The EdTech Roundup
Connect:
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Editorials & Press
  • Ed Tech Sites
  • Lesson Plans
    • Elementary
    • Secondary
  • Former Weekly Podcast
  • About Me
  • Contact

Splashtop Classroom and Mirroring360: Screen Sharing the Way it Should Be

10/25/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Splashtop is a service that allows for all sorts of screen sharing.  Want to show your iPad screen on your projector? Want to control your desktop computer from you iPad? Want your students to be able to control your desktop? How about having your students share their screens with the class. With Splashtop Classroom and Mirroring360 all of this is possible, regardless of what classroom devices you have.

Splashtop Classroom

To start with, let's talk about Splashtop Classroom, which is designed to be a solution for teachers.  With Splashtop classroom, you can control your desktop from your tablet device, you can project your tablet on to your projector, you can use your tablet to turn your desktop into a digital whiteboard, and you can even hand control over to students, so they can control what's on the screen from their own devices.  It's a pretty impressive tool, but let's check out a short video before going further:


As you can see, Splashtop Classroom offers a ton of possibilities.  One quick point, this video focused on iPads, but the app also works with Android devices as well.  You would also need a WiFi connection in your classroom for this app to be effective.  

There are a lot of things I really like about this app, but first is the fact that if you give a teacher a tablet with Splashtop on it, they don't have to learn an entirely new operating system.  They will be able to access their desktop from the app, and interact with it just like they normally would, no extra training is needed, which is a huge benefit.  Plus, you can turn any projector into an interactive smart board, which is also impressive.


Picture

My last year teaching in Colombia, I actually had the chance to use Splashtop and I was incredibly happy with it.  It only took a few minutes to get the app installed and set up, and it worked perfectly the first time around.  I loved that it allowed to be anywhere in my room, but still interacting with the desktop should I need to (which, as a computer science teacher, I definitely needed to).  So from my own experience, in a setting that did have somewhat unreliable/fluctuating WiFi, Splashtop was an excellent classroom application.  
Picture

The next thing I really like about Splashtop is that it can be used with any device.  This is such an enormous benefit for schools that have implemented a BYOD policy and are faced with an enormous diversity of devices and operating systems.

Finally, I love the option of giving students control, so they can take over the screen, create drawings, share ideas, and interact with the material from their own devices as well.  I think that's a great additional feature and really opens up some classroom possibilities.  

Mirroring360

So, what if you want to go the other way?  What if you want students to be able to share their devices with each other, with the teacher, or with the projector?  That's where Mirroring360 comes in.  Let's check out another quick video:


And again, this video focuses on iPads, but the app works with Android devices and Chromebooks as well.  In short, Mirroring360 lets you mirror your device to any computer, so students could send whatever is on their screen to a partner or group, or to the classrooms main projector as well.  This would be enormously beneficial in classrooms where students are using devices.  Rather than sending files back and forth, or trying to give a presentation from a tablet, students can instantly share their screen with whoever needs to see it.

Picture

And basically, those are the apps!  As for pricing, both offer free trials, which you can sign up for online and see if they're a good solution for your classroom.  

After that, Mirroring360 runs at $10.99 and Splashtop Classroom starts at $29.99 (However, the Splashtop Classroom iPad app is completely free!)

Finally, if you do decide to use or try Splashtop in your classroom, the team has assembled a nice collection of tutorials and videos to help you get started.  

Overall, I'm a big fan of Splashtop (although I do wish it ran a little cheaper).  It's an excellent screen sharing solution, and it's great that it can be used regardless of device or operating system.  If you're in a classroom where students are using devices, or where you have access to a tablet of your own, I definitely recommend checking out the free trial to see what Splashtop is all about.
Picture


The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I was not compensated for writing this review.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Reviews

    Here you can find the Round Up's collection of in-depth reviews on the latest programs, apps, websites, and more.

    Make sure to click the review's title or the Read More link for the complete review!


    Picture

    Featured

    Picture
    Check out our featured review | ClassroomAPP: A Complete, K-12 Digital Platform for Online and In-Person Classrooms

    Teach.com

    Picture

      Subscribe

    Subscribe

    Connect


    Awards

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed


    Archives

    June 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013

           
​Except where noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Picture

Copyright 2020 | Mike Karlin, Ph.D.