As we continue on our distance learning journey, one of the greatest struggles I hear from teachers is the inability to write or draw on a whiteboard, particularly for subject areas like Math. Obviously, as a former math teacher, that definitely strikes home for me!
Years ago, I flipped my classroom and it was one of the best things I have ever done. However, it would take forever to write out the math, especially for complicated Math problems. As an example, try to accurate explain how to solve an equation like 3(x+4) – 6(x+2) = 7x – 5 without writing it out. It would take forever and it wasn’t as easy for kids to visualize.
At the time, I didn’t own a touchscreen device so I purchased a drawing tablet and it quickly became one of my favorite tools. All I had to do was plug it into my computer and I could write on my screen! More importantly, purchasing a decent drawing tablet only costs between $40 to $80. Obviously this is way more affordable than purchasing a new laptop for over $1,000. Our site purchased the XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 for our Math teachers and I have already heard great feedback from them!
In the video below, I will share how to set up your drawing tablet and use it with Google Jamboard and Screencastify:
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Hi Meagan, I just bought this exact drawing tablet in July. You mentioned in the video that it connects to a chromebook, but I cannot get the drive from the internet to save to the chromebook. Thoughts?
FYI thank you for this, I’ve been so excited to use it but having a few difficulties and thought about returning it.
Hi Valerie, I’m also a Chromebook user and math teacher interested in the response to your query. If you figure it out, can you let me know: [email protected]
thank you!!!! Vanessa
Hi Vanessa! Unfortunately, most Chromebooks are not compatible with drawing tablets. I am so sorry!
Hi Valerie! In the video, the Chromebook that I am referencing is the one that I purchased that had a touchscreen that later replaced my drawing tablet. Unfortunately, the two tablets I listed are not compatible with Chromebooks. I’m so sorry!
There is still a big disconnect between tablet drawing and the whiteboard user experience of just grabbing a pen and drawing.
If you really want to keep the whiteboard experience get a Kaptivo whiteboard camera and hang it over your regular old dry-erase board and you are able to bring your analog experience directly to your flipped digital work from home class…
Great idea for teachers working on site. We have many teachers working from home which was the purpose of this post. 🙂