A few years ago, the interactive white board industry caught fire and schools began installing one in each room. They quickly became the de facto piece of technology in nearly every classroom in the country. It gave teachers a way to use interactive digital content, and still be positioned in the front of the class. No longer were teachers limited to overhead projectors or sitting behind their computers while presenting to the class.
One of the main challenges with interactive whiteboard is that simply standing in front and using it obscures the image on the board. In addition, unless you have some sort of slate device with which to manipulate what’s on the screen, you have to be standing right next to the board in order to use it. If you do have a slate device, you have to be looking directly at the board and not at your students, which can be disengaging. Wouldn’t it be great if you could have all your content at your fingertips and for your students to see exactly what you were doing AND not be tethered to the board? Well with Apple TV, you can.
With the release of iOS 5 for the Apple TV, you can now wirelessly mirror what is on your iPad onto the projector screen. Apple TV allows you to project whatever is on your iPad onto a screen wirelessly. In addition, if you have a classroom full of iPads, students can share whats on their screen with the rest of the class. Since the iPad is so light and portable, you can now walk about the room and easily share what you are doing with the rest of the class.
The best part about Apple TV is that it’s an inexpensive solution; only $99. It can be easily tucked on top of your existing projector and plugged in with little or no hassle. If you give a lot of presentations, the Apple TV is very portable and can easily go into a bag or purse for on the go presentations wherever you are. Just make sure that your projector has an HDMI port; that’s the only way to connect an Apple TV to a projector.
