Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates unveiled the Microsoft Surface, a tabletop computer that reacts to touch.The 30-inch display screen is mounted under a plastic tabletop and will initially cost $5,000 to $10,000. It will, at first, only be available in select hotels, casinos, and T-Mobile stores in November. View the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFhxV3rvW0k to learn about this exciting concept. Then go to the company's website to see a simulation of the Surface experience http://www.microsoft.com/surface/index.html In what ways do you think you could adapt a concept like this in your classroom? What are some other ways this technology could be re-purposed for the educational community?
23 comments:
This is really cool technology and technology at it's best. Not only will it be benenfacial in the classroom, it will also be benefacial in people's homes. I don't forsee this hitting the classroom for some time, only because of the price and as always the kinks will need to be worked out as in any new product. The price is extremely high for now, but I would think that over a period of time, just like the rest of technology the price will drop. The question is when? The tabletop may be a distraction in the lower grades where the students may be distracted by it rather than learn from it. I can see that high school students and college students will certainly benefit from it. Of course, the question is why this new technology rather than the smartboard as we have today. The schools really have to wait until the price lowers in order to justify this purchase.
Katie C
It is very good technology. I believe that this technology get student attention. All grade teachers can adapt this technology in their classroom. For example, math teacher can use this technology with statistic content. Social study teachers can use this technology about geography or teach students about the country and the world. However, this technology is very expensive for schools to purchase and provide in every classroom. We might have to wait until every schools and every classroom have the smart board in the classrooms. I agree with Katie that the smart board concept and this technology is very similar in the ways that they both convenience for teachers to use.
I think the surface computer is a very interesting new piece of technology. It would be extremely helpful in the classroom. Students can be creative and fingerpaint without being messy. I agree with katie that this a very expensive product and very similar to the smartboard, but I think this product will eventually be in the classrooms.
think the surface computer is a very interesting new piece of technology. It would be extremely helpful in the classroom. Students can be creative and fingerpaint without being messy. I agree with katie that this a very expensive product and very similar to the smartboard, but I think this product will eventually be in the classrooms.
Erin C.
I think this is really cool and could be great in the classroom. It may be difficult to allow all the students to be able to utilize the new technology. The students can be creative on it and use it for art, or they can find other great educational uses for it. I think that it is very expensive now and maybe when the price drops, schools will be able to purchase them. I think that teachers would have to have more then 1 in their classroom in order to have all students involved.
The technology behind the table top computer is awesome! I think it is so cool that you just have to sweep your hands across the computer and it works. It is a great education tool especially for young students and students with special needs. Sometimes the coordination of the mouse on the screen is a tough concept for children to grasp. With the use of the table top computer they can just use their hands. Also this computer provides wider screens. Individuals can use it for fingerpaint which is great for kids. Plus there is no mess. When the price goes down I am sure this will be the technology in classrooms in the future. Instead of paper and pencil work students will each have their own table top computer to do their work on. Then they can e-mail their work and do the various other things that the technology of computers offers in the classroom. This is a wonderful technological tool and I think that it will be the future of all computers.
I agree with Kanyarat that this technology can be used across the curriculum by all teachers at all grade levels. It will most likely be the computers of the future!
I agree with Katie that it will not hit the classroom until the price is lowered and the kinks are worked out. Although I do feel as if little children will benefit from some of what it offers. Granted it may be distracting but children love technology and love computers. Children can use this for fingerpainting and school work. As long as boundaries are set the little ones in my opinion will be fine with it.
I agree with Katie C. the possibilities with Microsoft's surface computer is mind-blowing.
I wouldn't go out and buy one right away because of the price and I would rather wait for the kinks to work out. I would love to use this in the classroom for group activities. The students would enjoy learning with it. I like that it can plan a trip and teach you the streets of any city and how convienent it is to use with the cell phone. Younger kids learn by touching and grabbing things. I don't see why they couldn't use it. The graphics and the sensitivity to objects would facisinate anyone. I hope the prices go down by the time I retire.
I think that Microsoft Surface is very interesting. Perhaps too interesting. I totally agree that this would be a complete distraction to elementary and adolescent children. As for high school and college, I don't really see any major classroom use for it. It looks like fun but I don't see how it can be utilized in the classroom. With smartboards, the teacher is in the front of the room and students have a view of the board from different points within the room. With the Tabletop Computer students have to be around the table and looking down at the table can become uncomfortable after some time if they don't have the proper chairs. Also, because it's so expensive, by the time schools are able to afford them, they'll be obsolete because new technology will have replaced it. Many schools haven't even seen a smartboard yet.I'm not so sure about this one.
~Shikema B.
Technology seems to be progressing and improving from day to day. There are better versions and new technological inventions being created so often it seems hard to keep up with latest invention! I think the tabletop computer that reacts to touch is really innovative. Although it is a bit costly as of now I am sure eventually its prices will be reasonable in the future. I can see this invention being especially useful for students with special needs. I think it would benefit a majority of disabled students. This piece of technology is another creative tool for students to utilize in the classroom! I look forward to seeing if the touch table is introduced into school districts within the next few years. I can see teachers and students making great use of this invention!
