The Voyages of the Mimi

Implementation

Since the development of these materials, the Voyages of the Mimi have been used around the country and reached millions of students. It has achieved its goal and continues to open the minds of children to the wonders of science. Sam Gibbon and Kristina Hooper wrote an article in "Learning Tomorrow: Journal of the Apple Education Advisory Council" in 1987. They concluded that

"...evaluations of the first Voyage of the Mimi series indicated that: (1) the dramatic story presented in the television series served as an excellent motivator for students in the areas of science and mathematics, and a number of the characters provided excellent role models; (2) teachers found the materials both exciting and innovative, but somewhat difficult to fit into their traditional classroom concepts; and (3) the production of the materials was extremely expensive, resulting in large uncertainties about available funding and the omission of some intended developments."

Implementation of the Voyages of the Mimi can vary and it can be extremely flexible. It can be implemented in whole or in part. There are many components to this ELE. The materials can be used in a self contained classroom or in a departmentalized situation with teams of teachers from the different disciplines working together. The length of time to cover the material can vary, depending on the needs of the class and the level of involvement of the teachers involved. Students can work in large groups, small groups or individually. Though the organization of the students and the class can vary in this environment, students have the opportunity to take charge of their own learning and construct their own knowledge.

Some of the guidelines suggested for teachers new to the program are presented in the introduction video. I have listed some of the main ideas.

• Start slowly

  Do one episode and one expedition at a time. Add the modules one at a time. Use the Teachers' Guide for extensions and hands-on ideas.

• Adapt the materials to fit your schedule and routines.

• Conduct large group and small group sessions.

  The video can be viewed as a whole group, but group the students into collaborative groups for working with the software.

• Build in time to go back and view the episode again.

• Integrate the Voayages of the Mimi into your math, science, social studies and language arts curriculum.

• Use the resource materials in the kit

• Use other teachers as resources. Find time to collaborate with other teachers.

Voyages of the Mimi | The First Voyage | The Second Voyage

Standards and Reform | Research and Development | Critique | References