Mimio Wireless Tablets-Amazing Technology

This gorgeous little piece of technology is called a Mimio Wireless Tablet and I have four of them in my 3rd grade classroom. I worked on a grant last year with a small group of teacher buddies to fund our classrooms with these tablets, along with a document camera, netbook, projector, and Mimio Bar (this essentially turns your white board into an interactive whiteboard.) Our grant was funded and the fun began. 

These tablets are super easy to learn to use (we did it with minimal use of the owners manual.) The pen/stylus you see in the picture acts like a mouse allowing you and your students to hover the cursor wherever you want it and then simply click or write on the tablet. You can't see what you are working on by looking at the tablet so you need to have a good view of your board or wherever you project your computer. It comes with software that you install on your computer and then use to either create a lesson or borrow from the gallery of growing lessons. Using the tablets allows you to have proximity to any student throughout the lesson. I own four in my classroom but they can only be used one at a time. It is important to note that they toggle between tablets within seconds, allowing a student at one table group to verbalize and demonstrate their answer to a question and then allow another student at a different group to either rework and change the previous student's work, or erase it entirely and model their own solutions within seconds. 

I used my tablets weekly when I first got them. I put my spelling words along with some cloze sentences up for my kids to complete during Daily 5 (after direct instruction of course) , I created all sorts of word sorts that follow the current word study in my classroom, and I used them to solve countless math problems. After a week, my kiddos were experts at using all of the writing, coloring, and drawing tools.  Every lesson can be saved so if you have an absent student or just someone who needs to review the lesson you can just pull it up. 

Then I discovered the most amazing feature ever! It can record you and essentially enable you to make enhanced podcasts in minutes! After a particularly tricky math lesson, after my students have gone home for the day I go back to the lesson I was using during my direct instruction and record myself working through a few of the problems. Then I save the file as a video and upload it to my classroom site, but it can be uploaded to a class blog just as easily. I usually send a quick email to my families letting them know that I posted a new video so they can view it with their students. If you don't have a site or blog of your own yet, you can save the file and play it for the whole class as review or just for those who need it. 

These tablets are much more affordable than a SMART board, although don't get me wrong, I do LOVE what SMART boards are capable of too! Now as the school year approaches an end (13 weeks...YIKES!) we use our tablets on a daily basis. Plus, I must say these tablets have the cool factor that keep kids engaged. No, I'm not a sales rep for the company, just a passionate teacher who wants to get the word out about cool things you need to have!

Here is one of the videos I have created. You can view more of them on the videos and powerpoints page of my class site if you want to.  Please ignore my chipmunk voice. I don't really sound like that in person, I think.

Trade First Subtraction

Getting to post these videos for my kids and their families has been really beneficial. I still have kids who are in fourth grade now tell me that they have reviewed these videos at some point. We have also created three or four podcasts this year. If anyone is interested in hearing about how I created them with my students, let me know.