Access Your Desktop/Laptop Remotely With Apple iPad or Android Tablets!
For the past 5 years, I have been a daily user of a SMART Board in my classroom for delivering lessons in an interactive manner. After creating most of my content in Microsoft Word and using the SMART Screen Capture feature to import into SMART Notebook, I have recently been preparing all of my lessons, worksheets, and assessments directly in SMART Notebook due to the interactive and user-friendly nature of the program.
New TLLP Apple iPad Program + New School = Need for Change
Only this school year when I began at the newly built Tecumseh Vista Academy K-12 school did I ever need to start searching for other alternatives. With construction still in progress and technology hard to come by, I was just happy to land an LCD Projector in my classroom. For the first few weeks of school, I was using a Wii-Remote and IR-pen to create an IWB alternative to get me by. Unfortunately, my Wii-Board setup just wasn’t precise enough to keep me satisfied. The Wii-Remote and IR-pen setup actually caused me more frustration and left students disengaged from the lesson due to all of the interruptions and issues with the setup.
Through some research, I came across the Splashtop 2 – Remote Desktop app on sale for $6.99 (regular $19.99) which not only blows the Wii-Board setup out of the water, I don’t see a need for my school to ever purchase the SMART Board we had originally planned for my mathematics classroom. This app allows you to remotely access your computer through WiFi and access all of its’ features – hence the name, Remote Desktop.
Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop Allows Teachers to Roam the Classroom
This app allows teachers accustomed to using an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) like a SMART Board to leave the small 10 square-foot area at the front of the class that they have been restricted to and move around the class freely with your Apple iPad or Android tablet IWB-replacement as they teach. Especially in my Tap Into Teen Minds 1:1 Apple iPad classroom, I quickly noticed a huge difference during my lessons. Not only could I roam about the classroom (I often pace as I teach), but my ability to be in all areas of the classroom promoted more students being on task and allowed me to assess through observation as students worked through course content.
Update: Mon Oct 22, 2012 – I now rarely teach from the front of the classroom. Typically, I am presenting from all areas of the classroom and increasing my rapport with each student everyday.
Remote Access to Your Computer With Splashtop Provides Huge Cost Savings!
As most know, Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) like the SMART Board require a hefty investment. While you will still require a computer and projector, the actual interactive whiteboard portion of your classroom setup can cost upwards of $2,000 when all is said and done. With Splashtop 2 – Remote Desktop, you can eliminate the need for an interactive whiteboard and replace it with an Apple iPad 2 for $399 with the Apple educator discount and add the Splashtop app for $6.99. I know your principal will appreciate you trying to outfit three classrooms with an iPad + Splashtop interactive setup for the cost of one SMART Board Interactive Whiteboard!
Tap Into Teen Minds YouTube Review of Splashtop Remote Desktop
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7yn9RBU_8I]
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About Kyle Pearce
I’m Kyle Pearce and I am a former high school math teacher. I’m now the K-12 Mathematics Consultant with the Greater Essex County District School Board, where I uncover creative ways to spark curiosity and fuel sense making in mathematics. Read more.
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