SurfacePro 3 vs SurfacePro 4

As an MIE Surface Expert, I have been privileged to get a SurfacePro 4 to play with and have been doing so for just under a week now. It has been well worth the wait for this and I am enjoying the differences between the SurfacePro 3 and the SurfacePro 4.

The most obvious difference is having Windows 10 up and running from start up. I am used to Windows10 from my own personal laptop, so it is nice to have it at work as well (most of school is on Windows 8). It also means I can use the dictation in the OneNote Learning Tools!

The keyboard is a big improvement. The keys are spaced out and it is more like a laptop keyboard. Finally the space bar and the larger touchpad are actually in the middle of the keyboard.  I like the backlit keys (although it took me a minute to realise the screen wasn't getting brighter, but my keys were!!!) and overall I think this keyboard is awesome!

The bigger screen looks nicer. It does mean there is no windows link on the screen but for me this is no problem due to the fact that I wasn't really using it anyway on my SurfacePro 3.

The specs say that it's faster - I didn't have problems with my SurfacePro 3 so I can't really tell the difference at this stage.

Storage - same as my Surface Pro 3. As I use mostly cloud storage, having only 128Gb is not an issue for me. You can add a card to increase storage which some people might want to do.

The Surface Pen works better - more like a pen than a stylus. Apparently you can get a Pen Tip kit as well, to change the tips. I don't think I'll go that far.  I don't like the eraser being at the top therefore having to flip the stylus, I preferred the SurfacePro 3 pen better in that respect, but I'll probably get used to it in time, it's only been a few days!

• Press and hold the eraser - opens Cortana

I haven't used Cortana much, so will have to work on this - not sure I want to talk to my computer much in my classes....

• Click the eraser - opens OneNote

I had to change where this went for OneNote as I had OneNote2016 installed with the Learning tools and Class Notebook Add in, so wanted the double click to go to OneNote2016. It opens a new window if I already have OneNote2016 open and it also just goes to whatever page I happen to be on in OneNote2016, rather than to a specific quick notes page - it would be nice to have the option to be precise. 

Took me a bit to remember there was a Surface App - very useful if you want to change any pen settings. You could have that single click go to any App if you want and it's easy to change. Not sure why it's not under the general settings though (Settings-Devices-Pen) - having a Surface App just for this seems a bit strange. It might make sense if there was more in the App (apart from a survey), but there's not.

• Double click the eraser - opens screen capture where you can do a whole screen, or a clipping which is good.

But.... I can't configure where it goes, so it automatically opens the OneNote App again, but I'm using OneNote 2016 so it's not much use to me for now. Definitely something that needs fixing!

You can also store the pen on the side of the SP4 easily. This was possible on the SP3 but it seems much stronger now and doesn't come off as easily. I actually don't store mine there, as I have a portable case that came with my Surface Pro 4 kit and it has a pen holder. In saying that, it's a pain unless you are left handed! Really it's storage only as I have to double handle it. When I'm using the stylus a lot, I just pop it to the right of the screen via magnet. I think I will go with the old case I had with my SP3 (although it doesn't fit exactly, may have to do some home maintenance on it or buy a new one *sigh) as I prefer it. It looks nicer and the pen sits in it nicely and doesn't get caught in my bag. It is also a lot more comfortable when using the keyboard with it on your lap.

I like the new login. You can unlock the Surface Pro 4 with your face, iris, or fingerprint. All I have to do is look at it and it unlocks. Love it. It's like magic. My kids tried as they thought they might be able to get into it as they look like me, but they only succeeded in locking me out completely as I mentioned in my last blog. Unfortunately I only got to play with that for a bit before school bound it to a domain and now I have to use my school login. Ah well...

So my time has been spent opening my Notebooks for OneNote, downloading a few apps I use a lot, and getting to know my stylus. I'm having issues with getting StaffPad installed again due to 2 different Microsoft login accounts, but hopefully all will be resolved soon and I can hand back my SurfacePro 3 and be totally reliant on this wonderful machine.

Surface Pro 4

I've been waiting...

Ever since I found out I had been selected to be a Microsoft Innovative Educator Surface Expert, I have been very excited about getting a Surface Pro 4 to play with.

It arrived today.
I had primed our wonderful receptionist to let me know as soon as it arrived at school and she called me at lunchtime today. So excited!

