I am not really one to write reviews but, so much has and is being said about the Surface.  

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the RT model and as a CS teacher, Raspberry Pi enthusiast and educationalist 

I felt that my experience may be helpful to others in making the selection of a suitable mobile device to augment learning.

Key points are, 

Hardware

1.       It has a USB 3 port, enough said.
2.       The touch screen is accurate, fluid and responsive, even when using software and desktop windows.  It has a great 
           viewing angle.
3.       The Surface feels robust, light but tough.  The coating is protective and adds to the solid feel of the device.  Yet it is not                  heavy.  It does feel natural in your hand.
4.       The landscape orientation of the screen complements the Desktop / Metro interfaces.
5.       The magnetic keyboard attachment is precise and feels natural in use.  The keys are responsive and the hotkeys are a                  bonus that add direct control via the keyboard.  It also saves the screen from greasy fingerprints.
6.       The keyboard doubles as a cover and case.  This makes the Surface feel protected, no need for screen guards.
7.       The on-screen keyboard is ergonomic; it doesn’t swallow up the whole of the screen and yet still displays all the keys and              symbols you require.  Shifting between Caps and functions is achieved through the minimum number of clicks.
8.       The kickstand is genius; it will support the device standing in both portrait and landscape positions.  The angle of the                    device when upright is just right.
9.       There is a Micro SD card reader
10.     There is a Mini HD output, great for sharing you device on a larger screen.

Software

1.       There are no issues with Flash… enough said.
2.       It boots up in about 27 seconds, from cold, from sleep it is about 2 seconds.
3.       The Metro Tiles at first look plain, a rectangular of colour.  However, the true benefit is seen when you receive an email or            Tweet and the Tile displays a summary of the incoming communication without having to open the app.  The SkyDrive                  Tile displays the name of the last file uploaded, The Twitter tile displays incoming tweets and so on.
4.       Surface comes with a pre-installed Office 2013 bundle, Word, Powerpoint, Excel and One Note.  These respond fluidly to             touch and are smart and intuitive.  Users can import pictures directly from the web, rather than the traditional, right click,             copy, paste.  All files can be shared directly with your cloud storage.
5.       You can view and work on two apps or software on the same screen.  Read email while watching YouTube, browsing the              Internet and creating a Word document.  A quick swipe to the left maximises the app, a swipe again and it returns to the              split screen
6.       Closing the apps is different, but not wrong, There are no five finger hand grab and snatch hand movements, this took a               while to get used to but, once learnt are very simple to use.
7.       There are a number of ways to do a task, for example closing an app.  This can be annoying for those who want a single               method to control the device however, it offers the user flexibility.
8.       The app store is currently limited; there are a selection of games, utilities and software but nothing striking yet.
9.       Many reviews comment on the lack of an off button.  You can add one to the start screen but to be honest, it is such a                  useful device why would you ever want to turn it off?

The biggest frustration is that the Windows RT architecture will not support all software.  This comment is not without a sense of irony.  It is like buying a car with a 1.0 litre engine and saying that it struggles above 80mph, or buying a pair of size 5 shoes and they don’t fit your size 10 feet. 

This is where the Surface PRO will come into its own.

So you are about to start your new teaching career.  You have shed blood sweat and tears on a PGCE or other course, gathering evidence for your teaching strands and portfolios.  Now the real job begins.  Here is some wisdom and ideas. Good luck.

1) Read the school policies and guides, sanctions and rewards systems, absences, lateness, marking etc.  If you are familiar with these then you can slot straight in with the department, school and parents' expectations.

2) Learn and understand the school's 'way of doing things'.  Some school structures are fluid and a Head Teacher will gladly support you knocking on their door asking for support.  Other schools will prefer you going to your HOD first, or if it is a Pastoral issue, the HOY or if it is a teaching issue, the Head of T & L.  

3) Stick to and use the school sanction and reward system.  Make sure that you escalate the sanctions, don't wait until the behaviour is so bad that the student has to be removed.  Challenge disruption straight away, try the warning first, then the Red Comment or planner on my desk, then Detention and so on.  Always follow through a sanction, never threaten something you will not be able to do or won't follow up.  "You will be in Detention every day for a year!"       

4) Stick to the school sanction system, even when you are being tested to your limits

5) Set your high standards straight away and stick to them. Students will make a decision about who you are and what you stand for within the first 30 seconds of meeting you, then they will test it.  Stay true to your expectations of students.

