Easy to Set Up and Use

Airtame products are designed for ease of use. You can have an Airtame device up and running in minutes, and the intuitive interface means that educators and students can start sharing their screen in no time. IT admins save time with an intuitive interface for users, and simplified management, such as remote updates.

Wireless Sharing at Its Finest

With Airtame, educators and students can screen share wirelessly, eliminating the need for cables and making content sharing easier. Educators can easily switch between presentations and videos, and students can show off their work to the class with ease. Fewer cables mean less equipment needs replacing – helping to slim your IT budget.

Compatible with Everything

Airtame is compatible with commonly used classroom devices, from Windows, macOS and Chromebook, to iOS and Android. Users can cast their screen with the Airtame app, through a web browser or via the standard native protocols Google Cast, AirPlay or Miracast (Powered by ). This means that no matter what tech your educators and students are using, they can share their screen with ease, making communication simpler than ever.

Digital Signage to Transform Spaces

Want to display schedules, news updates, or an emergency alert on screens around the school? Enable instant communication of important information to students, staff, and visitors with highly customizable digital signage that’s easy to create and deploy. No need to print new materials or manually distribute them around campus.

Centralized Management

Control each Airtame device from a single dashboard with Airtame Cloud – it’s easy to update software, adjust settings, and keep an eye on usage and performance. Organize Airtame devices into groups according to their location (e.g. specific building on campus) or function (e.g. classroom vs. meeting room). The Cloud account owner can invite multiple members of staff to join, assign certain user roles with different permissions and access levels. This means, you can assign someone else to manage your digital signage, without risking them tampering with any networking settings.

Secure

Security is likely a top priority for your school, and Airtame products are designed with this in mind. We use the highest level of wireless security available, WPA2 Enterprise encryption, and can be configured to meet your school’s security policies.

Reduce Support Tickets

Minimizes stress, as device performance can be monitored regularly from the Cloud. This reduces the number of support tickets, which means IT admins can focus on other important tasks.

Budget-Friendly

Airtame products are affordable, making them a cost-effective solution for every school. You can purchase multiple devices and use them throughout the school, creating a comprehensive wireless screen sharing and digital signage solution without breaking your budget.

To sum it up, Airtame products are an excellent choice for IT administrators in educational institutions for wireless screen sharing, digital signage, and more. They’re easy to set up and use, compatible with all devices, centrally manageable, secure, and affordable. By incorporating Airtame into your school’s technology infrastructure, you can simplify your workload – and your faculty, staff, and student body will love it too!

The post Tech Made Easy: Top Ways Airtame Solutions Simplify IT Management in Schools appeared first on Airtame.

1. Wireless Screen Sharing

All Airtame solutions allow you to share your screen wirelessly, eliminating the need for cables and adapters, making it easier for you to present information to your class. No longer tethered to a desk or podium, you are empowered to roam around the classroom and check-in with students in a more natural way. As Instructional Technology Coordinator of Warren Country Public Schools, Matt Kresslein, can attest, “We have transitioned to TVs with the Airtame platform, which has freed our teachers to move around the room as they lead digital lessons delivered wirelessly from mobile devices. This has proven to be far more impactful than standing in the front of the room while students use their Chromebooks.” It provides students with the opportunity to ask questions and receive tailored 1:1 support, without needing to pause a lesson midway through. You can wirelessly share your screen through a web browser, through native protocols such GoogleCast, Airplay, and Miracast, or through the Airtame application (which brings added functionality, such as the ability to share wirelessly to multiple displays at the same time).

2. Improved Student Engagement

With Airtame, you can bring your lessons to life and engage your students in new and exciting ways. You can share videos, images, and presentations to your display, making it easier for students to follow along and understand the material. Wireless screen sharing allows students to share their work to a central classroom screen, making group presentations easy, and fostering feedback from their fellow peers.

3. Encourage Active Learning

Active learning involves students learning by either enacting or explaining the subject matter to their peers. With Airtame’s bring-your-own-device policy, students can connect to Airtame from almost any device, including Chromebooks, Macs, Windows, and Linux computers, as well as iOS and Android devices. This cross-platform compatibility facilitates active learning, allowing more students to present in front of their class or larger groups and makes Airtame perfect for both 1-to-1 and BYOD environments. Moderator mode lets educators and other staff members disconnect anyone from Airtame, giving you the power to allow screen sharing and disconnect students when needed.

