CreativeTech with Microsoft Surface – #GoImagine

I love my kids to get involved in a lot of messy play and creative activities than seeing them spending time on the gadgets watching YouTube and playing games! if at all possible, I would love to take away the presence of gadgets completely off their day but that would be really rude looking at the way of how they are growing up with technology now! 

Technology has become inseparable to the lifestyle and rather than stopping the children, it is better to help them to use technology in the safest and productive way!

Saying that, when we were invited to the #Goimagine event hosted by Microsoft to celebrate the launch of the new Microsoft Surface Go, I, definitely was curious to see what it has to offer to help the children’s creativity and Imagination as that was the main focus of the event and thought it would be the best opportunity for Miss S to explore the new Surface Go, its features and educational value it could offer.

A new study by Microsoft Surface found more than 80% of parents in the UK believe that creativity, imagination and outdoor play is just as important developmentally as more traditional literacy and numeracy skills.

Based on the study results, Microsoft arranged a panel discussion led by TV presenter Ben Fogle taking the views and thoughts from Gilly Binks, Microsoft Surface Category Lead , William Jones, Head of Buying Technology from JohnLewis, Jennifer Howze, Britmums Co-Founder and Cath Prisk, an Education and Outdoor Play Expert.

The discussion was around how important it is to children to develop their creative skills and how technology could help them explore their creative skills and influence their imagination capability. 

I strongly believe, it is important for the children to have screen free time but it is also essential to have the opportunity to make use of the technology. For example, I am not too good in drawing but then the little one approaches me to help drawing a cat, I instruct her how to see the step by step guide on YouTube so she can copy it on a paper.

It is just about getting the right balance between technology and traditional physical activities. 

Followed by the panel discussion, there was a mini workshop for the kids to learn about making their own magical animal from a collage of different animals. It was quick, easy and there has been a lot of magical animals flying around! 

The workshop was conducted by writer and artist, Paul Kercal who also explained the educational values behind the session as that would be of interest to teachers and parents. 

Our first impressions on Microsoft Surface Go

• Light in weight, comes with a 9 hours battery which then can be charged to full in two hours is definitely an impressive feature.
• The kick stand is very useful when watching videos. 
• The detachable keyboard makes it easy  to use either as a standalone tablet or as a laptop
• The pen is very useful and would be an attractive feature for the kids, I am not sure how much I would prefer using the pen but it is definitely great for drawing. However, it does not come with Surface Go and has to be bought separately for 99£. 
• It is definitely a family friendly laptop that can fit with the need of everyone in the family, from being a portable laptop to a creative tool for being artistic to have fun time watching videos. 

The Surface Go starts at £379, a reasonably good price considering it is something for the whole family and can meet the expectation of everyone in the family. Please note the pen should be bought separately which is around £99. For more details on Surface Go, please visit here.