Thread: Graphics Tablet Help

Originally Posted by spjon25

RP, is it called MathType? I already have that installed on my computers, but for 6th grade math it is kind of clunky. (Fractions and such are a real pain). I would like to project problems that I write out and such.

I think so, sounds about right.

Originally Posted by spjon25

I am not expecting it to convert to text in real time, but after I save it etc. I plan to write, and want it to project what I am writing in real time (via laptop and projector) but that does not need to be text.

I would only use text to post to the web and such. Pretty much like an overhead but with an LCD projector so I do not have to buy markers, spray, or transparencies. Also, to load images and I can ad notes on the images for students

this can be done with one of the Wacom tablets the problem is you will need a large tablet and that is going to cost you a bit of money and a lot of practice with writing on the tablet. But the writing features will have to be done in a graphic program.

The Wacom tablets you see in the store are usually no bigger than a 5"x8" which really isn't much space to write as the tablet is not proportion to your screen you would have to write small to get a decent size on the screen and the cursor can jump to different locations on the screen without warning. I wish there was someone that was close to you that had one so you could at least give it a try.

But there isn't going to be a simple out of the box solution for what you want to do.

The closest thing I have seen to what you are looking for is one of the digital white boards. you can write on the white board using an electronic pen similar to the wacom tablet pen and when you want to erase the board you push a button and the screen gets cleared. But they are extremely expensive for an individual.

Originally Posted by RoyalPain

this can be done with one of the Wacom tablets the problem is you will need a large tablet and that is going to cost you a bit of money and a lot of practice with writing on the tablet. But the writing features will have to be done in a graphic program.

The Wacom tablets you see in the store are usually no bigger than a 5"x8" which really isn't much space to write as the tablet is not proportion to your screen you would have to write small to get a decent size on the screen and the cursor can jump to different locations on the screen without warning. I wish there was someone that was close to you that had one so you could at least give it a try.

But there isn't going to be a simple out of the box solution for what you want to do.

The closest thing I have seen to what you are looking for is one of the digital white boards. you can write on the white board using an electronic pen similar to the wacom tablet pen and when you want to erase the board you push a button and the screen gets cleared. But they are extremely expensive for an individual.

I know I wish that I had a Smart Board as well, but with my classroom set up, I cannot even have one of the fake ones because I do not even have a white board (I still have chalk boards) We have 2 Smart Boards at our school, but none by my classroom (one in the 500 level, and one in the library)

I was looking at the Bamboo tablets and the ones that are a step up. I liked the size of the Adesso, but I did not like the fact that it was a battery operated system and not USB powered.

Okay does anyone here have experience with the Graphire by Wacom? I found one, and seems to be what I need, especially that it has bluetooth, and I can walk around my classroom with the table which is nice. Also, experience with the Adesso CTz12 which is USB powered and has a large active area. I really want to get rid of my overhead and try using this stuff.

This may help.
livescribe.com

Originally Posted by Subhuman15

This may help.
livescribe.com

Only problem with that is that connecting it to an LCD projector and a laptop to share as you are writing. I like the graphics tablet so that I can import photos and such for science and be able to make notes and diagram on them as I teach. This is important with earth science where things take thousands of years to occur

Id say go with Wacom. I have used plenty of them, and never really heard of any problems. They are the biggest player on the tablet market.

Originally Posted by spjon25

I know I wish that I had a Smart Board as well, but with my classroom set up, I cannot even have one of the fake ones because I do not even have a white board (I still have chalk boards) We have 2 Smart Boards at our school, but none by my classroom (one in the 500 level, and one in the library)

That's too bad, because it sounds like a Smart Board is exactly what you are looking for.

I love teaching math on a smart board, because i can work out a problem on the board, and then just make a new page for the next problem, and can go back and refer to the previous problem for students who fall behind, or for those times when I show them that the concept is the same between the two problems. It also comes in handy when we are graphing equations. I don't save my notes like you are trying to do, though. I also don't use the handwriting recognition either. I guess I just never needed it.