A Week with the Surface 3 – First Impressions

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago out of the blue I received an email invitation from </span><a href="http://microsoft.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Microsoft </a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">to attend a party in New York City on March 31st. For the life of me, I could not figure out what this event would highlight-you see, it seemed like the timing was all off for a big announcement. But then on March 31, Microsoft announced the Surface 3 tablets which caught us all off guard. Microsoft announced the new Surface 3 with the latest Atom “Cherry Trail” processor, which would run Windows 8.1 and</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrjRaedpsOGQyIRAmXcwjVpVDbAWgCThffk1fWcQsb5molO93wvNqcjfe-yWEOqyOAUs4r8Hrw5UGixuiJJEzP7c__4WSub9iM1W35SvhRCZni-FBXkjZalQU8wwxq_3bjohQlD3ooes/s1600/s3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrjRaedpsOGQyIRAmXcwjVpVDbAWgCThffk1fWcQsb5molO93wvNqcjfe-yWEOqyOAUs4r8Hrw5UGixuiJJEzP7c__4WSub9iM1W35SvhRCZni-FBXkjZalQU8wwxq_3bjohQlD3ooes/s1600/s3.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8315753f-8e0c-4839-9bc6-f7627f57f9dd" id="577417ed-0d81-4333-8895-8494665de076">be</gs> <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8315753f-8e0c-4839-9bc6-f7627f57f9dd" id="26740314-778f-4811-bf1f-83a7856a01c7">upgradeable</gs> to Windows 10 when it is released later this summer. The specifications noted that the Surface 3 weighted in at 1.37 pounds with a 10.8 diagonal screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1920 x 1280. The Surface 3 has a built-in kickstand that can be locked into 3 different positions and has a micro –SD slot. By all accounts the Surface 3 is a lightweight tablet with enough horsepower to run Office, legacy Windows software, surf the web and promise great all day battery life. My expectations were running high for a tablet with this form factor and one that could utilize the Surface touch type keyboard and digital inking pen. Having a mobile and a light weight tablet to run Office and some of the specialized assistive technology software that I often use is important for me. To say the least there was a lot of excitement leading up to the Launch Event of Surface 3 in NYC! </span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Having arrived to the event a little early, I walked into the Microsoft loft and was really excited to see all of the new Surface 3’s on display to touch and play with. Picking up the tablet I was amazed just how light it was and typing on the touch type keyboard was a great experience. The Surface 3 looked great with a wonderful build quality and feels great in your hands. Having had my hands on one the screen is really gorgeous and very bright with excellent contrast. During the event, I had a chance to speak with many of the Microsoft engineers that were on the Surface Team which was really great. As the evening came to an end one of the Microsoft engineers announced that we would all go home with a Surface 3 to test and kick the tires-which created quite a stir. So for the past week I have been using the Surface 3 with different applications to get a sense of how it handles itself.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Having used the Surface Pro 3, I was excited to learn that the Surface 3 starts at just $499 for a 2GB RAM and a 64 GB SSD. For another hundred dollars you can double the RAM to 4GB and the SSD to 128 GB and will pay $599. Bear in mind that educators can get a 10% discount when purchasing the Surface 3. When purchasing the Surface 3 you will probably want to invest in the Touch Type keyboard which will cost you $129 dollars and the pen will set you back $49 dollars. To be honest, you will definitely want to invest in these accessories which will give you the full Surface 3 experience. Having a touch keyboard that you can pop in and out with a click is great and adds very little weight to the package. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you ever thought about moving all your note-taking to the digital realm, then you have to experience OneNote and the Surface 3 <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c26d8bd2-b185-4e86-9f61-1d4074e13a1e" id="d2ec7f7f-13fe-44e4-9c8a-075404aeafc8">pen</gs>. The digital inking experience on the Surface 3 is exactly what you would experience on the Surface Pro 3. With palm rejection and the silky feel of the pen on the screen you will feel right at home taking notes using OneNote. The Surface experience is probably one of the best writing experiences you will find on any tablet. One of the nice tricks when using the pen is that you can tap on the eraser and this will automatically open a blank page in OneNote ready for you to start writing. Even when your Surface 3 is asleep tapping on the eraser of the pen will automatically wake up your Surface 3 and open OneNote. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Surface 3 supports Miracast and I was able to quickly connect it to my HDMI TV with the <a href="http://www.actiontec.com/332.html" target="_blank">Actiontec ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition</a>. This combination of Surface 3 and OneNote with the </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWwRKatXA4UnRF2bNfQfdp3JPfFQzJkfmVI2-kBSnoLd1tWvQsF9zdScYJNkrR-Z9GnZbyteIftAgxj0tTyoXMG_ciaMRgFc7coNKJyTZlcRxzA7bzmgpGOfue9LoUeFmQyZMBCZ-vm8/s1600/ScreenbeamPro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWwRKatXA4UnRF2bNfQfdp3JPfFQzJkfmVI2-kBSnoLd1tWvQsF9zdScYJNkrR-Z9GnZbyteIftAgxj0tTyoXMG_ciaMRgFc7coNKJyTZlcRxzA7bzmgpGOfue9LoUeFmQyZMBCZ-vm8/s1600/ScreenbeamPro.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Actiontec ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition is an ideal solution for the classroom-giving teachers the freedom to move about the classroom without being tethered to the projector. The Surface 3 just needs a case which would allow teachers to securely support the tablet-but since it is so light this will make for a great solution.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Having learned that the Surface 3 was using an Intel Atom Cherry Trail processor I was initially concerned about the speed and responsiveness of the tablet. However, after using it for a week I would have to say that it feels zippy and responsive using a wide range of applications. From opening web pages to word processing to utilizing mind mapping applications the Surface 3 handled it well without a hiccup. For educators who are not doing processor intensive tasks like video or photo editing the Surface 3 should meet all of your basic computing needs. Given that the Surface 3 is a full Windows 8.1 device, there are no limitations with regard to installing Modern apps or full Windows legacy applications. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some other nice touches you find on the Surface 3 is a full USB 3.0 port a mini-display port and a micro-USB port. Being able to charge the Surface 3 with a micro-USB cable is ideal since you can always find one in your bag. The Surface 3 Pro had used a proprietary cable which, if you left it behind when you traveled you were sunk. So Microsoft listened to their customers and resolved this issue by providing micro-USB for charging. By the way I did learn that you can use the micro-USB port for transferring data, as well. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Surface 3 specifications should hit that sweet spot for educators and consumers that are looking for a portable Windows tablet that can quickly transform into an ultra-light laptop by clicking <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="75f84967-6940-4d94-b8dd-97000f1e8f07" id="fca8da59-b058-41b9-8eeb-53175016823c">in</gs> the keyboard.  I found the Surface 3 to be a responsive tablet that exceeded my specifications. Like all new devices I did find some quirkiness with the Surface 3 recognizing the keyboard in certain instances. I’m sure there will be firmware updates shortly to address some of these issues. Having the Surface 3 in my bag will allow me the freedom to have a full featured Windows device that can run specialized software when I need it. The Surface 3 has a good price point which should make the Surface 3 a big success in the marketplace. The Surface 3 will go on sale later this week and will ship on May 5.</span><br /><div><br /></div>

