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Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
Microsoft Surface Pilot
Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in
Niagara Catholic Classrooms
Vision Microsoft and Niagara Catholic are committed to help student learning. Utilizing Microsoft Surface Tablets
can help improve the way educators and learners will interact in a variety of ways. These interactions can
foster real-time student collaboration and will help see positive impacts on student engagement. Increased
engagement can help lead to improved student social interaction, content retention, and motivation.
The use of the Microsoft technologies could help provide increased opportunities for learners to carry out
activities that simulate the work place, community and other relevant contexts. Assessment can be both
formative and summative.
Teachers will use technology to add greater capacity to their planning, and help provide more diverse
activities and resources. The diverse nature of the activities will enhance the range of teaching styles teachers
can adopt. Access to a diverse range of multimedia and high quality digital content will support their lessons
and help improve student engagement.
The ubiquitous access of Microsoft technologies will help provide opportunities for the universal design of
learning. One system that is scalable to meet the needs of the school, including all learners regardless of their
exceptionality.
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
Tablet Technology: Microsoft Surface RT (tablet) and Microsoft Surface Pro (tablet that is also a laptop replacement)
Comparison of the Technologies. *Prices/Features below are subject to change- use for example only.
Features* Microsoft Surface Pro Microsoft Surface RT
Cost 64gb($899), 128GB($999)* 32GB-$499, $599* with touch cover
Chip 3rd gen i5, 1.7ghz , Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVidia T30,
Screen Size & Resolution
10.6, 1920x1080 (HD) 10.6|, 1366x768
Ram 4GB DDR2 2GB
Operating System Windows 8 Pro Windows RT
Weight 2lbs 676 grams
Storage 64GB(29 available) or 128GB(89 available)
32GB(unknown available)
Points of Touch 10 5
Standard Warranty 1 year limited warranty 1 year limited warranty
Wireless 802.1 a/b/g/n + Blue Tooth 4.0 8021 a/b/g/n + Blue Tooth 4.0
Integrated Camera(s) Front/Rear way Camera (HD) Front/Rear way Camera (HD)
Video Out Mini Display Port HD Video Out
Microphone(s) 1 2
Storage Slot Micro SDXC Micro SDXC
USB 1 USB 3.0 1 USB 2.0
Headphone Jack 1 1
Speakers Stereo Speakers Stereo Speakers
Sensors Ambient Light Sensor/Accelerometer/Gyroscope/Magnetometer
Ambient Light Sensor/Accelerometer/Gyroscope/Magnetometer
Software 1 month Office 365 Office Home & Student RT Preview
Apps can be installed Via regular installation or windows 8 app store
Via windows 8 apps store only
Power Supply 48 Watt 24 Watt
Pen Included
Accessories*
Power Supply 48 Watt - $79.99 24 Watt - $39.99
Pen $29.99
VGA Adapter $39.99 $39.99 , HD ($39.99)
Type Cover $129.99
Touch Cover $119.99 $119.99
Extended Warranty 3 year - $130 3 year - $99
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
Planned Distribution
Microsoft Surface Pro Microsoft Surface RT
Device 1 - eLearning Consultant – 1 - Educational Technology Coach – 2 - Educational Technology – ITA – 1 - Science/Engineering Teacher –(Win 8 App testing) Elementary School Teacher – TBD 2 - TBD
1 - Educational Technology Coach 1 - Educational Technology – ITA – 4 –Student Design team for Windows 8 App 1 –Secondary teacher for evaluation 1 – Superintendent of Educational Technology 4 – Elementary School – group/centre student evaluation
Type Covers To each of the Pro recipients
Touch Covers Came with the RT upon purchase
School Readiness
Select a school(s) which can participate in the pilot. The school will require evaluation of the hardware and
applications in addition to a classroom to act as the control group.
The learning space should not impede the pilot criteria such as collaboration and ubiquitous access (technical as
well as for exceptionalities.)
