Guest Blog: Teacher-Created Mimio Content Revolutionized My Classroom
Learning Exchange WI
Milwaukee, WI – April 1, 2012 -- One of the most innovative things about Mimio® interactive teaching technology is that it gives classroom teachers the tools they need to create high-quality lesson content themselves. In my Title I classroom, I am not restricted to working from a generic textbook and plodding through the teacher’s guide chapter by chapter. Mimio allows me to design my own lessons with the specific needs of my individual students in mind.
Teacher-created content is available everywhere. Mimio ’s own website, MimioConnect™, is packed with lessons real teachers have already created and tried. They are available for free, quick to download and can be adapted as I see fit. There are also websites like TeachersPayTeachers and TeacherCreated where educators all over the world can swap lessons and ideas. Using these websites, I collaborate with other teachers who use Mimio and get feedback on things I create.
Mimio gives me the ability to refine these interactive lessons when I need to. Each of my students comes to school with a unique set of skills and background experiences, so some things are more relevant to them than others. Since Mimio provides me with various templates, and the lessons can be unlocked and edited, it is easy for me to adapt teacher-created content to the students I have. One of my favorite ways to add a personal touch to lessons is to change the names in a story to the names of my students. Hearing about themselves keeps them interested and focused.
I also create lessons from scratch when I know exactly what I want. As a former Kindergarten classroom teacher, I can remember so many nights I stayed at school late to cut out, laminate, copy, and trace different pieces to educational games I wanted to play with my students. Now, I put these activities in a digital format with MimioStudio™ software. They are more interesting to my students, they never get lost or broken and they are much easier to create.
My students don’t care if a lesson is teacher-created or not. They just want to be able to have fun while they’re in my classroom learning new things. By using teacher-created content on my Mimio , I can effectively target specific skills and make my lessons more exciting than ever before. Talk about a win-win!
Guest Blogger,
Catherine Lammert
Title I Teacher in Milwaukee, WI