Do you ever get to the end of a classroom lecture and wish you could save all the work you did on the whiteboard for later reference?

Mimio makes it possible, and it’s not hard to do. 

Mimio is a relatively small device that you can take with you into a classroom and record ‘snapshots’ of your whiteboard instruction.  This would work well when you are explaining a difficult concept (such as chemical or mathematical formulas) in class and you are drawing it on the whiteboard. A Mimio device will allow  you to take a ‘snapshot’ of your whiteboard, and save it to a small graphic image file that you can put on a web page (perhaps in WebCT or your home page) for later viewing.

Here’s an example of what a saved whiteboard would look like:

Notice all the colors are saved.  Mimio devices will capture in the 4 standard whiteboard marker colors (Black, Red, Green, Blue) and will also allow you to erase mistakes before you capture the whiteboard contents. 

A Mimio device weighs less than 3 pounds and comes in a carrying case that looks like a small laptop computer case.  Inside is the Mimio device which mounts right onto ANY whiteboard in the upper left-hand corner using suction cups.  Also in the case are 4 special ‘pens’ which have standard whiteboard markers inside. 

You lecture in the same way you always do, but when you get to a point that you want to erase the board, you can determine if you would like to capture what you have done.  When you do, a small button on the mounted Mimio device will capture what you have done to its memory chip and you can then erase the board for more whiteboard instruction and potential future captures. 

If you make a mistake before you do a capture, a special eraser is included which will not only erase what students see on the board, but will also tell the Mimio not to capture that spot. 

When all the captures are done, you can take the device back to any computer and attach the device with the included cable (Mac or PC) and the captures show up as image files much in the same way a digital camera works.  You can then email the captures, put them in a PowerPoint slide show, or any other use you can think of using them for.  (Refer to the example above to see what a captured screen looks like).

We in the  CTL are hoping that these devices will help MCC instructors better serve student learning.  We are is working with Media Services to provide Mimio devices for checkout much in the same way a VCR or other classroom device would be reserved and checked out.

For more information about Mimio, visit their website at http://www.mimio.com

If you have other questions, please contact the CTL.  Future notices about when and how the devices will be available for use will be sent to the entire campus via email.