District Administration - July 2010 - (Page 55)

Advertisement How A Little Bit Of Magic Livens Up Classroom Dry Erase Whiteboards The Mimio interactive system from DYMO turns a conventional whiteboard into an extraordinary teaching tool oland Rios thought he’d found the perfect, inex- introduced the new wireless and rechargeable MimioTeach™ pensive solution for interactive whiteboards in his system which triangulates the location of the stylus so that a Texas school district. But first he had to convince conventional whiteboard is turned into the equivalent of a touch-screen. Roughly the size of a ruler and weighing less his lead tech specialist he wasn’t crazy. than 12 ounces, the new system can be The product was the Mimio set up or taken down in minutes. The Interactive Xi Bar; a compact device organization caters almost exclusively packed with sensor technology that to the education market and was purmounts to a standard whiteboard. chased four years ago by Newell RubPaired with an interactive stylus and bermaid. the Cambridge, Mass., company’s The MimioTeach solution costs proprietary software, the bar crearound $799, while interactive whiteates a dynamic work surface that boards from competitors can run more can summon up images, sounds and than $1,200. There is a substantial difanimation directly from a teacher’s ference in ease of use, too. A regular computer. It sets up in a few minutes, interactive whiteboard requires the costs at least half the price of convenkind of wiring and installation prepational interactive whiteboards—and ration you’d find in a home theater. seemed almost too good to be true Once it’s in place, it’s not portable. when Rios tested it for the first time Mimio, on the other hand, can be in his teacher training lab. shared by different teachers. “When I told my lead techni“You can that bar down and cian about it, he said there’s no way “You can take that Mimio bar move it right take another classroom,” into it would work,” said Rios, director down and move it right into Rios said. of instructional technology at Fort Beyond hardware, Mimio prodSam Houston Independent School another classroom.” ucts provide ready-to-use interactive District. “He was amazed at how lesson plans that can be tailored, and easy it did.” Rios’ district has 1,300 students from pre-K through 12th allow migration of a teacher’s existing files from Powerpoint, grade and is contained entirely within the Fort Sam Hous- Word and other programs. The company also provides ton military installation. After the initial Mimio bar passed online and in-person training for teachers. Rios recently its test last year, the district ordered 42 for high school, sec- became a “Mimio Master” after completing a three-course ondary science and pre-K through 1st grade classes. Another program designed to improve teaching methodologies with 54 are on order this summer so that every teacher in every the technology. “The bottom line is student engagement—how do we keep classroom has one. “The kids love it,” Rios said. “My science and math teachers, these kids interested and trying in the face of adversity?” Rios said. “Those interactive whiteboards do make a difference.” particularly those at the secondary level, are going bonkers.” Mimio was founded in 1997 by five MIT graduates, one a teaching assistant who had discovered that his students were For more information contact Mimio at 877-MY-MIMIO or visit so busy writing down formulas that they didn’t participate in mimio.dymo.com/new1 class discussions or grapple with underlying concepts. A device that captured all of that information digitally for review later would eliminate that problem—and so Mimio was born. The company refined its technology over the years and just R www.DistrictAdministration.com July/August 2010 55 http://mimio.dymo.com/new1 http://mimio.dymo.com/new1 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - July 2010

District Administration - July 2010
Contents
Advertiser Index
Letters
From the Editor
News Update
Sustainability Update
Technology Update
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
The Golden State Loses Its Luster
Seeking Justice in San Francisco
The Push for Public Preschool
Gearing up for the New Assessment
Books
Products
Online Edge
Supervisor’s Insights
Crisis Response
Supervisor’s Opinion
Tech Disruptions
Professional Opinion
Professional Opinion

District Administration - July 2010