A Week with the Surface 3 – First Impressions

A couple of weeks ago out of the blue I received an email invitation from Microsoft to attend a party in New York City on March 31st. For th...

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ActionTec's ScreenBeam Mini 2- Good Things Come in Small Packages

<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been a big fan of <a href="http://www.actiontec.com/325.html" target="_blank">ActionTec's ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition</a> and have used it successfully in my classroom with my Surface Pro 3 and Dell Venue 8 tablets. Having the ability to walk around my classroom and share my screen without physically being connected to the projector is a real pleasure. Setting up the ScreenBeam Pro is extremely simple and does not require one to connect the device to the existing WiFi network which is a real advantage of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracast" target="_blank">Miracast </a>technology. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I heard that Actiontec was going to release a new Miracast receiver, I knew I had to get my hands on it and give it a test run. So first, I would like to thank Actiontec </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fJoGi0B9KabRzkt8jxvAOLcgKg30h-0GJx12QZeMadBnJ07XLRYvhXwEA5PHQB6UHYazwC9bCjyVCWCeJ0o29e2seWDwRiJ4RBZGa4SvA7vOoFWYSOkq0fR0T3vvBhKe0Vy-QnZSwGs/s1600/Screenbeam+Mini+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fJoGi0B9KabRzkt8jxvAOLcgKg30h-0GJx12QZeMadBnJ07XLRYvhXwEA5PHQB6UHYazwC9bCjyVCWCeJ0o29e2seWDwRiJ4RBZGa4SvA7vOoFWYSOkq0fR0T3vvBhKe0Vy-QnZSwGs/s1600/Screenbeam+Mini+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">for sending me a <a href="http://www.actiontec.com/327.html" target="_blank">ScreenBeam Mini 2</a> to evaluate. The ScreenBeam Mini 2 is small and looks to be about the size of a USB thumb drive which gets plugged into the HDMI port on your projector or HDTV. If your HDTV has a USB port you can power the ScreenBeam Mini 2 from the port otherwise you can power the receiver with the supplied USB cable and plug. Once plugged in you will see a little LED, light up to tell you the ScreenBeam Mini 2 is powered up. Now simply turn on your HDTV and make sure that you have set the input to HDMI and you should see the Actiontec Screen alert you that it is ready to connect. Now simply swipe in from the right side of your Windows 8.1 tablet and select Devices and connect to the ScreenBeam Mini 2. If you don't see the ScreenBeam Mini 2 receiver listed simply click on Add device and your tablet will discover the ScreenBeam Mini 2. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Within seconds you will see the magic happen and your device will be displayed on your television screen. I found that the </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">ScreenBeam Mini 2 connected very quickly to my tablets and the audio quality was superb. ScreenBeam Mini 2 supports 1080 p 30 fps and 2 channel stereo. </span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For home or school use the ScreenBeam Mini 2 is an ideal receiver when I want to share the contents of my tablets. If you are interested in securing your wireless receiver then you will want to take a look at the <a href="http://www.actiontec.com/325.html" target="_blank">ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition</a>. I have tested the ScreenBeam Mini 2 with the Surface Pro 3, Dell Venue 8, and the Nexus 7 ( running Android 4.4)  and all have worked well with the receiver. As they say, good things do come in small packages and this is certainly true with regard to ActionTec's ScreenBeam Mini 2. The </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ScreenBeam Mini 2 is also ideal for the business person who travels and is doing presentations or who wants to watch movies in their hotel room. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Check out the </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ScreenBeam Mini 2 </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">if you are looking for a small</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Miracast receiver that carries a big punch!</span></div><div></div>

ActionTec's ScreenBeam Mini 2- Good Things Come in Small Packages

I have been a big fan of ActionTec's ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition and have used it successfully in my classroom with my Surface Pro...

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Packing Miracast- The DELL Mobile Projector M900HD

