Making the Most of WiFi

Think that a wireless network is only good for moving data around, printing and sharing an Internet connection? Peerless-AV’s HD Flow Wireless Multimedia Kit is an 802.11n router that can add audio-visual distribution to its list of classroom duties. It can move HD video to a projector or large screen monitor as well as surround sound audio to a set of speakers, but is limited to a 131-foot range, plenty for most classrooms. Each transmitter can service up to 4 receivers and the $429 kit comes with a transmitter and receiver and a remote control. While the transmitter has a pair of HDMI, VGA and composite video, the receiver has an HDMI, composite and component video ports.  

 

 

 

Getting the Word Out

Tired of boring announcements that nobody listens to or ecologically destructive printed hand-outs? StarTech has a better idea with its Digital Sign Broadcaster and Receiver, which can put all sorts of announcements onto screens in hallways, cafeterias and other open spaces. The DS128 sells for $600 and can send high quality video and stereo audio from a standard Ethernet cable to as many as 9 separate screens. It requires the $400 DSRXL receiver and the system comes with Java-based software that lets an administrator monitor each screen.

 

HD Video Everywhere

If you’ve ever tried to connect a high-definition source, like Blu-Ray player, to a projector that’s more than 10- or 15-feet away, it’s an expensive hassle to get and snake a long HDMI cable. But, with Vantec’s new converter box, the signal can be sent over plain old coaxial cable for up to 382-feet, making it perfect for the auditorium or other large venue at school.

Beam Me Up

One of the hardest things that the digital classroom requires is getting what’s on the teacher’s screen to a projector or large display so the entire class can see. Without rewiring old buildings, which can cost as much as installing a new projector, means cables hanging all over the place. HP’s Wireless TV Connect has a way of sending the PC’s output to a high-definition screen without wires. It doesn’t require loading any software, but the desktop PC or notebook needs to have an HDMI port for the audio and video as well as an unused USB connection for power. The computer’s USB port and hang it on the back with the included clip and the audio and video are streamed to the TV or projector. There’s a slight delay, but it works quite well, although it’s limited to a range of about 10-feet.

Press and See

For many all the possible classroom connections are enough to drive a normally sane teacher crazy. Altinex’s CP451-008 Wireless Touchscreen Controller can make sense of it all with the ability to control a dozen different audio-visual devices, all by touching the 8.4-inch color screen. Because it’s wireless, there are no clunky cables to deal with and the teacher can roam the classroom with it in hand. It comes with AVSnap software for integrating an entire classroom’s digital equipment.

Seeing Really is Believing

When teaching a difficult subject there’s nothing like a well-made short film to bring it all together. ePals and SnagFilms are teaming up to put non-fiction titles in front of school students. Called eFilms, the service has movies on a variety of subjects from a look at Incan tombs to a history of the Wright Brothers. The service is free, the flicks can be shown full-screen and there are ads on and around the player. So far, there aren’t many videos available, but the catalog will grow as the venture gets started.

Elementary Science Lessons

Finding appropriate resources to engage elementary school children in scientific inquiry can be a challenge. Enter Discovery Education Science for Elementary, the new digital service from the creators of Discovery Education streaming that is basically an extension of Discovery Education Science for Middle School, launched in 2007. The service is organized into four areas: Learn, Explore, Demonstrate, and Extend. This provides a well-rounded approach to elementary science, giving students and teachers plenty of opportunities to understand tricky concepts using a variety of tools.

SAFARI Montage Integrated with Promethean Activboard

Educators can now present content from SAFARI Montage’s video-on-demand digital media management system on the Promethean Activboard. Users can freeze frame video and annotate over it by using the pen to write notes and hightlight information. SAFARI Montage lets users save, meta tags and share Promethean lessons, saved on flipcharts, on their district’s central server.

Discovery Education Introduces Media Management and Content Collaboration Service

Teachers love to integrate video clips into lessons, but managing all that media can get unwieldy. Discovery Education’s new MediaShare web-based media management service allows administrators, media specialists and teachers to upload, correlate, manage, and distribute user-created or licensed digital content. Using MediaShare, educators can upload content to either locally hosted servers or to Discovery Education servers, allowing teachers, parents and students to access digital content from anywhere.  Once content is uploaded, administrators have the flexibility to set sharing permissions to ensure users have the correct level of access to digital assets.

New Player in the Video Streaming Market

Move over Discovery, there’s a new streaming kid in town. School Specialty Media will announce its new online Learn360 video streaming service for K-12 schools at FETC. Learn360 boasts a library of 1,400+ on-demand, full-length educational videos, thousands of video clips, audio files, and still images (the content comes from School Specialty Media’s Sunburst Visual Media brand and other content partners like National Geographic and PBS). Administrators can add their own content and, of course, all videos are aligned to state standards. We’ll check it out at the conference and post our feedback live from Orlando. In the meantime, read more on the website.