Another iPad question that I received yesterday:
An art teacher wants to use her iPad during class to show students' work on the screen. ??But, she doesn't want the iPad to have to be stationary (like a doc cam). Is there a way to connect the iPad to her computer wirelessly in this way? WiFi or Bluetooth camera?
What first came to mind is that it's possible to mirror what is on the iPad using an Apple TV to an HD TV (or to a projector with an HDMI to VGA adapter), but that's an expensive option. There is an application for the Mac called AirServer that will allow you to stream AirPlay compatible iPad apps (iTunes, YouTube, Photos and others) to the Mac.??
That's better than buying an Apple TV expressly for this reason, but unfortunately right now it does not support the AirPlay Mirroring function, which is what is needed since the Camera app does not have an AirPlay option.
If we are only worried about getting the video from the iPad camera to the computer, there is another crafty work-around. Take a look at the Ustream app. I'm sure that you've heard of Ustream – it is a service that will allow a teacher to stream audio and video from a mobile device (like an iPad!) and broadcast it to the Ustream site which can be viewed on the class computer & projector, or by anyone else in the world.??
The good news? Both the Ustream account and the Ustream app are free! Here's what needs to happen to get this going:
- On the computer: Head to Ustream and sign up for an account. Log in, and click the big yellow 'Go To Channel' button on the left. In the big black video window below, either click the 'Pop Out' button or the full screen button to display the video that will be coming full-screen.
- On the iPad 2: Install the Ustream app. When you are ready to 'broadcast', launch the app on the iPad and click on the camera icon on the top right of the screen and in the 'Broadcast' menu that appears, select 'Go Live'. The app will give you the option to share your broadcast link on Facebook or Twitter, but all you need to do is hit the 'Broadcast' or 'HQ Broadcast' button to begin.
- On the computer, you may get a short 15- or 30-second ad, but then the video from the iPad will begin to stream to the screen!
- When you are done with what you'd like to share, just tap the iPad screen and hit the big glowing red square on the right, which will stop the video stream.??
- Here you have the option to archive the video that you just captured – great for sharing with other classes, with students who were absent, or with parents at home! The video is archived on the Ustream site, and you can share your channel address or individual links to each broadcast/video archive.??This is a great option, and??after some searching I can't find a limit as to either the amount of video that can be archived or a length limit.
- You can even embed the video on your web page with a little extra work!
The only drawback is that there is about a 5 second delay between what is happening on the camera and the video streamed back to the computer, but that should not be too much of an issue.
Give this a look. Hopefully this will be a good solution for many teachers!