<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The computer trends are pointing to lighter, more portable and highly mobile technology for today's work force. This is no less true for all of us in education as many schools are moving to tablets and devices that connect to the cloud. With this shift, it is exciting to think about how teachers are using their classrooms to cull out unique learning spaces. If you are thinking of how you can redesign your classroom space I would highly suggest that you consider reading<a href="http://thethirdteacherplus.com/resources" target="_blank"> The Third Teacher</a>, and excellent book about re-thinking the learning space in our classrooms. This got me thinking about how we move away from the teacher in the front of the classroom and setting up learning spaces with technology that would enable students to share ideas quickly. Companies like <a href="http://www.steelcase.com/" target="_blank">Steelcase </a>have envisioned the future of the classroom with their <a href="http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/category/educational/technology-visual/mediascape/pages/overview.aspx" target="_blank">media:scape </a>solution. Media:scape allows students to quickly share and collaborate on their content on a monitor by simply clicking on a "puck" that is in front of them. While this is an exciting solution it still requires devices to be hard wired to the monitor in order to collaborate. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over the past year, I have been experimenting with various wireless technologies that enable teachers and students to share their computer and tablet screens, using wireless technologies. Having attempted this several years ago with little success I was wondering what the evolution of this technology would have to offer in 2014? One of the wireless </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">technologies</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;"> I worked with is an Intel standard called Wi-Di (Wireless Display) which allows you to stream the contents of your tablet or computer to a HDMI device without cables or wires. Many educators often refer to Wi-Di by using the term <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracast" target="_blank">Miracast</a> to describe</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-align: justify;"> a peer-to-peer wireless screencasting standard formed via Wi-Fi Direct connections in a manner similar to Bluetooth. Miracast supports Windows 8.1 and Android (4.2 or great) devices right out of the box with zero configuration. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">Having access to Wi-Di would be great for the classroom because it would enable me to move about the<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUjrIZ2fb1qvtJkueRH5xZOpXys1fH0l3hvDLi6lz67znn8QwBg9unBO4t5Saa7_qNYlmyjHIumJZ1SubVoiohhD4pojo5EFEj7k6p9Ee8SVdbGGiSejNgtr1ux0kK4yQCBM40Euagj0/s1600/ScreenbeamPro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUjrIZ2fb1qvtJkueRH5xZOpXys1fH0l3hvDLi6lz67znn8QwBg9unBO4t5Saa7_qNYlmyjHIumJZ1SubVoiohhD4pojo5EFEj7k6p9Ee8SVdbGGiSejNgtr1ux0kK4yQCBM40Euagj0/s1600/ScreenbeamPro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition</b></td></tr></tbody></table>classroom without the need to be tethered to the projector. </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">One of the benefits of Miracast is that it does not require you to use the school's wireless network to set it up. Using the </span><a href="http://www.actiontec.com/325.html" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;" target="_blank">ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition</a>,<span style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> Miracast receiver connected to my projector I was able to quickly share my screen and audio with my students with my Windows 8.1 and Android devices. The real benefits of using the ScreenBeam Pro is that it does not require me to have access to the school's wireless network. Similarly, using other screensharing technologies which are dependent on the WiFi network off bogs down from bottlenecks which makes sharing a challenge. To read more about my experiences using Miracast and ScreenBeam Pro for Education you can read my previous blog post </span><a href="http://assistivetek.blogspot.com/2014/06/screenbeam-pro-education-edition-from.html" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">. You can also watch this <a href="http://eiuitc.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-first-office-mix-using-wireless.html" target="_blank">video </a>done by my colleague Dr. Tom Grissom at Eastern Illinois University to learn more about using Miracast technology in the classroom.