How Surface Computing May Transform the Classroom

By: Eric Durrand 

In what seems like a shock and awe campaign from Microsoft, it has unveiled at the end of last month the new and unexpected Microsoft Surface.
 

Sufrace is a new kind of computer, a computer embedded in a coffee table, without a mouse or a keyboard, interacting with users using multi-touch technology. 

Surface can track, for instance, ten different fingers working on it at the same time. You can use your fingers to draw, scroll, select or drag items across the screen. You can use two fingers to stretch a photo, zoom in and out, and shuffle between favorite music albums.

And that's not the end of the story: Surface can identify items placed on it, like a glass of water, a music player, or a credit card, and responds accordingly. You can access your digital images by simply placing a compatible digital camera on Surface, or buy music with your credit card, then drag it into your mobile MP3 player placed on top of it. In the near future, Microsoft says, in fact in November of this year, visitors to Sheraton hotels around the world would be able to browse lobby menus, order food and drinks, and pay for their order directly from their Surface tables.
 

And that's not the end of the story: Surface can identify items placed on it, like a glass of water, a music player, or a credit card, and responds accordingly. You can access your digital images by simply placing a compatible digital camera on Surface, or buy music with your credit card, then drag it into your mobile MP3 player placed on top of it. In the near future, Microsoft says, in fact in November of this year, visitors to Sheraton hotels around the world would be able to browse lobby menus, order food and drinks, and pay for their order directly from their Surface tables.
 

While Surface targets mostly the entertainment and retail industries at this point, it already has enormous educational potential: the painting function allows young children to experiment with digital graphics, paint with their fingers, and use their limitless creativity without making a mess! They can interact with applications in the most natural way, not having to type or learn how to use a mouse before they can gain the full advantage of the digital environments.

But the real educational benefits of Surface are still ahead, as Microsoft and developers of educational software collaborate to bring reading materials, classroom presentations, and multimedia resources to every table surface in the classroom.

The computer, in this scenario, becomes invisible. It is embedded in everyday things, accessing our personal information through the Network, so that we don't have to carry it with us. This is not a farfetched dream. Smartboards have already replaced blackboards and whiteboards in many classrooms, and students around the world spend most of their time in Internet-able classrooms. The value and flexibility of Surface could be, within a decade, brought to every flat surface in the classroom. The board, the tables, the walls - maybe even the floor and ceiling!

Just think of a gym class software that controls a large floor display showing moves, but also knows the recognize every students foot prints and track their progress. Or a wall display showing a different historical figure every day, and lets students interact with it and learn more about it by tapping the glass. And what could be more exciting than a tabletop that teaches? The costs are currently restrictively high, but as competition grows and manufacturing costs drop - are we going to see a new age in digital education?