Some of the recipients include computer science students working in conjunction with the eLearning Consultant
and their computer science teacher on the Windows 8 App development. The students will perform testing of the
app of the Microsoft Surface RT and Microsoft Surface Pro devices.
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
Technical Readiness
Site participant must have internet accessibility.
Program must be in place to create the updates to the tablets on a frequent basis. Will discuss with IT for
installation rights from the Windows 8 store as well as installs to the Windows 8 Pro.
The classroom will already have an LCD projector and ideally other technologies such as response units, Smart®
boards, document cameras and other technologies to determine integration.
Teachers may have a Windows Live ID, however, we will not make it mandatory for the student participants to
create one. Utilizing the cloud technologies and the sharing possibilities of SkyDrive can be done via Share via web
(view, view and edit and strictly public).
Financial Considerations
Niagara Catholic District School Board (NCDSB) will be responsible for the syncing of all applications and
maintenance of items (including updates).
All the cost to create the internet access infrastructure is the responsibility of Niagara Catholic District School
Board (NCDSB).
Site accessibility of the learner environment is the responsibility of Niagara Catholic District School Board
(NCDSB).
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
Evaluation Criteria
Technical
To be evaluated by Niagara Catholic Computer Technician or ITA individuals.
Determine Bluetooth or RF connectivity of keyboard to the unit
Evaluate signal strength to network
Evaluate connectivity to network (does it time-out on a frequent basis)
Evaluate average battery charge time as well as how long it holds a charge
Perform durability assessment
Security Implications
Ease of program installation and distribution
Educational
To be evaluated by Niagara Catholic eLearning consultant as well as teacher involved in the pilot.
Evaluate which applications for the Windows 8 operating system (or Win RT) are effective in the classroom.
Determine how the tablet integrates with other technologies in the classroom (document camera, Smart® board,
response systems, LCD projectors) etc.
The evaluation will also determine how the access is improved to applications as well as internet resources to
foster a 21st century learning environment. This will include access to the Learning Management System (LMS)
platform from D2L as well as the Pearson e-text products. In addition, access to other web 2.0 resources will be
evaluated on each of the Microsoft Surface devices.
Evaluate student attention span.
Evaluate Student social interaction levels.
Evaluate Learning Skill & Expectations to what happened.
Evaluate skills such as note taking and studying. Has access to the technology made these critical elements easier
and more efficient?
The evaluation will be determined by assessment by the teacher, on-going evaluation from visits from the
eLearning consultant as well as data collected via periodic surveys. The survey results will be shared with
Microsoft and the Partners in Learning (PiL) Community.
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
Duration
The evaluation will occur in stages. The first evaluation will occur in spring 2013. A follow-up evaluation may be
planned for September 2013.
Microsoft Surface Tablet – Actual Distributions
The Microsoft Surface tablets were distributed to each of the educators along with a session on tips & tricks of
their use. A follow-up session was held with the high school (Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School) and
elementary school (St. Vincent de Paul) within a week to add some software to the Microsoft Surface Pros.
Each of the Microsoft Surface Pro Tablets had Microsoft Office 2010 Suite installed to mimic the Office Suite on
the mobile cart laptops.
Elementary Evaluation
Upon recommendation from I.T for wireless infrastructure already in place, we selected St. Vincent de Paul in
Niagara Falls for the pilot location of the surface in elementary.
Teacher: Grade 7 Teacher
Delivered:
1 – Microsoft Surface Pro
5 – Microsoft Surface RT
Provided VGA Adapter for Microsoft Surface pro
Installed Smart® Notebook 11 SP 1 on the Microsoft Surface Pro for evaluation.
Secondary Evaluation
In line with the Windows 8 Development, Holy Cross Secondary School was chosen to pilot the Microsoft Surface
Pro so that in addition to other testing, they could test our Niagara Catholic Windows 8 app on the tablet.
Delivered:
1 – Microsoft Surface Pro
4 – Microsoft Surface RT
As a control measure, we had the teacher, along with this 4 principal student testers evaluate another tablet
using the same Windows 8 platform.