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">As Miracast becomes a standard in the Windows and Android technology sector it is exciting to see companies like <a href="http://dell.com/" target="_blank">Dell </a>begin to embed the Miracast receiver right into their projectors. This is a trend you will begin to see this year as companies look for ways to move to providing consumers with ways to share information off of their computers, <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9g8bxG9siGI2pgDKRHsJByeWgRZJOYu9g3IBHtHz_jmIaWLTEP1tHE1Smznq0ZEBtGHaaKBZ02eTEtSgaTmB8ga8llH5BtLAzW-D23pWum0boYeBLkYkGs1Zo4r9jPNjJuC7uaikxk8/s1600/dell-m900hd-hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9g8bxG9siGI2pgDKRHsJByeWgRZJOYu9g3IBHtHz_jmIaWLTEP1tHE1Smznq0ZEBtGHaaKBZ02eTEtSgaTmB8ga8llH5BtLAzW-D23pWum0boYeBLkYkGs1Zo4r9jPNjJuC7uaikxk8/s1600/dell-m900hd-hero.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">DELL Mobile Projector M900HD</span></td></tr></tbody></table>mobile phones and tablets in a quick and efficient manner. Dell was kind enough to send me a DELL Mobile Projector M900HD to test out that has Miracast embedded. The </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Mobile Projector M900HD is an extremely small and portable projector (</span><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">9.13" x 6.46" x 1.69"</span></b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">) weighing in at <b>3.5</b> pounds. In this small package you will find a 900 ANSI Lumens LED projector which casts a very bright image. The </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Mobile Projector M900HD is a sleek low profile projector that comes with a carrying case making it very easy to carry from classroom to classroom. As good as the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Mobile Projector M900HD looked, I wanted to test out to see just how easy was it to connect my Surface Pro 3 and Nexus tablet. What better way then to jump right in.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">The true test at least for me was to unbox the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Mobile Projector M900HD, plug it in and see what happens. I plugged the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Mobile Projector M900HD in and powered it on and it immediately started up in the Wi-Di mode which was great! I opened up my Surface Pro 3 and swiped in from the right, selected Devices, and Project and added the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Mobile Projector M900HD as my </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Wireless device. The Surface Pro 3 quickly found the </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Mobile Projector M900HD but for some reason a dialog box came up on the projected screen asking me to enter a PIN which I could not enter. After several attempts I was able to connect to the projector to my Surface Pro 3 and I was off and running. Since the initial process the </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Mobile Projector M900HD has connected flawlessly to my devices </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.6000003814697px;">making it a great companion for workshops and presentations. Like other technologies there was a firmware update that I was made aware of on the projector which may have made the initial hand off procedure flawless. It is important to note that the Miracast standard not only allows for screensharing but will also playing audio over the WiDi connection.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">So what is the take away? It is really exciting to see the Miracast technology built-into the DELL Projector M900HD that will enable teachers in the classroom to more easily set up learning centers where students can easily share their ideas effortlessly using this wireless standard. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Miracast does allow students to connect and disconnect their devices making it ideal for students to be able to share their work. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">With schools always up against bandwidth issues, Miracast technology circumvents this problem and enables teachers to utilize this zero configuration</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> solution without the need to IT. So if you are looking to redesign your classroom's learning space and want an area for sharing, think about the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Projector M900HD</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> and how the built-in WiDI can turn your classroom into a collaborative and sharing environment. The </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">DELL Projector M900HD</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> may be diminutive but packs a lot of power in a small package that is ideal for setting up new collaborative learning spaces in the classroom.</span></span></span></div>

Packing Miracast- The DELL Mobile Projector M900HD

The computer trends are pointing to lighter, more portable and highly mobile technology for today's work force. This is no less true for...

