Digital Ink in the Classroom
Tom Mainelli
Program Vice President, Devices & Displays, IDC
Tom Mainelli has covered the technology industry since 1995. He manages IDC's Devices and Displays group, which covers a wide range of
hardware categories including PCs, tablets, smartphones, thin clients, monitors, and wearables. In his role as program vice president he works
closely with company representatives, industry contacts, and other IDC analysts to provide in-depth insight and analysis on the always-evolving
market of endpoint devices and their related services.
Mainelli is also driving new research around two very important trends: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and Technology in Education. A frequent
public speaker, he travels often and enjoys the opportunity to work with colleagues and clients all over the world.
Follow him on twitter: tommainelli
Study Objective
To better understand how Educators are using technology in the classroom – and specifically
devices with digital inking capabilities.
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Previous studies have shown the impact of writing on student learning outcomes (Mueller
and Oppenheimer, Oviatt)
But no data on how digital inking may impact Educators
Definition: Digital inking means a device that supports either an active or passive stylus.
 An active stylus (also called a Digital Pen) typically ships in the box with the tablet, detachable,
or touch notebook. It often has a button on the side and includes electronics inside the stylus
that require a battery that make it work with a digitizer component on the device screen. An
example of a device with an active Stylus is a Surface.
 A passive stylus is typically sold separately from the device, and doesn’t include any electronics
inside. It’s essentially acting like a more precise fingertip. An example of a device that can be
used with a passive Stylus is an iPad.
In this study, we examined Digital Ink Educators that used a computer with an active stylus for
teaching.
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Passive vs. Active Digital Inking
Remember, comparing a digital pen to a stylus is like comparing a
skateboard to a Ferrari.
Stylus - mimics finger
painting
Digital Pen – mimics real pen:
precise, pressure sensitive, palm
blocking, smart ink.
Methodology
 IDC conducted this research study using responses from 685
K-12 Educators in the US who are using computers in their
classroom.
 The study was conducted using an on-line survey drawn from
MCH Teacher data.
 All responses and verbatim comments have been kept
anonymous.
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Panelist Q&A
Robert J. Baker – Director of Technology,
Cincinnati Country Day School
Andrew Shelffo – Chief Information Officer,
Williston Northampton School
Jason Mocherman – Astronomy Teacher,
Riverview High School
Joshua Seamon – Math Department Head,
Williston Northampton School
Andrew Fitzgerald – Music Teacher,
Long Beach Unified School
District
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Audience Questions
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Thank you!