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
Initial observations of the other tablet were that it was noticeably slower than the Microsoft Surface RT &
Microsoft Surface Pro and it took a long time to perform the windows update.
Skydrive convert word doc to the equivalent web word app took some time.
In addition to the designated teacher, we selected an alternate teacher who could evaluate the tablet in the use
of other than technology courses, such as Geography and other humanities.
Designated Teacher
1 – Microsoft Surface Pro
Provided – VGA Adapter for Microsoft Surface Pro
Provided – Wireless Router pre-configured for NCDSB_AP since one of her classrooms did not have wireless
access at the point of tablet delivery. Added wireless code to Microsoft Surface Pro.
Teachers were informed about the following tablet evaluations.
From the Teacher Perspective
Did they find the use of the tablet gloves beneficial?
How long was the battery life? Does the battery charge quickly? Did the VGA adapter work well?
Did they find the keyboard useful/essential, and which version (type or touch) did they prefer?
Did they find themselves switching to desktop mode that resembles Windows 7 or did they utilize the Windows 8 tile
system?
What Windows 8 apps did they find would be useful for their teaching? If the apps were free, what ads were shown
and were they appropriate for classroom use?
How well did the tablet integrate with other technology in their classroom? (SMART® board, document cameras etc.)
How well did the tablet perform when trying to access web 2.0 resources, the learning management system (lms) that
we utilize for eLearning and Pearson eText?
How well did they like the integration of activities on the device with SkyDrive for storing, collaborating and displaying?
How did you find using the pen? Did the pen aid or distract from what you were doing?
How did the tablet compare to the existing laptops provided on the mobile carts?
Did you experience problems with connectivity to our wireless network with the device?
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
From the Student Perspective
In addition to their opinion on the keyboard and the glove use, students were to evaluate the educational and
productivity Windows 8 apps and their effectiveness for them as a student.
What tool(s) did students use for note taking and studying, and does having access to a tablet improve on their
experience from the regular pen/paper approach?
Did they experiment with SkyDrive and what is their opinion on how it works?
What was their experience with the battery life?
How was the size of the screen, was it a sufficient size for their day to day activities?
How fast was the device?
Did they prefer the device to the laptops that came from the mobile computer cart?
Approach
IT created a user id called “User” with administrative rights to support any installations required on the Microsoft
Surface Pro.
With the Microsoft Surface RTs, IT created a user id called student that would be easy for the students to use and
access.
Students were able to log onto the NCDSB _Guest wireless networks in their respective institutions.
Initial Evaluation from IT representatives.
Microsoft Surface RT
Windows RT can’t join a domain. This was later collaborated by Microsoft directly when inquired with Microsoft
to determine if there is any technological workaround. The Microsoft Surface RT does come with the four Office
2013 applications, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
There is a possibility to map the Microsoft Surface RT to a network drive, but they will need to have admin access
rights to do so. There is some concern that with system files and the installed Windows 8 apps, the Microsoft
Surface RT only has 17.1 GB remaining.
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
Microsoft Surface Pro
Authentication of users on the network is made available by logging into the domain with the same user
id/password as they do so on school issued computers.
In addition, the Microsoft Surface Pro does support a USB 3.0 to Ethernet Adapter (to connect to our network via
an Ethernet cable). Schools purchased a USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter from Startech.com to get this
accomplished.
Conclusions
21St Century Skills
Teacher observation - "Most students don’t use paper and pens anymore if they can avoid it." However, they can
only avoid it if they have technology. Technology, which is portable, versatile, effective and “just
works”. Students at Niagara Catholic found the Microsoft Surface tablets help foster 21st Century Learning.
21st Century Skills - interact, collaborate and publish with peers, experts, or other employing a variety of digital
environments and media.
Students in the secondary school used both SkyDrive to access documents, Microsoft OneNote to share ideas as
well as Microsoft Skype to virtually discuss ideas. All of these features were available using the tablet. The tablets
were used in the development of a Windows 8 app by some of the secondary students. This development
required communication beyond the classroom, where Skype allowed students at several locations to work
collaboratively.