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ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition from Actiontec

<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a professor of education, I am always looking at new technologies that can enliven my classroom and give me and my students tools to share ideas. When I purchased my Surface Pro 2 and Dell Venue 8, I learned about an Intel standard called Wi-Di (Wireless Display) which allows you to stream the contents of your tablet or computer to a HDMI  device without cables or wires. Many educator often refer to Wi-Di by using the term Miracast to describe<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> a peer-to-peer wireless screencasting standard formed via Wi-Fi Direct connections in a manner similar to Bluetooth. </span>Having access to Wi-Di would be great for the classroom because it would enable me to move about the classroom without the need to be tethered to the projector. Since I had half the solution in the Surface Pro 2 and Dell Venue 8 running Windows 8.1, all I needed was a Miracast receiver to enable me to use this technology. Researching which Miracast receiver would be best, I came across the <a href="http://www.actiontec.com/325.html" target="_blank">ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition from Actiontec</a> which got great reviews from many educators on the web. ScreenBeam Pro for Education sells for $99 dollars and comes complete with everything you need to get started and also includes a HDMI to VGA converter which is ideal since many classrooms still have older projectors without a HDMI port. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnjvawy80VvCIAzckRr0we-oKilU77pawFF_1tztuY8hnQJyzlbQxnb0a-pBIQDkl5CJGFeErr12u1TDpSdkpOYdUqDRMVTVdhBWTKYQq-KJLDB9bX4gASmVMNed2__zLP02afOh3Kd4/s1600/Actiontec.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnjvawy80VvCIAzckRr0we-oKilU77pawFF_1tztuY8hnQJyzlbQxnb0a-pBIQDkl5CJGFeErr12u1TDpSdkpOYdUqDRMVTVdhBWTKYQq-KJLDB9bX4gASmVMNed2__zLP02afOh3Kd4/s1600/Actiontec.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The <a href="http://www.actiontec.com/325.html" target="_blank">ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition from Actiontec</a> is a small 2 inch square receiver that plugs into a HDMI device. In my case I plugged the VGA cable from my classroom computer into the HDMI to VGA converter and plugged it into the Screenbeam Pro. Since VGA does not support wireless audio out, I was able to plug it into the supplied RCA audio cable from my computer into the ScreenBeam Pro. Once I powered the ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition the instructional landing screen was displayed and prompted me to enter the PIN. Once I entered the PIN, I was able to swipe in from the Charms menu click on Devices and select Project and select Add a Wireless Display.  Within a second or two the Actiontec ScreenBeam Pro device comes up and I simply clicked on that and within seconds my Dell Venue 8 Pro screen was projected on the screen in my classroom. I now opened OneNote and began writing write notes which were automatically displayed in my classroom. It was that simple. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the benefits of Miracast is that it does not require you to use the school's wireless network to set it up. Since ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition creates an ad hoc network it will not require IT support to get started. I was really excited with the out of the box experience and everything worked exactly as it should. If you have a Windows 8.1 tablet or computer that supports W-Di you really should take a look at </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ScreenBeam Pro for Education as a solution for giving you more flexibility when teaching in the classroom. I didn't have a chance to test it out but using the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ScreenBeam Pro Education </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Edition</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> in the classroom will enable students with Miracast supported devices to project the contents of their screen to the entire class. The </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ScreenBeam Pro Education </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Edition </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">enables teachers to secure the device and give permission to students to project their screen to the class. </span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you are looking for an inexpensive way to cast your screen from your Windows 8.1 tablet or computer then you need to take a look at the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ScreenBeam Pro for Education. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ScreenBeam Pro Education </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Edition </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">offers educators a great way to share the contents of the screen using Miracast technology. If you are trying to source the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ScreenBeam Pro Education </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Edition</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> or are</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> looking to implement </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ScreenBeam Pro Education </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Edition </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">in your classroom </span><a href="mailto:brian@assistivetek.com" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">email </a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">me for the details. </span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><b><u><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unboxing the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ScreenBeam Pro for Education</span></u></b><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0U67Qlb3cJ4" width="560"></iframe></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>

ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition from Actiontec

As a professor of education, I am always looking at new technologies that can enliven my classroom and give me and my students tools to shar...

Read more »