Screen Collaboration - Can't we all just get along?

As I was reading posts from the InTELA - Independent School Technology Educators of Los Angeles (www.intela.org) ... shout out to Lori Getz, Donna Mandosa, Kristin McDonald, Angela Neff, Tyler Nguyen, Richard Edmond and Tom Wadbrook....  I saw that some of my colleagues were being "attacked" by the dreaded "AppleTV signal drop!"

Now, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE airplay and the AppleTV but truth be told, it is sometimes a bit of trying relationship.  If an iPad loses its Wifi signal for a brief moment then the AppleTV will drop it like a "hot potato!"  Now, for the most part, we have fixed these problems at our Consortium Schools (hey... a reason to join!!).  The only "downside" is that other non-Apple devices can't easily attach and share the AppleTV.  Yes, there is AirParrot (my all-time fav - shout out to http://www.airsquirrels.com) but isn't there an easier way to have all my devices screen share??

Yes... there is!!  One product that I have found that seems to answer most of my concerns is PRIJECTOR  (https://prijector.com/)

The Prijector device works with all of the major platforms (the support folks at Prijector indicate that the Chrome OS plug-in will be out soon - I hope so as I have a few installations with Chromebooks).

But really gets me about this device is that it actually is a little computer!!  Not only can you screen share, but it has built in Wifi, Bluetooth, browser AND it is a stand alone conferencing unit - just add an external camera and "shoot!!"  It has two modes of use.  1) It is part of your network - like an AppleTV and you access it with a security code (that is changeable) or 2) It is it's own Access Point and you just log on to the Prijector and then the Prijector will put you on the Internet (password protected as well).

Unlike the AppleTV, Prijector has a built in web browser, so you can surf, link, play from the device itself.  This helps save the ever important, and never enough of, Wifi Bandwidth by not having to first stream to the iPad and then re-stream to the screen share device.

The only better way I have found to do advance screen sharing is to take a computer and run emulation software on it (Like Reflector from Squirrels). Unfortunately, this means that I have to purchase a whole computer for the setup - and that can be very expensive.

Where Prijector really, really shines is in the "Huddle Room" environment - but more on "Huddle Rooms" in a later post!!

So, go to the Prijector website and hunt around.  Does this device fit your needs?  If you are a member of the Consortium, you can book my demo unit and take it for a spin (hey... another reason to join!!)  Remember that I would love to read your comments and experiences with this and other similar devices.  Please share on the blog!

Regards....

Yossie

Yossie Frankel
Director - Consortium for Information and Academic Technologies
Member Schools:
Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy - yfrankel@hillelhebrew.org
Oakland Hebrew Day School - y.frankel@ohds.org
Shalhevet High School - y.frankel@shalhevet.org
Yeshivat Yavneh - www.yha.org
Arete Preparatory Academy - yfrankel@areteprep.org

Midreshet Emunah V'Omanut - Jerusalem - yfrankel@emunahvomanut.org
Checkout my blog @ technorebbe.blogspot.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel
YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel