MYLO is a (relatively) new piece of computer software, designed to assist the learning of English literacy, for students from grade 3 to adult.
It can be used by the student alone at home, or in the classroom working alone – or, some activities can be done as a group (and made competitive, if you like).
The basic CD is really really cheap – I suppose I should say ‘affordable’, so that people don’t write it off as low-quality, just because it doesn’t cost much……..but I tend to “call a spade a spade”, and it IS cheap: Australian $20 per CD (that is, about US $9), which comes with the right to use it on more than 1 computer (don’t ask me HOW many, right now… – I can’t remember where to look that up).
Since we are just starting to use it in my classroom, and it is a HUGE program, I am going to keep a record here, of each segment that we trial, together with our responses and a critique. This is because:-
a) I am an arts critic (hobby/spare time) and I am critical by nature, and have very high standards. So any time I approach anything new, I appraise it automatically, and NOTICE what could be better (can’t help it!). That’s why systems theory is right up my alley!
b) My instinct is that this program, while absolutely marvellous, needs further refinement. So, at some stage, feedback MIGHT be sought (even though I am sure they have done lots of that, already, over the past 5 years of its development). If I am asked for feedback AFTER I have become used to using it, I won’t remember as much, and what I DO remember will be much less useful.
So, here is the first instalment:
We initially had a lot of problems with installation. We have decided this was due to our organisation’s network, since it runs fine on my standalone computer at home, and at another organisation (which I met the teacher from). She might even like to contribute to these posts, since I think she has more experience using it, now, than I do. I will let her know this is here.
I decided we would start with the GAMES section, in the hope that that would be easiest to approach. The games ARE fun – but they also teach relevant skills.
The first game we tried was BINGO. It is Bingo with letters of the alphabet, instead of numbers.
You download the Microsoft character Merlin (free) and also Microsoft Audacity (also free), and Merlin reads out loud the letters, as he ‘calls’ them.
First frustration: Merlin pops up on the edge of the Bingo game board, so: when he starts calling the letters, his speech-bubble covers part of the board game. (Suggested solution: Left-align the game board.) It IS possible to easily move the game board and/or Merlin, by clicking in the title-bar – but our students don’t know that.
2nd frustration: EVERY time you commence a game, Merlin makes a little speech (the content of which actually seems to NOT be true). You have to listen to it – or ignore it and wait for it to finish - every time. He talks fast, and he has a slightly annoying accent (American, of course – but there are lots of different American accents…THIS one isn’t ideal.) (Suggestion: Is this speech actually necessary? If not, ditch it.)
I let the students play it individually – we need now to buy headphones for every computer, because we only have 1 set of headphones, and 11 computers. Then, we played it as a competition (with lolly prizes - handed out by me – the prgaram is marvelloys but it doesn’t do THAT).
I started them off with ‘3,2,1…GO’, – and THAT took about 10 minutes, because they are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pathetic at following instructions.. but THAT’s another story…
Th game is self-explanatory (we think), except that I had to remind them to press ‘Stop Call’ after they call ‘BINGO’, or Merlin keeps ‘rabbiting on’ around the room, even after they have stopped playing….
WHAT DOES IT TEACH:
letter recognition, letter pronunciation, mousing skills, instruction-following, and increases speed of these skills, especially when competitive.
The NEXT game we played was CATEGORIES – I’ll write about that, next time.
This is where MYLO comes from. This is a description of the CD specifically. There is also a AU $450 Teacher’s Package which includes all of the support material – but all you need to get started and do a whole heap of very relevant activities is the one CD.
DISCLAIMER: Even though I will use this space to whinge about it, I THOROUGHLY RECOMMEND that YOU get MYLO too - and join in the whingeing! Here is where you can order it online, for a pittance! Come join in the fun!
2 Comments
4 March 2009 at 3:16 am
Hello,
Thank you for your review of the MYLO CD ROM package in your blog post of 30/11/2008.
Having read it, I feel there is a need to clarify the copyright Terms and Conditions of the product you are reviewing.
Purchasers of the Teachers Package (External026)may make up to 100 copies of the texts, and use the MYLO CD ROM on the purchaser’s site for up to 100 students.
However, the MYLO CD ROM (External055), available for $A20.90, does not include any such provision. It allows for the creation of one backup copy only.
It would appear that it is the latter product you are talking about in the above post, and thus are in breach of its copyright provisions by making copies for your home computer and your associate’s organisation.
Could you please clarify whether this is the case?
Further, could you please ensure the above copyright information is made clear in your post to ensure that anyone reading it is clear of their copyright obligations in relation to these products.
The copyright information is actually available under the link you provide in your post (http://wpc.westone.wa.gov.au/Package.asp?AuditSearch=1&ID=8843&HidePriceWeight=0) but it is not clear in your post.
Thank you once again.
Andrew Robins
Business Services Coordinator
WestOne Services
22 August 2009 at 10:40 am
No worries, Andrew! No copies were made – not even one backup…. And as you point out: “The copyright information is actually available under the link (I)
provide(d) in (my) post “!
In fact, MYLO was installed on our computer room machines (for students to trial), in anticipation of Mally Hilton (one of the product’s authors) having accepted an invitation to lead a booked Teacher Professional Development Event, towards the end of 2008. We had to ensure it was ON the computers, so that Mally could guide the teachers through it (without incident) during her demonstration.
We were never able to get the program to run properly, despite professional installation. (As an aside, the organisation has since closed down, and anything on the computers has been deleted.)
Because we were having so many problems trying to get it to work, back in late 2008, I took the disk home (because I am the person who paid for it), to see if it would work on my home machine – just to ascertain whether it was the DISK or the NETWORK that was causing the issues…
Of course It is no longer on MY machine, either, because it is of no use to ME.
Anyway, getting back to the story: in due course, Mally cancelled the PD event, because not enough teachers were booked into it.
Mally has made a number of increasingly indignant posts here – since this post of yours – and is apparently wondering, amongst other things, why no further comment has appeared about MYLO and copyright.
If she had troubled herself to read beyond the only post referring to her own work, she would have seen that I stopped contributing to this site in January 2008 – months before she saw the post and either of you commented – when I doscovered that our community service program has lost its funding, hence I have lost my job…
Thus, it is only by chance, that I have noticed the MYLO comments – now in late August 2009, 5 months after they were made – while just browsing around, wondering whether to delete my ‘old’ blog.
Hence the delay in acknowledging your comment/s.
So, don’t worry – my attempts to interest people in buying and using MYLO will cease here.