Although I mentioned how the tabletop computer may be beneficial for students with special needs, Joanna provides great reasoning for what I believe is true as well. Students who lack fine motor skills might just have to sweep their hand across the screen. Even after viewing the video about the tabletop computer I didn’t even think about finger painting! No mess! Although it takes away some of the fun of the fun for the students, it would be a less time consuming clean up for the teacher!
I agree with what Katie said, and would like to add that I think this tecnology could be used in collaborative groupings within the classroom in a more direct manner than what is capable with the Smartboard--with the Smartboad, students need to first create their presentation in order to really mazimize the cpapbilities of Smart technology; with Surface technology, students could work in groups of three of four at the computer itself and all be engaged at the same time. (Granted, this is down the road, when teh price has become manageable for scools and the inevitable kinks have been worked out.)
I do think a potential danger of this technology is that it bring students, young and old alike, away from actually "doing" in the classroom-whether it be fingerpainting for younger students or virtual dissections in Biology for older students. While I certainly think that technology can enhance both teaching and the school experience for students, I do not think it can replace the hands-on minds-on approach with a virtual one.
This is another step up the ladder of technology and I think it looks amazing! This is another step ahead of the Smartboard and this could be a great technology to incorporate into the classroom as soon as the cost comes down. Kids love anything that is interactive and this option supplies just that. I'm sure that many programs will be developed to use specifically for educational purposes in and out of the classroom. I'm excited to see when and where this technology will pop up in the educational field.
I think this is an amazing technology that is going to further the use of technology in the classroom. Although the price is high now, it will eventually go down. I think that you can apply this an educational setting because students can use it to complete projects or assignments. It also allows students to work together, thus promoting cooperative learning. I also think that is pretty awesome that it is interactive, which involves students in learning. I think that it would be great for kinesthetic learners as well. The only problem I would see with it, is that the price is too high and it might not help students who have motor skill problems. Overall, I think that this is a great product and would like to see it in classrooms in the future. Angella S.
I agree with Kanyarat, that this is a good technology and will help grab students’ attention. I also agree that all teachers can use this in the class and adapt it to the content area. I also agree that school districts have to wait to the price to go down before they purchase this for the schools. I also think they should wait to see if there are no problems with it, since it is a new technology.
- angella s.
Take a look at the new HP touch screen computer. The TouchSmart IQ500 Series PC, comes with a 25.5 inch screen and costs about $2,000; more affordable than the Microsoft Surface. View this YouTube video to find out about some of its features: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFshFQlA39I&feature=related
The question how soon can this technology can be in the classroom? The sky is the limit in how as teachers we can use this in class. How creative can we be? I know for one thing having the textbooks on this system will be a solution to, oh I forgot my textbook. Having the students type on this computer instead of pen and paper. So you dont have to hand out pens and paper. The only problem is cost. As a society as long as we can build new sport stadiums in a time of econmic crisis and spend as little as possible in the classroom our students will not be able to use the latest tecnology. Robert C
I agree. This is a very interesting technology and there are a multitude of ways that a teacher can use this in their classroom. Coupled with the fact that kids are always up on the latest technology this could be a great way to introduce topics that, in the past, students may have found boring or uninteresting.
Michael F
I think the table top concept is amazing. Its crazy to see how far we have come in technology. It seems that everything now is activated by touch. The Iphone, the Itouch, most cell phones, and now I recently saw an ad for an HP touch screen computer which was really wild. I dont know when the board of ed could be able to fund this into the curriculum since they have already made so many cut backs. It would be pretty amazing to see students working on them though. However I have to agree with Katie C who said it would be better for older students because the younger grades would be too distracted by the new technology.
I do think that some day, when this product is more common and the price goes down, it would be a great tool for the classroom. But as a side note, as great as the smart boards are, how many people have been able to work them with little to no problems? Not too many I assume.
- Alexandria
The video amazed me! This computer is so visual and tactile it can be a great tool for differentiation. I think the tabletop computer is great for art projects if it allows the students to print their work.It could also be used to practice math problems and class readings. Imagine a teacher's reading a book when the students are following the story line by watching the illustrations on their desk? I'm overlooking the school budget of course, hopefully it'll be less expansive in the future. =)
-Jenny Chen
Watching the videos for the new tabletop computers looks as though I'm watching "Back to the Future."
Once it downgrades in price (and size), it would be so cool to have these instead of standard desks for students. Technology just seems like it is improving so exponentially that this will be a very likely possibility in my career.
When I was an undergraduate, I never imagined the things I would be able to do in the classroom using the smartboard. I could have never assumed that such things would be possible. I look forward to all the other incredible technologies that will soon be a part of our lives.
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