www.mimio.com • Pricing: MimioReading starts at $2,750 for 25-49 students; MimioSprout starts at $2,500 for 25-49 students.
MimioReading is a research-based reading comprehension program, which has been designed to supplement individualized adaptive reading instruction and whole-group reading lessons for students in grades 3-8.
Quality and Effectiveness: MimioReading uses instruction and activities to teach students strategies to master the four primary components of comprehension: finding facts, making inferences, identifying themes and the “main idea,” and learning vocabulary in context. These lessons extend the effectiveness of the MimioSprout Pre-K-grade 2 reading program. A print assessment is used to determine the students’ level of language comprehension and readiness for MimioReading. The program is compatible with all interactive classroom technology platforms, whether they are delivered via interactive whiteboard or interactive projector. Teachers can quickly and easily produce reports of class and individual student progress. Parents can log into the program to assist students while they work at home and receive automatic email updates about a student’s progress.
Ease of Use: It is fairly simple for a teacher to set up a classroom, using My Mimio Page and, once created, teachers can access reports, change settings, add, remove, or group students, enable or disable home access, and print materials from any Internet-connected device. The Teacher’s Guide provides step-by-step instructions.
Students can quickly start the program by clicking through a desktop icon and selecting their names. They can get help with unknown words by clicking on them, and they will hear a pronunciation and short definition. Parents can open the episodes and reports just as easily, using a username and password that is emailed after the teacher enables home access.
Creative Use of Technology: Mimio programs are now available for iPad through the iTunes store, but they require iOS4.3 or later. This app will only work for owners of the MimioReading comprehension suite. The episodes contain built-in animations. Students can spend “coins” that are earned for completing units to view animations or play games.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: The lessons, each of which is about 20 minutes in length, satisfy requirements of the Common Core standards. The program is designed to improve reading comprehension for students in grades 3 through 5. It also provides effective intervention for those in grades 5 through 8, although the instructions and animations may be too simplistic for older students.
TOP FEATURES
• MimioReading provides research-based instructional content that has been tested in real classroom environments and is aligned to the Common Core standards.
• MimioReading comprehension suite provides schools with effective, one-of-akind supplemental reading programs for individual, group, and full classroom instruction.
• The program strengthens home-school partnerships by providing teachers and parents with access to the same lessons and student reports, accessible through any Internet-ready device, including iPads.
