A review: the Mikids learning software from Miquest

Today I’m going to do a review of the Mikids multimedia learning software produced by Miquest Worldwide Sdn Bhd of USJ, Kuala Lumpur. This software sets out to solve some of the problems I have already written about in my last two posts. But before I go any further, I must make something clear. I do have an interest in this software, because I was involved in its making. I organised some of the recordings, and edited much of the text. The graphics artists used a cartoon character of me for the science teacher, and yes, it’s my voice in the recording. What this means, of course, is that I can tell you about the software from the inside.

Miquest set out to produce some basic learning materials to help the teacher in the classroom. The language used is English, and the software includes lessons and lesson plans. Everything the teacher needs for each lesson is provided, and the material is presented by cartoon characters. The idea behind the cartoons is that they catch children’s attention more effectively than real-life videos, which nowadays they see all the time. The teacher can either use the presentations directly with the class, or incorporate the ideas or the material in her own lesson presentation.

There are four subjects: English, maths, science and moral education. (If you get the other three, moral education comes free.) One of the big problems for the someone teaching English or teaching other subjects in English is to know the exact words to use, and in some cases how to pronounce the words. For example, how do you say “6 – 2 = 4” or even “⅓” in English? It’s not obvious until you know. Well, all that is done for you in the software.

Much of the feedback has been on the amount of material included. Some people have said there isn’t enough, and have asked for supplementary materials. Now if you go through the lessons too fast, then of course you run out of materials. But then the children are unlikely to be learning very much. Even if they are native speakers of English, there is more than enough for them to learn. And there is a lot more to learning than just going through the materials.

But many more customers say there is too much material, and that they can’t get through it all in the semester. Too much? Of course there is too much. Any course at all, from pre-school to university, contains too much material for the teacher to get through. The teacher has to select, and decide what is going to be most useful for the students, given the stage they are already at.

The idea that you have to do everything on the syllabus is part of cramming, and has nothing to with genuine education. Children can’t learn everything by the age of six, and what is important is that they are learning something useful and making good progress. In any case, many things on the preschool syllabus are a foretaste of what they are going to do in primary school, and it is in primary school that they learn it properly.

So one of the things teachers need training for is how to use teaching materials. People who know nothing about early education sometimes think that anyone who can add two and two can go into the classroom and start teaching young children. But as all teachers know, it isn’t like that at all. Especially if you are teaching English or teaching in English, you can’t do it all on your own, and this is where software such as the Mikids programme comes in. But materials developers can’t do it on their own either. They need constructive feedback from classroom teachers telling them what more support teachers need. Miquest has solved the biggest problem, which is to provide basic materials, and now is the time to address the problem of helping teachers to use the materials more effectively.

If you wish to respond to anything I have said in this posting, please do so. I want to hear from you.