to determine whether or not there is increase student
engagement and performance. The summative assessments will be compared to the students
summative assessments from the previous year in social studies to further determine if the
students are improving. If the use of BrainPop in these social studies classes is effective, the
BrainPop would be implemented school wide the following year.

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V. How will the students be assessed (Include how student progress will be assessed and reported to
students, parents, teachers, and others)?
Each unit, the students will be assessed through formative assessments, such as observations,
discussions, polling, self-assessments, and questioning. At the end of each unit, students will
have a summative assessment, either a test or project, to gauge their overall understanding of the
unit and to determine if they have met the standards. The formative assessment results will be
gathered and summarized before they will be posted on the eclass discussion board for students
and parents to see. The summative assessments will be reported to students, parents, and
teachers in grade form.
VI. What is the proposed budget? Include information on the following:
A. Materials/supplies
a. Class subscription to BrainPop $220.00
b. Class subscription to BrainPop ESL $130.00
B. Equipment no cost due to BYOD initiative and school-owned devices
C. Total Cost of Proposed Project - $350.00
D. Additional Funding Sources
TECHNOLOGY MINI-GRANT
EVALUATION FORM/Scoring Rubric
Total Points: __________
1.

Impacts a variety of skill levels and/or learning styles or impacts an important target population.
Possible number of points: 40 __________

2. Clearly identifies standards and learning objectives being addressed.

Possible number of points: 40 __________
3. Pedagogically sound, based on research and/or best practices.
Possible number of points: 40 __________
4. Clear plan for assessment of project and goals with examples of implementation methods.
Possible number of points: 40 __________
5. Impacts large number of students and/or can be recycled/reused.
Possible number of points: 40 __________
General Comments:

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Adapted from: The Education Foundation of Oconee County, Inc.

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