Week 1-Emerging Tool-Mimio Interactive

     

Link: http://www.mimio.dymo.com/

The Mimio Interactive is a current technology that has emerged in the past two years in my school. The Mimio Interactive is an interactive system which you place on your existing whiteboard, and it automatically can transform it into an interactive whiteboard! It connects with your computer, so you can have access to all files, games, and internet resources from your whiteboard. In addition, the Mimio Connect is a free website with access to free and engaging lesson plans and activities created by teachers.  

What problems or challenges have been associated with this technology?

The Mimio Interactive had problems because teachers were given the tool (Mimio) at the beginning of the year, however, due to the chaos of meetings, open houses, and other events, teachers were never effectively introduced to it. They were also not trained how to set it up or use it. It was just sitting in a box in their room. There were many teachers who tried to use it without direction, and had challenges setting it up, getting it to stay fixed on their whiteboards, etc. 

However, once the beginning of the year began and teachers settled into their routines, training was set up and implemented very effectively. Rogers (2003) describes the five stages of the adoption process as knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. Our technology administrative team led us through all five stages effectively. However, Rogers (2003) discusses a “selling phase” in which the person who was sharing the technology “builds up” the technology and shows selling points of it, or reasons why everyone should be using it. Before the Mimio went through this “selling phase” teachers were complaining that they were tired of being introduced “new” things all the time, before they have even got accustomed to using the last technology tool that was presented, the Smartboard. As with any technology, there were some teachers who just were not willing to learn how to use yet another “new tool.” 

Another problem, was that the Mimio Interactive kept falling off of the whiteboards creating a lot of frustration for the teachers. The suction cups very rarely hold it safely on the whiteboard. After a couple weeks thought, teachers figured out they could just place the Mimio on the marker tray and the whiteboard was still able to become interactive. In addition, the Mimio Interactive power cord is very fragile and when broken is not replaceable by our school. 

What societal need does it meet, and what are its benefits?

The Mimio Interactive meets many societal needs. First, it encourages and motivates young technologists to apply their knowledge by using a technology tool. Many Academic Knowledge and Skills can be taught and reviewed through the use of the Mimio. As Thornburg (2009) stated in his article, “Current Trends in Educational Technology,”  “In the isolated classroom, the teacher and textbook reign supreme.” Due to this, there is a societal need in education to make learning more motivating to captivate our 21st century learners’ attentions. Our 21st century students are mesmerized by technology and get excited when they can learn through new technology tools! The Mimio makes learning so interactive that students don’t even realize they are learning! Mimio transforms traditional learning topics that used to be taught by reading a textbook, into fun, engaging activities. Students are able to “experiment” and physically “interact” with their own learning. 

What would make this technology even better, avoiding the pitfalls you identified?

The Mimio has actually evolved significantly from the original Mimio Interactive that is currently in our classrooms. The DYMO corporation has made many significant alterations and released a newer version called the “MimioTeach.” The newer MimioTeach is wireless, therefore the pitfall of the fragile power cord is avoided. The MimioTeach is also attached to the board magnetically, so weak suction cups will no longer be a problem. 

To make this technology even better would be more effective training of the users. If the Mimio Corporation could send out representatives to train the technology people and teachers, the tool might be more quickly and easily adopted. 

References

Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.

Thornburg, D. D. (2009a). Current trends in educational technology. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.