Day 3 – The Dual Personality of Windows 8 on the Surface RT
Surface RT for Teachers - Teaching and Learning with a Windows 8 TabletWindows 8 is a transitional operating system that hangs on to some of the old ways of doing things, like the Desktop, and at the same time innovates with the new touch-friendly and colorful Live Tiles on the Start Screen.
Another innovation of the Surface RT is that cloud computing services like SkyDrive are seamlessly integrated into the OS when you use your Microsoft Account. Think of SkyDrive as a hard drive in the cloud, you automatically get 7GB of free storage space when you sign-up for a Microsoft Account. Of course, you can buy more storage space if needed.
If you are using a Microsoft Account be sure to follow your organizations policies about using external accounts. I also recommend that you keep a separate Microsoft Account for school use to separate your personal information from schoolwork.
Before I go any further in exploring the thousands of apps available for teaching and learning on the Surface RT I would like to take a moment to share my understanding of the new Windows 8 operating system and address some of the criticisms I have heard from others.
First, Windows 8 is a new and innovative operating system. By definition that means that there will be new things to learn.
This dualism of mixing the old with the new creates a “dual-personality” that some say is “jarring” as you switch between the Desktop and the Start Screen.
I have never considered the switching between the Desktop and the Start Screen as jarring and I think this dualism is actually a positive. It preserves a form of backward compatibility to the old way of doing things like having familiar applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote available from the Desktop on the Surface RT.
The same jarring argument can be made of the iPad as you switch between any app and the Home screen. Switching from an app to the grid of icons on the iPad’s Home screen is just as jarring but I hear few complain about it.
Desktop – File Explorer and Snipping Tool
On the Surface RT there are two other very big positives of the Desktop besides the MS Office programs.
First is the File Explorer, being able to find and organize your files via the File Explorer is a must for busy teachers. If you use Windows you will see the familiar Documents, Pictures, Music, and Video folders.
Second is the Snipping Tool. If you do not know about the Snipping Tool you need to learn how to use it. I use it so much that I Pin it to the Taskbar of the Desktop on the Surface RT, it is a must-know tool for teachers. The Snipping Tool allows you to copy freeform or rectangular areas of the screen to take a screen grab of just area of the screen you want. This is great for making tutorials.
Where is the Start Button?
The other common complaint you hear about Windows 8 is that there is NO Start button! Much ink has been spilled by reviewers and many have been very vocal about the missing Start button in Windows 8. This of course can easily be worked around.
If you have a tablet like the Surface RT you can press the Windows Flag on the tablet itself to take you to the Start Screen no matter what app you are in. Press it again and it takes you back to the last thing you were working on. The Windows Flag button on Win 8 tablets is similar to pressing the Home button on the iPad. When you press the Windows Flag you also get haptic feedback (vibration) letting you know you pressed it. If you have the keyboard attached you can also press the Windows Key.
Microsoft is Listening - 8.1
If you are one that considers the removal of the Start button as a deal killer and/or think the switch between the Desktop and the Start Screen is too jarring I have good news. Windows 8.1 is currently in beta testing and I have a testing this new version. In Windows 8.1 the Start button is back!!! And, Microsoft is changing the way the switch between the Desktop and Start Screen work. In Windows 8.1 you can use the same theme of wallpaper on the Desktop and the Start Screen making the switch between the two visually smoother (less jarring).
I am testing Windows 8.1 on a couple of systems and at some point I will probably upgrade my Surface RT to the 8.1 beta version. But, for now, I want to stay on Version 8.0 so I experience the Surface RT the same way teachers that received one at #iste13
Until next time…
Keep on Learning,
Tom Grissom, P.hD.
@tomgrissom
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