Where There's a Will, There's a Way

I've been using iPads in my classroom for the past 2 years and I can't tell you enough how much I love them. The possibilities are endless as to what they can be used to do. One of my biggest issues, though, was not being able to mirror it to my board without using a cable. It really limited what I wanted to do with it. I searched and searched and tried to find a way. I mean, with the face of technology today WHY wouldn't there be way?  At the end of the school year my school went wireless and opened up a whole new world of possibilities for using technology in the classroom. I absolutely have to share my new favorite thing. Are you sitting down? I found a way to mirror my iPad without using a cable. That's right! Completely wireless and in the hands of students for whole group lessons. Here's how to do it. First of all you need to be running iOS 7 or higher on your device so that you have the AirPlay feature. Next, you purchase a program on your computer called Air Serve.  http://www.airserver.com. It costs $12 iif you use your school e-mail and set up an educational account. It will authorize your computer, the one that is hooked up to your Interactive White Board, to use the program. If you want to try it out before you buy there is a free 7-day trial, but wait until you will be in your classroom to do the trail as it ends 7 days from download. Once you have these 2 things in place you simply start the program on your computer that is running your board, then you turn on the AirServer on your iPad, find your computer in the menu and turn on "mirror". Now your iPad is mirrored to your board wirelessly. It has totally made parts of my job easier and more fun for the students. Disclaimer- check with your IT person and make sure it's allowed before you do this. Some schools or districts might have tight security settings that could prohibit it from passing your firewall. You're welcome!