A few weeks ago we provided every middle and upper school faculty member with a Lenovo X61 Tablet PC. Although we have been using tablet carts for several years, many of our teachers are new to this exciting tool. As such, I’m beginning a series of short posts on how to “Get More From Your Tablet PC.” Whether you are a newbie or power-user, I hope you’ll find some useful tips and tricks along the way. Today, we’ll start with two simple and free resource packs from Microsoft.

Microsoft Experience Pack

Although a little dated, Microsoft’s Experience Pack includes five handy Tablet PC programs. While each is worth a look, the two I’ve found most useful are Ink Art and Snipping Tool.

Ink Art provides an assortment of drawing tools that let you paint with your tablet pen. Unlike the simple inking/drawing tools in OneNote and Word, Ink Art is pressure sensitive and provides the user with greater creative control. Although Ink Art is probably sufficient for most casual artists, those needing more sophisticated options should consider ArtRage 2.5 Plus.

Snipping Tool is a versatile, ink-enabled screen capture utility. Unlike a “Windows-S” image grab that simply pastes into OneNote, Snipping Tool allows for free form, rectangular, or full screen captures that can be saved in a variety of file formats. The image below illustrates the effect of adding comments and highlighting.

Microsoft Education Pack

The Microsoft Education Pack contains five programs designed for teachers and students. The two most worthy of your time are Equation Writer and Ink Flash Cards.

Equation Writer converts handwritten equations into typed text which in turn can be pasted into a document. While most useful for math and science classes, it’s also a great tool for demonstrating the power and flexibility of the Tablet.

Ink Flash Cards can replace the traditional index cards that students use for drill and practice. The cards are double-sided and accept text, ink, and images. When reviewing, users have the option of presenting the cards in order or randomly, and the cards can be set to advance automatically. Language teachers should consider trying TabletFlash, a comparable (and free) program that includes the ability to record and embed audio hints.

Start Experimenting

If you’ve never used the Experience or Education Packs before, I would encourage you to spend a few minutes experimenting. The only way to really understand the Tablet PC is to play with it, and the tools we reviewed today should make that task fun and easy.

Posted: 05|19|08 at 6:44 pm. Filed under: Tablet PC.
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