Let’s talk about the Mimio as a cost effective alternative to the Smart Board. The cost of the Mimio is as follows: (Smartboard baseline system = $1400)

Baseline system - $549
Baseline System + Interactive Capture - $699
Wireless Access - $199

Review:

• Mimio attaches to any flat surface and that surface becomes an electronic white board. It works best on a white surface simply because of the visibility image projected by the LCD projector. Mimio has the ability to change the size of the electronic whiteboard space to whatever the size is being projected by the LCD projector (up to 4′ x 8′). This image is larger than the Smart Board image.

• Mimio does implement 95%+ of the features found with the Smart Board. So I consider this a “push”. The Smart tool bar might be a little more “friendly” than Mimio’s but that might be just because I am more comfortable with the Smart Boards’s configuration.

• “Cons” are minor but include:

• Must use the mimio pen. The pen costs $70 to replace.
• The unit does use AA Batteries, so there would have to be a supply of batteries available.
• When copying images, there is not a “free form” feature like with the Smart Board, but the other Smart copy image features exist

• Software license is similar to Smart. That is once you buy the product, any system can utilize the software.

• “WOW” factor - The Capture and Save addition permits writing and drawing on the white board to be saved as digital ink without having an LCD projector! Imagine a teacher (I picture an Algebra teacher) who is used to solving equations on the board and then erasing the work to do the next equation. And this teacher is reluctant to use the electronic white board.

Well, with Mimio and the add in, this teacher does not have to change his/her style. They add technological impact to their classroom by pushing a capture button on the Mimio before they erase the screen. Mimio will send a image capture to the computer. Now at the end of class the teacher has an image of each problem that can be posted on a web site or printed out for students.

Recommendation. I recommend that Mimio as part of a electronic board solution. Because Mimio takes up less space and is less expensive, it make sense to consider a beta project with Mimio. I think any final solution should include a combination of Smart and Mimio products.