New Mimio software upgrades help educators make the most of Common Core guidelines, mobile devices

Submitted by Lauren Williams on Fri, 06/28/2013 - 10:24am

Wednesday, July 3, 2013— In order to help students and teachers prepare for the upcoming Common Core State Standards (CCSS) assessments, Mimio has updated two products in its MimioClassroom™ family of interactive teaching technologies to enhance collaborative learning and ongoing formative assessment. Launched this week at ISTE 2013, the MimioMobile™ 2 mobile application and MimioStudio™ 11 classroom software will be available for download in early September.

New MimioStudio

The platform for creating and presenting interactive lessons on all MimioClassroom™ products, MimioStudio software now allows students to practice for open-response test items in the upcoming CCSS assessments using mobile devices equipped with the MimioMobile app. The software allows teachers to create open-response, short-essay, and numeric-response assessment questions. The MimioStudio software also saves teachers time by automatically grading multiple-choice, short-answer, and numeric responses.

The updated software facilitates student-centric and collaborative learning opportunities by enabling students to work on any existing interactive MimioStudio activity using Apple or Android mobile devices and MimioPad™ wireless pen tablets. This new capability expands the way students can learn during group instruction, supports collaborative learning sessions, and allows teachers to use existing interactive lessons.

For teachers, the MimioStudio software allows them to leverage content created with other interactive whiteboard software and PowerPoint applications. Users can now edit PowerPoint files, moving individual objects. And, unlike other interactive whiteboard software, MimioStudio software even carries over any embedded audio and video into your interactive lessons and activities.

Teachers already enjoyed flexible lesson delivery due to MimioStudio software’s compatibility with both Mimio and other interactive whiteboards and displays that use pens, touch, multi-touch, and gestures. With this latest version of the classroom software, they can also integrate content libraries built with other interactive software and use third-party grade-book systems, exporting grades and student answers directly from MimioStudio Gradebook to a comma-separated value (CSV) report format.

New MimioMobile

While the previous version of the MimioMobile app works on the iPad, the new version also works on iPod Touch devices, iPhones (4 and up), and Android phones and tablets. Now educators can make the most of all types of mobile devices in classrooms, whether owned by students or the school district. Once equipped with the app, various mobile devices can work in concert for collaborative learning opportunities, as well as for formative assessment.

The MimioStudio Collaborate feature lets up to nine students collaborate on a MimioStudio activity using any mix of new MimioPad tablets and mobile devices running the MimioMobile app. Each individual collaboration space is shown on the interactive whiteboard at the front of the classroom. Teachers can hand off control of the interactive whiteboard to any mobile device equipped with the app, and can unilaterally retake control. Students can work individually or in small groups, while each controls his or her own MimioStudio Notebook page, expanding use of the interactive activities and lessons already created by the teacher.

While MimioStudio software facilitates the creation of test questions for formative assessment and test practice, the MimioMobile app simplifies the delivery of those questions and the collection of student responses. Students can use mobile devices equipped with the app for assessments with short-answer, short-essay, multiple-choice, and numeric responses.

The MimioMobile app is cost-effective and easy to implement. Schools simply purchase one annual license for a teacher’s classroom computer or laptop, and every student with an Android or Apple device will be able to interact with the lesson being taught on the interactive whiteboard, at no additional cost. Connectivity is made easy through the MimioMobile app, which links within seconds to the teacher’s MimioStudio software through a QR code, patent-pending.

“The MimioMobile app is the only mobile device app that is part of a full interactive classroom solution that lets students collaborate on the whiteboard from anywhere in the classroom,” said Manny Perez, Mimio’s general manager. “Research shows that students benefit from more collaborative group instruction. It encourages student participation and idea sharing, and it supports the requirement of the CCSS for more student-centric learning environments.”

About Mimio

Mimio is a global leader in interactive teaching technologies that offer a better way to learn and an empowering way to teach. As part of Newell Rubbermaid's global portfolio of leading brands, Mimio designs innovative, affordable educational technologies and solutions to increase effectiveness and engagement in K-12 classrooms. For more information, visit mimio.com.

Follow Mimio on Twitter @MimioTechnology and "Like" us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Mimio.Technology.