6) Share you expectations with your classes; tell them what you expect from them.  Empower them by asking them if they understand or if anything is not clear, then you can always refer back to these expectations should students not follow them.

 7) Always challenge the little things, such as equipment and incorrect uniform.  Many teachers think these are insignificant, however, students soon begin to think, "If Miss / Sir always picks me up on my nail varnish, what would they do if I swore? I will not do that..."  Also think about it, is it not better to have to spend your time dealing with ties and trainers rather than fights and verbal abuse?"

8) When dealing with confrontation give students an option , "you can either stop talking to Darren and come back in and work or I will have to phone home, what do you want to do?" 

9) Never underestimate students' need for boundaries.  They need to know where they stand and what is expected of them, especially as school may be the only consistent thing in their lives.

10) Take every opportunity to contact Parents and Guardians, this relationship can support you later on.  If a parent writes a note in a planner, phone them, if you are concerned about a student, phone home.  Teacher, Student and Parent relationships are vital to successful behaviour management.  Parents talk to each other, they will talk about you this will feedback to students.

11) Build rapport with all students, learn what they like and what they have been doing.  If they have been away on D.O.E, ask how the blisters are, if they are having friendship issues ask them if you can help.  If they breed snails, talk to them about snails, (Yes this is true!).  A good icebreaker to use if they have other siblings in the school, "I never realised that Sarah was your sister, ..., do you get on with her.."

12) Students will try and distract you and go off task with 'friendship' chat, "Miss did you see Eastenders last night, who do you think will win the British Bake off, ?".  If it is not an appropriate time to talk then tell them, "No, but tell me about at break, now back to the task... have you completed section... "  

13) Get to know your cleaner, buy them a Christmas present, talk to them.  A clean and tidy classroom is a positive environment to learn in.  Also, most cleaners know all the gossip!

14) If a student is kicking off big time ask them, "Is it me?"  Most of the time it is not and you can manage the behaviour better, ask them if they can settle for the remainder of the lesson, do they need to deal with the issue now or can they wait till break.   

15) Speak and learn from other teachers, what are their tricks and tips, what do they do, how do they teach students?


 

7 tips for 7 weeks (7t7w)
There are just over seven weeks left until the end of term, what better way to end than with a new weekly tip / trick /tool to use each week.  Below are 7 simple ICT classroom tricks that can be implemented straight away, they require no preparation, cost or time.

Week 1: Monitors OFF!
When you want the students’ attention or you want to address them as a whole, ask them to turn their monitor off. I see so many staff struggling to talk to a class while students are clearly more engaged in what is on their screen.      
Week 2: Red – Help, Orange – just thinking
It is sometime near impossible to see every student in the classroom, it becomes difficult to know where to direct your focus and support.  I get students to load a PPT slide and format the background to bright red.  If they have a really urgent question that is stopping them from progressing forward, they display the red screen.  You can quickly see who needs support. 
However, students must first display an orange slide which indicates to other students that they require some support.  Other students then help them, before teacher intervention.

Week 3: Green, Orange, Red
An upgrade on the above idea, students create three slides, one red, one orange and one green.  Use these for mini plenaries and gauging the general temperature of the learning.  At various points in the lesson ask the students to display the colour (full
screen) that reflects say, who thinks they are achieving a particular level, who knows how to improve their work and so on.

Week 4: Windows 7 sticky notes
Before the end of the lesson, students load up the ‘sticky notes’ and add a quick memo or overview to their desktop.  Next time they log in they have a reminder what they were doing or need to do.

Week 5: Have you PAGED yet?
To foster independent learning and resilience, students are not allowed to ask me, the teacher for help until they have Paged.

P – Program Help (F1)
A – Asked another student
G – Goggled it
E – Experiment – if you make a mistake you can always ‘undo’ it

Week 6: Paint
Paint is a program that students seem to want to use to doodle, let them!  Get them to draw key concepts, keywords or ideas. 
Playing ‘win, lose or draw’ always goes down well as an activity, students take a key concept and have to sketch it. (no words or numbers)  Other students have to guess the concept.

Week 7: Experts and Lead Learners
Have you got several very able students that race ahead and complete the work very quickly?  Use them, get them to design and deliver learning activities for the lessons.  They can support other students and show them methods and skills.  It also enriches their learning experience rather than waiting for other students to catch up with them!