Students in our elementary schools used the SkyDrive to share files during group projects. They also “discovered”
OneNote and found it to be great for organizing school work notes into subjects.
21st Century Skills - locate, organize, evaluate, synthesize and ethically use information from a variety of sources
and media
Students were responsible for the search and analysis of apps in the Windows 8 store. Theses apps were
evaluated in the school as well as the home. Students were able to install and evaluate a variety of apps which
they found effective for their learning. Apps were installed for time management, productivity, mathematics,
literacy and programming.
21st Century Skills - collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
In addition to evaluating the apps, students also designed, by themselves, charts to evaluate battery life,
connectivity to our network, and any issue(s) they may have encountered. The data was part of their conclusions
on the effectiveness of the tablets. They also compared this data to the data for other technologies, including the
mobile laptops that circulate the school.
21st Century Skills - communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media
and formats.
Some of the elementary students found the built in voice recognition and assistive technologies in Windows 8
effective. In situations where the typing ability of the student was poor, the voice recognition was a good way to
capture their ideas.
In addition, combined with Microsoft OneNote, the ability to capture all ideas including the automatic sourcing
the information obtained from the internet was a good feature.
Final Thoughts
While many feel that a 1-1 relationship is ideal, many teachers found that 1 tablet to 2 students also worked very
effectively. It allowed each member of the small group to access the technology but also have different roles they
can play when they did access the technology. Collaboration promotes mentoring of their peers as well as
opportunities for leadership.
Technical Findings
Tablets were preferred to laptops by elementary students.
Windows 8 and the tile look and feel is the preferred operating system compared to the “desktop” mode (i.e.
Windows 7). Most students found the ability to search, the ease of use and the speed of the Microsoft Surface
tablets and Windows 8 in general outstanding.
The Microsoft Surface RT battery life was enough for either elementary or secondary school hours. The average
life of the Microsoft Surface Pro would be around 4 hours if a good number of videos were viewed.
Many teachers and students would list portability and battery life as important features and tablets were able to
achieve both of those goals as compared to laptops.
Despite liking the portability of tablets, all students (Elementary and Secondary) as well as teachers wanted a
keyboard.
Microsoft Surface Pilot: Microsoft and 21st Century Learning – Demonstrating Success in Niagara Classrooms
Submitted by: Mark Di Tomasso - January 2014
The Microsoft Surface tablet keyboard (Type) tested better than the touch keyboard. All teachers and students
picked Type over the touch (the one that came with the Microsoft Surface RT).
The Microsoft Surface Pro and Microsoft Surface RT tablet were considered fast. It was fast to boot up and shut
down, it was fast when updates needed installing and it was fast when running apps or using the internet. It was
faster than, in the opinion of both the elementary and secondary students, than other tablets from competitors
(Apple iPad, Blackberry Playbook or Asus/Samsung Android tablets).
Functionality was an issue (e.g. everyone wanted at least one more USB drive on both the Microsoft Surface Pro
and the Microsoft Surface RT. Many of the teachers still connected a mouse to the existing usb port. Some tried
usb hubs, but didn’t like having to carry one around. However, everyone appreciated having an usb port (as
compared to the iPad)
While most teachers and students wanted more apps available in the Windows 8 store, all believed there would
be more eventually.
The ability to connect to the domain is an Achilles heel of the Microsoft Surface RT. The inability to package a
software image which would include Ontario Ministry offered software hampers IT ability to deploy and maintain
the tablets within the organization.
No tablet has ever worked better with our network than the Microsoft Surface Pro.
For further information:
Mark Di Tomasso
e-Learning Consultant
Niagara Catholic D.S.B.
www.niagaracatholic.ca
905-735-0240 ext. 130
Links
Twitter - @ncdsb_edtech
Linked-In – Mark Di Tomasso
Yammer - Mark Di Tomasso