The Mimio Customer Care Team works with Teachers and Administrators to make reading program implementation as easy as possible. We can create Teacher Accounts and update student information and placement throughout the year so that teachers can focus on what they do to best – teaching!
We are available from 8 am to 8 pm EST to answer questions and assist Mimio users. Below are the 10 most frequently asked questions.
1. How do my students get started using Mimio
reading products?
After purchasing Mimio reading products, the Implementation Contact at your school will receive a Welcome Kit with instructions on how to prepare technology, enroll students, and set up Mimio classrooms. Your school will send class rosters to the Mimio Customer Care Team, who will create teacher accounts and enroll students.
2. How do students log in to Mimio? Will each student have their own username and password?
For easy access, students do not have individual usernames and passwords for use at school. Instead, they access their Mimio program through their teacher’s My Mimio page. To eliminate the need for a username and password each time a student uses Mimio, teachers can download desktop icons (or URL links) to their My Mimio page. This will enable students to launch the program with a click of the mouse.
3. Can my students access their Mimio program from home?
From the My Mimio Page, teachers can enable At-Home Access for students. To do so, simply click on Enable or Disable Home Access from the Manage Class Roster menu, and follow the instructions on the right side of the screen. You will need a home email address for each student, as well as their parent’s first and last name. After adding an email address for At-Home Access, the parent will receive an email with log-in instructions.
4. My student is a bit advanced for the beginning of MimioSprout™ early reading, but isn’t quite ready for MimioReading™ individualized instruction. Can I enroll a student in MimioSprout and set him or her ahead in the program?
Yes, students can be placed ahead in the MimioSprout program at 18 entry points. Mimio recommends administering the MimioSprout Placement Assessment Presentation Materials to students in second grade or higher to determine appropriate placement. This helps ensure that students are challenged but not frustrated while working through the program. The MimioSprout Placement Assessment Presentation Materials are available on the My Mimio page under the Assessments Quick Link. After assessing students, send placement requests to help@mimio.com, and the Customer Care Team will set your students to the specified episodes.
5. How can I determine if my students are ready to begin the MimioReading program?
The Mimio reading program requires that students can decode at a second-grade reading level in order to be able to focus on learning reading comprehension strategies and not struggle with decoding. Mimio recommends that teachers administer the Mimio reading Readiness Assessment (Found in My Mimio|Assessments) to determine if students are ready to begin the online program.
6. The MimioSprout program introduces letters and phonemes in an unconventional way. What is the theory behind the Mimio scope and sequence?
The English language is full of rules and exceptions that can make reading a daunting task for young learners. Too often, students are expected to begin reading by memorizing rules that dictate sound-letter associations, only to have to memorize further exceptions to those rules. The English language uses the 26 letters of the alphabet to represent 44 sounds – sounds that can be written in over 400 different ways. The sounds in the first half of the MimioSprout program are stable (read the same way) in over 85% of their occurrences, greatly increasing the likelihood that students will be successful at reading the words they encounter. The MimioSprout program boosts student confidence in their ability to sound out words, and minimizes the challenge of having to memorize the English language’s many exceptions.
7. What are Benchmark Assessments and when do I administer them?
Benchmark Reading Assessments are used to evaluate and record your students’ progress in the MimioSprout program and to gauge oral reading proficiency. Benchmark Assessment scores can be used to guide instruction and plan for any necessary intervention. The 12 Sprout Stories, called Sprout Readers™, are used throughout the MimioSprout program for Benchmark Assessments. The 12 Sprout Readers correlate with online episodes and occur after MimioSprout episodes 5, 11, 18, 23, 30, 40, 47, 52, 55, 66, 72, and 77. During episodes followed by a Sprout Reader, a book icon will appear in the bottom right side of the screen. To administer the Benchmark Assessments, prompt students to read the appropriate Sprout Reader aloud as you track their accuracy and rate. Benchmark Assessment results can be recorded online on the My Mimio Page for quick analysis and progress reporting.
8. Does the MimioReading individual instruction program include vocabulary instruction?
Vocabulary is a key component of the MimioReading program. Students learn new vocabulary through explicit instruction, through easily accessed definitions of words that appear in the text, and by learning and applying a systematic strategy to derive the meaning of words from contextual clues.
9. How do the MimioSprout and MimioReading programs support students with special needs?
The MimioSprout and MimioReading programs include aspects that are consistent with research-based recommendations for students with special needs. The programs allow students to succeed early on, by starting with basic skills and a relatively slow pace. The programs build upon students’ existing skill set and knowledge base to help them master complex skills while building confidence in their abilities. Although the core instruction is the same for all students, specific correction procedures are built into online lessons and are automatically activated by a student’s pattern of errors. This allows students who may be struggling with a specific skill to receive additional support and practice without slowing the pace of instruction for the whole class. The MimioSprout and MimioReading programs promote mastery before moving on to the next step or to a more difficult activity. This ensures that students have the necessary skills to complete subsequent activities and episodes.
10. How long will it take my students to complete the MimioSprout or MimioReading program?
MimioSprout consists of 80 online lessons and 80 printed Sprout Stories. Each online episode will take a student approximately 20 minutes to complete. The MimioReading program consists of 50 online lessons. Each lesson takes a student approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Mimio recommends that students complete three to five episodes per week.
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Or, Contact a Mimio Reading Specialist to Learn More about Mimio Reading Programs
