Goodbye Apple TV. Hello AirServer!!!
Well... I hope. I began my research into mirroring devices by reading this article a few months ago, originally looking at purchasing Apple TVs for our school. We already have a SMART Board and several projectors throughout the school and we're looking at purchasing class sets of iPads in the near future, so a mirroring device/software is definitely a direction we'd like to go in. When I'm conducting my research, I almost always take time to check out the commentary on the information as I often find it just as insightful as the article itself. All those months ago, I copied a comment that I found intriguing into my "Tech Stuff to Look Into" file:
"Is anyone out there giving Airserver a go in the classroom? It handles airplay from iOS but is $15 as opposed to the $99 Apple TV. Its a pc/mac download and allows mirroring of iOS devices to your computer. So, if you've got an i/pad/pod/phone that you want to mirror, a projector, computer, and screen/SmartBoard already, it might not be a bad solution." -Ben Coy
Well, thanks Ben Coy. You made a great comment and, in theory, you probably saved our school hundreds of dollars. Today my tech support staff member installed AirServer onto our network. I was very excited to see the $15 AirServer software quickly connect and display not only the school-imaged network iPads that we were starting up, but also to my own personal devices that are not imaged to the school's network but just connected to the Internet. I have yet to see this at work with all 10 iPads running at the same time, but I am very hopeful that we will not have to purchase $99-a-pop Apple TVs for the classrooms those iPads will be used in. With AirServer in place, there is a big possibility that we can now use that tech budget for other needy areas, not to mention it's one less tool to teach to my colleagues.
If any readers have any experience with AirServer and/or Apple TV, good or bad, I would love if you would leave a comment about your experiences. I have learned so much about tech this year and I know I'm not even scratching the surface! Please share your knowledge to help our school, our teachers, but most of all, our kids! Thanks for reading!
Well... I hope. I began my research into mirroring devices by reading this article a few months ago, originally looking at purchasing Apple TVs for our school. We already have a SMART Board and several projectors throughout the school and we're looking at purchasing class sets of iPads in the near future, so a mirroring device/software is definitely a direction we'd like to go in. When I'm conducting my research, I almost always take time to check out the commentary on the information as I often find it just as insightful as the article itself. All those months ago, I copied a comment that I found intriguing into my "Tech Stuff to Look Into" file:
"Is anyone out there giving Airserver a go in the classroom? It handles airplay from iOS but is $15 as opposed to the $99 Apple TV. Its a pc/mac download and allows mirroring of iOS devices to your computer. So, if you've got an i/pad/pod/phone that you want to mirror, a projector, computer, and screen/SmartBoard already, it might not be a bad solution." -Ben Coy
Well, thanks Ben Coy. You made a great comment and, in theory, you probably saved our school hundreds of dollars. Today my tech support staff member installed AirServer onto our network. I was very excited to see the $15 AirServer software quickly connect and display not only the school-imaged network iPads that we were starting up, but also to my own personal devices that are not imaged to the school's network but just connected to the Internet. I have yet to see this at work with all 10 iPads running at the same time, but I am very hopeful that we will not have to purchase $99-a-pop Apple TVs for the classrooms those iPads will be used in. With AirServer in place, there is a big possibility that we can now use that tech budget for other needy areas, not to mention it's one less tool to teach to my colleagues.
If any readers have any experience with AirServer and/or Apple TV, good or bad, I would love if you would leave a comment about your experiences. I have learned so much about tech this year and I know I'm not even scratching the surface! Please share your knowledge to help our school, our teachers, but most of all, our kids! Thanks for reading!
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