Day 27 – The Artistic Side of the Surface Pro Windows 8 Tablet: The Mighty Digital Pen
30 Days of Teaching and Learning with a Windows 8 Tablet4/07/2013
Welcome to Day 27 of working with a Microsoft Surface Pro Windows 8 tablet for educators.
I have had a couple of inquiries about using the digital Pen with the Surface Pro. At the risk of embarrassing myself I have created a screencast to demonstrate the digital Pen in action. In this screencast I dust-off my artistic skills and attempt to draw a horse using the free Sketchbook Express Windows 8 app.
The Surface Pro uses Wacom digitizing tablet technology that many artists have come to love over the years. What is amazing is that this is built-in to the Surface Pro and is a great value.
I have used an external USB Wacom Bamboo tablet connected to a regular PC for a couple of years. The Bamboo tablet is very helpful when I create screencasts, especially screencasts that require freehand writing or drawing like those I do when I use Interactive Whiteboard programs.
The digital Pen on the Surface Pro blows everything else out of the water. Wow, just Wow! Other add-on tablets, like the Bamboo, require you to draw on a screenless slate. This requires a lot of eye to hand coordination and some are better than others at it.
There are other touchscreen options for PC’s like the Cintiq, but they are in the thousands of dollars costs and out of reach for the average user. The big advantage of the Surface Pro is that you are actually drawing on top of the screen with the digital Pen using the built-in Wacom digitizer!
This harkens back to the Tablet PC days and reminds me of that experience. The Tablet PC really was ahead of its time, too bad it did not catch on with educators as it had much to offer. All has not been lost as the Tablet PC research over the past decade has been infused into the Surface Pro making it an amazing device. The pressure sensitive digital Pen, handwriting recognition, touchscreen advancements, support for legacy applications, and new modern apps all combine into one of the best tablet experiences I have ever had while using a device for teaching and learning purposes.
The more I use the Surface Pro, the more I am impressed. It is one of the most versatile and creative devices I have ever used.
Until next time...
Keep on Learning,
Keep on Learning,
Tom Grissom, PhD
Follow me on Twitter @tomgrissom
Interested in Teaching and Learning with Technology?
http://www.eiu.edu/itc/
http://www.eiu.edu/itc/
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar