Wacom tablets in classroom with K-12 teacher

Introducing your students to Wacom tablets

December 28, 2022

If you’ve been thinking about what it would look like to have a classroom full of Wacom tablets, you might be concerned about the loss of instructional time to teach students a new piece of technology.

Don’t worry! The Wacom for Education team has been working with a number of districts on their 1:1 journey with Wacom tablets in the classroom, and we wanted to see what the learning curve for a student using a tablet for the first time really was.

We partnered with one of our districts that is conducting a pilot project in their math program to observe the learning curve of 5th grade students using Wacom tablets for the first time — and this is what happened.

To get the students started with learning what a Wacom tablet is and how to use the tablet, we designed a 20-minute interactive lesson utilizing one of our favorite tools: Pear Deck!

In this lesson, we started by watching a video of how to interact with the tablet and pen. We watched the video silently, then on the second viewing, we pointed out some key features to make sure they understood how to use the pen and tablet.

  1. When your pen is hovering above your tablet, it is like your mouse moving around the screen; when it touches the tablet it is like a click of your mouse.
  2. The dots on the tablet line up with where you are on the screen. If you want to be in the upper corner of your screen, then you move your pen to the upper corner dot on the tablet.
  3. Positioning your hand so you are not accidentally pressing the buttons on the pen.

From there, we used the interactive features of Pear Deck to practice using the pen and tablet. The first task was a drawing slide with a simple prompt: to write their name!

We then gave the students an opportunity to doodle and test out the pen and tablet. Next, we did a drag and drop activity for a math warm up. Then, the students did two more drawing tasks before giving input on their comfort with using the pen and tablet. The final task we asked the students to do was to write their name again.

Handwriting-Wacom-tablet-Before and after

As you can see, in this brief introduction, the student’s comfort and ability to work with the pen tablet has improved. In all of the work samples, we either saw evidence of comfort at the beginning of the lesson or dramatic improvement by the end of the lesson with the simple task of writing their name.

Student-Mathwork Wacom Intuos

At the conclusion of this introduction to the tablets, the students transitioned into a math task where they were using the pen tablets substituting for a pencil and paper task.

There did not need to be any additional tablet or pen instruction while the students were working on the math task. It was a natural transition, and made the math task paper-free.

The next day, the students were asked several questions about their experience with the Wacom tablets. When asked about the ease of learning how to use the tablet, on a scale from 1-5 with 1 being very easy, no problems, and 5 being very difficult, 62.7% ranked the ease of use a 1 or a 2.

Wacom easy to use graphic
The students were eager to share their opinions:
“I think it’s very easy to use and would make a great learning tool and sometimes (Book Creator, Auto Draw, and others) it was a good fun tool.” “I could sit back and still do my work.” “I like that it is very useful for almost everything. If you like writing, it’s difficult at first, but you will get used to it.”
With a brief introduction, the students were off and running with the utilization of their Wacom pen tablets. The learning curve was almost zero, which is impressive since there is are endless possibilities for use in the classroom. Whether the classroom is trying to improve the quality of digital work, going paperless for environmental impact, or perfecting their digital work flow, the Wacom pen tablets are an incredible solution. Because many Wacom tablets are “Works with Chromebook” certified, the students had a seamless experience by simply connecting their tablets to their Chromebooks, with no need bother IT for installation or support. If you’re looking for support in getting started with 1:1 Wacom tablets in your building, please reach out to a member of the Wacom for Education team.
michele dick headshot

About the author

Michele Dick is the Education Specialist on the Wacom team. She has over 20 years experience in education as a classroom teacher and educational technology administrator. Michele’s passion is to work with educators to find ways that technology can solve problems and amplify student voice.

The best Wacom products for teachers:

Wacom Intuos pen tablet

Wireless Intuos pen tablet

Wacom Intuos is designed to make teaching hassle-free. With Bluetooth connectivity, you’re free to move about the classroom while still controlling your computer with the digital pen and tablet. ExpressKeys can be easily programmed on Mac or PC as your favorite keyboard shortcuts to save time when instructing.