Luckily I had some time this afternoon to unpack the amazing box of goodies. Not only was there my new Surface Pro 4 and stylus, but a whole lot of extras:
A useful "how to use your kit" instruction sheet - I'll be working through this!

• Digital inking display board
• Brochures, posters and information sheets on the Surface Pro, as well as Think in Ink stickers. The posters also let you advertise workshops for Surface Pro.
• A lovely sticker for my Surface that says I am an MIE Surface Expert for 2016 - very nice :)
• Wireless Display Adapter - already using one of these, so it will be great to have another in my second classroom - save moving it from one place to another all the time! (Now all I need is another in my 3rd classroom and I'm all sorted).
• USB bracelet - great idea, unfortunately it's a bit big for me - It slips on and off my hand without undoing it, so maybe it will be on my desk not my wrist :( Need small wrist size ones as this is unfortunately not adjustable)
• A nice bright red keyboard - might take me a bit to get used to the colour but it's kind of cool.
• A Brenthaven BX2 Edge case. I tried attaching the pen by the string they sent but decided against it, but good to have that option, especially for students who lose things! I notice that this case is not available on the NZ Microsoft store yet, so it's fun to trial something you can't get here! My only comment at the moment is that the pen is on the wrong side! I have to take it off with my left hand - great for the left-handers out there though.

So... I managed to get some of my school accounts sorted - got Office365 up and running, downloading the awesome free software onto my Surface Pro 4 so I can do work while offline - this is a real bonus. The one thing I noticed in even in the first few minutes of use, was the keyboard, trackpad and stylus were a lot better than the Surface Pro 3. Really looking forward to using this.

Managed to lock myself out while trying to get my kids to see if Windows Hello would recognise their faces instead of mine! Took a fair bit of stress sorting that out as it kept asking for my PIN but had no way of entering it. Finally I pressed the Power and the up volume together - with the intention of doing a forced shutdown, but as soon as I touched both a screen appeared for me to put my PIN in - whew!

Next steps are to get used to the new stylus - I'm not sure about having the eraser at the top, I'll have to see how that goes.

Must install my OneNote Learning Tools and Staffpad tonight and hopefully get the rest up and running tomorrow.

I am also going to invest in a Bluetooth mouse - I find a mouse useful in a lot of situations, but don't want to lose the USB port. Thinking about adding more memory via card as well - will wait and see what I need once I am all set to go. Most of my work is online, but video and audio files for my music teaching takes a lot of space.

Lots to do - more blogging will have to wait.

Beginning of 2016

I'm excited. After becoming a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert last year, I have now been given the title of MIE Surface Expert. I love my Surface Pro 3 and am even more excited to be getting a SurfacePro 4 as part of this programme. Looking forward to it!
Thanks to Kurt Soeser for providing the header - it is much appreciated and looks great!

The beginning of the year has been mad. I have been meaning to blog for ages, but all of the setting up and prep has meant that I have had little time to just sit and write.

Enrolment
We have 2 days of enrolling new students at our school and I really enjoy these days as an enroller. I get to meet new students and work on getting a good programme together for them.

School of Apps
We have 11 students this year and they have started the year well. Very keen and motivated, and even with all the admin in the first few days, they are writing apps already. I am also loving the OneNote Learning Tools. These are fantastic for a few of my students in here. One has some sight issues so the large print is fantastic and a couple are dyslexic. How amazing to be able to cater for them with such great tools.

Professional Development
I am really keen to help staff this year and have set up sessions to instruct and support staff on a range of topics. Carmen Kenton and Andy Gorton are great support in this and Carmen and I will enjoy our lunchtime duty in the Computer lab where we can help staff and students. For my own development I intend to spend quite a few hours each week working on increasing my knowledge of Office365 and in particular OneNote.

Year 11 Music
I am looking forward to teaching this class, as it has been a while since I had this year level. Using OneNote for all their work and looking at how I can incorporate a lot of technology in the class is the challenge. It is a large class and has a wide range of abilities. I am keen to use StaffPad for all the music notation instruction so I have work to do on this as well.

Badges
Really keen to get these up and running. Just sorting the graphics and we can get started. It will be good to get them out to students this year and see how they will work.

Along with organising Itinerant Music lessons, School of Music classes, MIE Expert info and reading, keeping up with Twitter, and my own life/work balance it will be a busy year.

Bring it on.