We continually search for improved interactivity and a better teaching experience for faculty in our technology enhanced classrooms. Various interactive devices have differing issues with widespread deployment in classroom systems. Cost, display quality, responsiveness and adoption by the users being just some of the issues.
In our quest for the Holy Grail of interactive devices we recently tested the Surface Studio, Microsoft's latest touch-enabled device.
Interactive Pen Displays
Ever since marker dust blackened the filters in the first LCD projector, we have struggled to offer an electronic writing surface convenient and useful enough to compete with a pen and a blank wall.
It seems that only about 10 percent of faculty will give up the whiteboard and use any writing technology; wall mounted smart board, pen tablet, even a ball point under a document camera.
Faculty familiarity with Windows 10 is increasing, and the Windows Ink application and a device like the Surface Studio should be able to provide a bridge to this technology without the expense of a wall mounted smart board or the inconvenience of a third-party touch monitor.
The Studio has a very responsive pen, and a unique interface in the add-on Surface Dial which is another tool for on-screen options and contextual menus. The adjustable angle and ease of repositioning are impressive. So far the response by users has been positive.
Challenges
For a stand alone workstation the resolution, size and features may be hard to beat, but for integration it poses some challenges. The aspect ratio of the Surface display is 3:2, and the native resolution is 4500 x 3000. If you mirror the desktop to an external UHD display at 3840 x 2160, the output must be scaled and because of the aspect ratio mismatch the image will pillarbox on the external display.
Another choice is to set the surface to 3840 x 2160. This matches the native resolution on our test display, but it is a 16 x 9 aspect ratio display. Now the Surface's internal display will letterbox.
Finally, you can set the Surface desktop to extend to the external display. This will allow both displays to operate at their native resolution.
But - this will eliminate the touch functionality of the Surface for any content on the external display, and faculty must be comfortable and familiar with using applicaitons in an extended desktop environment.
So far the most popular choice in our test setup is to allow the external display to scale and pillarbox to retain the best experience for the user.
Not a great option, especially for the students viewing the lower resolution and the pillarboxed image, effectively reducing the size of an image on a display that was presumably sized correctly for the installation.
