Imagine Converting Handwriting to Braille ...
Now You can, with mimio and ATC!

What is mimio Xi?
mimio Xi is a portable device (18” long and weighing only 1 lb.) that attaches to any standard whiteboard (up to a 4 feet by 8 feet), connects to your computer and allows everything that is written or drawn to be electronically recorded, saved and shared.

So how does mimio work?
mimio Xi uses a combination of infrared and ultrasound to communicate between the styli markers (which act as transmitters) and the mimio capture bar (which acts like a receiver).

The mimio Xi and Adaptive Technology - How does the mimio help?

Playback – in addition to being able to view your whiteboard notes as static pages or frames, (hint: think of them as PowerPoint slides), the Playback feature allows sessions to be played back stroke-by-stroke. Absent students, special needs students or students just looking to review class materials can follow the sequence and steps of the class whiteboard discussion with this VCR-like capability. Users can increase/decrease the speed of the playback from the software, pause, or rewind as desired.

Contrast Changes – you have the ability to change the color of the virtual whiteboard and color/thickness of styli – many visually impaired students (especially those with contrast deficiencies) have an easier time seeing/recognizing white text (or other colors) coming off of a black background. The ability to change the color of the background of the whiteboard and the marker colors, as well as increasing the line thickness of the stylus, helps visually impaired students see the whiteboard notes.

Full Screen view – for many visually impaired students, the fewer visual distractions, the better. With the Full Screen view, all of the distractions of the user interface are eliminated. Students can focus simply on what is being written on the whiteboard (and captured in the software) and not on anything else.

Copy and paste – anything that is captured in the mimio software (e.g., notes, drawings and diagrams) can be copy and pasted (or dragged and dropped) into other applications (like MS Word and PowerPoint) that most teachers are familiar with and comfortable using. Once the image has been exported into another application, it can be enlarged or reduced without losing any resolution.

Print - all of your whiteboard notes can be printed and handed to students either before or after class. Handing them out prior to the start of class enables a visually impaired student to follow along without worrying about writing down everything that was written and/or said. Together with a CCTV, notes can be magnified for easier viewing.

Zoom - mimio's built-in zoom feature allows notes to be magnified as they are captured on the computer screen - allowing visually impaired students to follow along in color and real time.

WritingRecognition – this software permits handwritten whiteboard notes (print and cursive, letters, numbers and punctuation) to be converted into editable text that can then be copied into any text-based applications or documents. Export the converted text into Duxbury where it can be translated into tactile Braille.

ATC and mimio - How can we help?

Magic and ZoomText – use these screen magnification tools to magnify what is being captured on the whiteboard ... right in front of the student.

Jaws – by converting handwritten whiteboard notes into text (with mimio writingRecognition), and then running the text thru Jaws, visually impaired students who may have difficulty seeing the notes can also hear them with the help of this TEXT TO SPEECH software.

CCTVs - With the print feature, class notes can be printed out - either before or after class - and then used together with a CCTV to help make seeing them easier.

Duxbury Systems – export your whiteboard notes as images or converted text (writingRecognition software) into Duxbury where they will be converted into tactile Braille.

Pictures in a flash - during or after a class, individual slides with diagrams can be printed out and by using “PIAF” (pictures in a flash) create tactile versions of the sketch in just a couple of minutes.

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Coming soon:
-Custom applications for Nemeth code with Scientific Notebook, as well as others.

Customer testimonials:
Paul Ladd, Student, Tidewater Community College
I was born with a visual impairment. In all the time I spent in school from day one until I graduated, I have never been able to read the blackboard in any class. I have the same problem in college. Last semester in Algebra 2, my instructor found out about mimio. I went to see a demo in a classroom with my instructor and our technology director on campus, Mr. Tom Lee. For the first time in my life, because of mimio, I am able to see what is being written on the board. My instructor writes on the white board and the algebra appears on my laptop right on my desk. I went home after seeing the demonstration and just wept. If there was ever a use for this wonderful product, it is allowing me to see the board in class for the first time in my life. I used mimio all the following week in class and because I could see what was happening on the board, I made a 100 on a test. By the way, it was my only 100 in the class. I am now in my Summer semester and am still using the school's mimio in math class. Thank you very much.

Download a .txt file describing the features of the mimio XI