Wacom One pen display

Wacom One pen display

Whether in the classroom or online, teachers can use the Wacom One pen display to present lessons, illustrate learnings, take notes, annotate, and answer questions. When it comes to students, the pen makes the switch to digital working easy and intuitive.

One By Wacom (M) pen tablet

One By Wacom pen tablet

Ideal for students, the One By Wacom takes learning to the next level. The realistic digital pen recreates the classroom experience from anywhere. It gives you the freedom to write, annotate, create, collaborate, study or teach in ways like never before.

Related posts:

Ana Carolina on 3D sculpting, her creative journey, and her upcoming session at ZBrush Summit 2023

Ana Carolina on 3D sculpting, her creative journey, and her upcoming session at ZBrush Summit 2023

The top five online learning resources for aspiring artists

The top five online learning resources for aspiring artists

Teaching, learning, and visual thinking with Bamboo Paper

Teaching, learning, and visual thinking with Bamboo Paper

The complete guide to Adobe Photoshop brushes, Part 1: The toolbar

The complete guide to Adobe Photoshop brushes, Part 1: The toolbar

Connect with Wacom on social media

Polygonal pumpkin skull brought to life by artist @randomizy.3d! 🎃⁣
⁣
Luisa's transforms her amazing work from digital renders to real, printable decor that she offers for free as 3D printer files on her page. ⁣
⁣
#MadewithWacom #Halloween #3Dprinting #3Dmodel #sculpting #digitalart #art
228 0
Not only is @monsieur_arefin an artist, but also a magician! 🪄☕⁣
Ashraful creates mystical stories with a mix of photography and editing. ✨⁣
#MadewithWacom #digitalart #photomanipulation #magic #fantasy
838 6
The seasons are getting colder and @fromcrayonstocopics' original character fits the chilly weather. ❄️🥶 ⁣
⁣
Devon uses their Wacom Mobile Studio Pro to create their art on the go or any spot they find coziest! ✍️😌⁣
⁣
#MadewithWacom #digitalart #art #fantasy #illustration #originalcharacter
471 5
Otherworldly floral beauty by artist @ali.hassan.arafatt created as cover art for musical group @separat.a. 🌺🍃⁣
⁣
The detailing on the hair and flora have left us in awe looking at this fantastical piece! 🖌️😍⁣
⁣
#MadewithWacom #digitlart #art #illustration
527 10
Creativity happens when less expected 💡
In @fragileart’s case, in math class 😅😂

Tell us, when did you discover that you wanted to become an artist?

#MadewithWacom #Wacomartists #WacomCintiq
1706 8
Why choosing when you can try it all 😉

With no need for batteries, use a pen that feels and looks just right in your hand.

Find the right pen option for you and see where it takes you! ✍️ Link in bio!

#WacomAdventureProgram #WacomOne #CreativeJourney
976 15
osu! player and content creator KoiFishu shows you the new Wacom One M pen tablet in action! 💯⭕✍️⁣
⁣
#gaming #osu #osugame #rhythmgame #wacom
6695 43
✨ This is your sign to get your first Wacom One and unlock all the possibilities ✨

Your journey begins here, see where it takes you! ✏️ Link in bio!

#WacomAdventureProgram #WacomOne #CreativeJourney
616 7
Adorable Bocchi the Rock! #fanart by @tonicaballeroart that charmingly captures the fun nature of the Kessoku band members. 🎤🎸🥁⁣
⁣
 ✨ Who's your favorite character?⁣
⁣
#MadewithWacom #FanartFriday #BocchitheRock #anime #art #digitalart
1257 2
Artist @samrodriguezart uses beautiful colors, abstract ideas, all paired with his realistic portrait work to create dreamy works of art. 🎨🌹🔴⁣
⁣
We would like to welcome Sam to the Wacom community as he recently made the switch to a Wacom Cintiq Pro! ✍️🥳🎉⁣
⁣
#MadewithWacom #illustration #abstract #art #digitalart
339 3