Microsoft Paint is Here to Stay!

Microsoft

Microsoft released a list of “features that are removed or deprecated in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.” The one that seems to be getting the most attention is a little program called Microsoft Paint, which Microsoft was intending to deprecate.

The “Removed” designation means that the product has been removed from the current release of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. “Deprecated” means that the product is not in active development and might be removed in future releases.

I haven’t used Microsoft Paint in a really long time (mostly because I switched from PC to Mac several years ago). I was feeling nostalgic about Microsoft Paint after learning that it may be deprecated. Back in the 1990’s I was working on obtaining a Bachelor’s of Science in Education, and Microsoft Paint helped me achieve that goal.

At the time, the majority of elementary schools lacked computer labs. Some teachers were fortunate enough to have one computer in their classroom. During my experience as a student teacher, I created a lesson plan for the many Kindergarten classes I was working with. It focused on Microsoft Paint.

Each kid got a few seconds of class time to contribute to a collaborative, class-wide, piece of digital art. I gave each kindergartener the choice of adding a shape, drawing a line, or filling in a color on the artwork. The kids seemed to think this was the coolest thing ever, which is understandable.

I remember having to bring a bunch of 3.5” floppy disks to the classrooms so I could save the artwork each class had created and print it out for my professors to see. To my surprise, my professors thought that my Microsoft Paint lesson plan was innovative and exciting. Today, the same lesson plan would be considered uninspiring (and perhaps a bit lazy.)

Good news for those of you who, like me, feel nostalgic about MS Paint. Microsoft says: “MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store where it will be available for free.”