Binary People & BrainPop

This is my son's favorite t-shirt.  We got it for his birthday last year from ThinkGeek.com. Even though I consider myself to be a tech savvy person (otherwise I wouldn't be writing this blog!) I didn't get the joke. Probably because I didn't understand "binary".  Once my giggling teen brought me up to speed of the marvels of 1's and 0's, I finally understood the shirt was referring to "2" instead of "10".

What's nice to know is that I could have found an easy to understand explanation from the dynamic cartoon duo, Tim and Moby, at BrainPOP.com.

My family has been big fans of this website since we began homeschooling - many years ago.  Watching these fun, but educational videos, really played a role in my both my boys' ability to learn complex things in a very simple manner.  And, since BrainPOP is loved by learners of all ages, I often found myself watching the videos alongside of my kids.

Even though a subscription to BrainPOP is not a free, this is one of those resources that is actually worth the money.  Once you start nosing around the website you will discover they have cartoon lessons in:  Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Engineering, Technology, Health, Art, and Music.

The cost of subscribing to BrainPOP varies. The different levels of membership include: Homeschool, Family, Public School, Virtual School, Public Library, etc.  In this instance, the rates for a single user for Homeschool vs. Family seem to be the same: $99 per year.

To reduce the cost, you can apply a promo code to receive a discount. After doing a quick Google Search, I found a promo code at the website: retailmenot.com for 15% off.  This saving of $11.88, brings the subscription price down to $87.12 for one year.   

If it's still not in your budget to purchase a subscription... all is not lost.  There are several video lessons on their website that you can watch for free.  In addition, if you'd like temporary access to ALL of their videos, you can signup for a free 5-day trial.  Hmm... maybe this is a good time to put that mailinator email service to some good use?  Many public libraries have a site license to BrainPOP, so be sure to check with your local librarian.  Finally, if you happen to take any classes through a virtual, distance ed, or online school, they might have a subscription to BrainPOP.