Connect by BrainPOP | VIRTUAL EVENT
Connect by BrainPOP: Get ready for back-to-school
Start your school year with purpose, inspiration, and a fresh wave of ideas at our free virtual event designed to energize and celebrate our educator community.
Whether you're a seasoned BrainPOP user or just exploring what's possible, this event blends thought leadership, professional learning, and a bit of fun to help you teach with confidence and create meaningful impact in your classroom.
Join us to connect, learn, and launch the 2025-26 school year with confidence.



KEYNOTE SESSION
The Hidden Impact of Everyday Learning Moments

Jean-Claude Brizard
Preisdent and CEO
Digital Promise
Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Time: 12:10 - 12:40 p.m.
What does it look like when a single question, image, or hands-on activity breaks through a barrier for a student?
In this opening keynote, Jean-Claude Brizard, President and CEO of Digital Promise, draws on his experience as an educator and national leader to explore how small, powerful moments—often sparked by high-quality supplemental tools—can drive engagement, deepen learning, and prompt us to rethink what truly matters in the classroom
12:45-1:05
Teaching With Confidence
Paving the Way for Success: The Importance of Background Knowledge
Lay the essential groundwork for deep learning, strong comprehension, and increased student confidence. This session explores why intentionally building background knowledge is paramount for all learners. Discover practical and impactful strategies using BrainPOP's engaging resources to cultivate and grow students' understanding, paving the way for their success.
1:10 - 1:30
Teaching With Confidence
Differentiate with Ease: Meeting Student Needs with BrainPOP
Discover how BrainPOP helps you build a dynamic classroom that truly meets students' needs. Gain immediate insights to pinpoint areas of student strength and identify common misconceptions. Learn practical strategies for using this information to inform targeted instruction, including creating impactful small-group mini-lessons.
1:35-1:55
Teaching With Confidence
What I Wish I Knew: Insider Tips from Fellow Educators
Connect with teachers within our teacher community to learn more about what resources they use to save time, get to know their students, assess learning, and set goals for the rest of the year.
2:00-2:20
Learning Kids Ask For
Engineering Innovation with BrainPOP Science
Jump into BrainPOP Science's engineering projects! Students will love getting hands-on, bringing their ideas to life, and making them better through the engineering design process. They'll learn to solve problems and evaluate thinking and designs every step of the way. These projects span Earth, Life, and Physical Sciences, making them perfect for any science classroom, STEM program, or innovation lab.
2:25-2:45
Learning Kids Ask For
Make It, Code It, Learn It: BrainPOP for Cross-Curricular Creation
Ignite student engagement and deep learning across all subjects with BrainPOP Jr. and BrainPOP (3-8+)! Discover how Make-a-Movie empowers students to synthesize learning creatively, while Creative Coding offers innovative ways to express knowledge. Leave with practical strategies to cultivate creators and critical thinkers across your curriculum.
2:50-3:15
Learning Kids Ask For
Understanding our Voice: What is the Magic Behind How We Speak to Kids?
Discover the magic behind BrainPOP’s iconic voice and animation style, rooted in research about how kids learn best. Intentionally designed to boost motivation, engagement, and learning outcomes. This session unpacks how BrainPOP movies use storytelling, visual cues, and multimodal support to make complex concepts accessible, level the playing field, and engage all learners.
3:15-3:35
Create Lifelong Impact
Preparing Tomorrow's Innovators: AI Instruction Using BrainPOP
Demystify artificial intelligence and empower your students to become informed and responsible AI users. Explore practical strategies for integrating BrainPOP's engaging content with effective instructional techniques to deepen understanding of AI concepts. Learn how to cultivate skills that enable students to leverage AI ethically and impactfully as both classroom learners and future innovators.
3:40-4:00
Create Lifelong Impact
Empowering Your "Portrait of a Graduate" with BrainPOP
Discover how BrainPOP’s engaging content and interactive tools naturally cultivate critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and other durable skills essential to the “portrait of a graduate” vision. Learn practical strategies to develop these crucial mindsets to cultivate lifelong success actively.
Session Speakers

Bobbi Bear
VP, Customer Experience
BrainPOP

Jon Feldman
VP, Editorial
BrainPOP

Demian Johnson
VP, Design Director
BrainPOP

Christina Knabe
Sr. Curriculum & Instruction Strategist
BrainPOP

Priya Mathur
Sr. Manager, Educator Programming
BrainPOP

Robert Miller
Sr. Curriculum & Instruction Strategist
BrainPOP

Michelle Newstadt
Product Strategy Director
BrainPOP

Kristen Rillieux
Sr. Curriculum & Instruction Strategist
BrainPOP

Kelsie Stocz
Director, Partner Success
BrainPOP

Mike Watanabe
Chief Creative Officer
BrainPOP

Marley Zeno
Sr. Curriculum & Instruction Strategist
BrainPOP
Don’t have BrainPOP?
No problem!
Our Connect by BrainPOP event is open to all educators! Explore how BrainPOP fosters engaging learning experiences and empowers creative thinking across the curriculum. Whether it's professional development, event updates, or fun digital swag to spice up your classroom, we've got you covered.

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