4. Promote Educational Messaging

In addition to providing wireless teaching and presenting, Airtame also provides digital signage options for your classroom display. Airtame Cloud enables the setup of a single image or website, a welcome message, and screen sharing instructions across all Airtame-enabled displays. You can also showcase various multimedia as digital signage, such as student projects or artwork, class schedules, upcoming sporting events, daily cafeteria menus, and more. Leverage your digital displays to promote health and safety guidelines throughout your classroom and common areas. Here’s what Warren County Public Schools had to say about Airtame’s digital signage: “Airtame has empowered us to share district-wide signage and videos, such as the student-created projects we displayed during Digital Citizenship Week to celebrate students’ digital agility and safety.”

5. Aid Punctuality

Use the Room Overview feature in the Airtame App to synchronize with your school’s Microsoft or Google Calendar and create a timetable, which can be displayed in hallways, break rooms, cafeterias, libraries, and other areas. You’ll also save time with Airtime’s wireless capabilities, eliminating the need to search for cables.

In conclusion, Airtame products are an excellent solution for educators who want to simplify the use of technology in the classroom while creating the perfect learning environment for student engagement. With features such as easy wireless screen sharing and digital signage, Airtame can enhance your teaching experience, save you time and effort, and improve your students’ learning outcomes. As Rob Cover, Assistant Manager – School Technology Operations for York Region District School Board states, “These devices are all about providing a classroom environment that is more engaging, and richer for learning. Does the product enhance or ease the classroom environment? In both cases, it does just by virtue of its connectivity and agnosticism. It simplifies display technology for the teacher, which enhances the curriculum and the teaching”. By leveraging Airtame’s capabilities, you can create a more interactive and dynamic classroom environment that will benefit both you and your students. So why not give Airtame a try and see how it can make your life easier as a teacher?
 

The post 5 Ways Airtame Products Can Revolutionize Your Classroom appeared first on Airtame.

Introducing OneDrive Video and Dropbox Video to Airtame Cloud

Video is a powerful communication tool, and that’s why we made sure to add support for OneDrive Video and Dropbox Video this year, increasing our supported video platforms. (Which also includes YouTube!) With each of these apps, you can choose to have the same video play on a loop or plan for a playlist of videos to be shown at specific times with Scheduled Content.

PowerPoint app added to Cloud

Digital signage was made even simpler with the PowerPoint app for Airtame Cloud. Showcase presentations from your OneDrive account to all of your screens with just a few clicks. No longer do you need to convert slides to JPEGs for display! 

European partnership signed with Maverick AV Solutions 

This distribution partnership introduced Airtame’s wireless screen sharing and digital signage solution into 15 more countries. As Joel Chimoindes, Vice President for Europe with Maverick AV Solutions explained, “This new partnership is a perfect brand fit into the Maverick smart meeting portfolio in line with the huge increase in demand for collaboration environments for 2021.”

Airtame and Rise Vision partner up for Digital Signage 

With the addition of Rise Vision templates on Airtame Cloud, school administrators can now instantly share important messages to keep students, staff, and educators informed.

#1 for Cost-Effective Wireless Presentation Solutions

Futuresource Consulting recognizes Airtame as the global market leader in cost-effective Wireless Presentation Solutions (WPS)! In the research report, the company was also named a joint market leader in the Americas across all WPS categories. With this ranking, Airtame’s reputation for simplicity and reliability is appreciated by more schools and corporate clients than ever.

​​Secured funding from Vӕkstfonden to fuel expansion

This autumn, the Danish state’s investment fund added their backing to Airtame, fueling us as we lead the way with modern, collaborative leadership practices, continued expansion across North America, and new products to make video conferencing easier.

In this rapidly changing world, Airtame is here to help you make your school’s and organization’s screens smarter, and we can’t wait to keep helping you use your screens better. And when it comes to hybrid meetings? Well…a better way just might be on the way. 

The post A Year in Review: Airtame 2021 appeared first on Airtame.

Today’s release of firmware 3.9.0 brings Android and Windows users another easy, secure way to present wirelessly. With Miracast, presenters can skip running or downloading the desktop app and instead rely on the screen sharing that’s already built into their personal devices. Miracast is a screen sharing protocol that does not rely on your local network, as a direct connection is instead created between the Airtame 2 device and your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Miracast is particularly useful to two groups: 1) guest presenters with “locked down” computers, and 2) schools and enterprises that are Microsoft exclusive. The former group will be able to present when IT restrictions make it impossible to run the guest version of the Airtame desktop app which requires neither installation nor admin rights. The latter group will reap magnified benefits with the ease of use and network-independence that scales across the entire organization.

While Android users have had the possibility to present wirelessly with Google Cast, Miracast offers an alternative with the added bonus of pin code support.

To learn more about the benefits of Miracast, sign up for next week’s free webinar.

To learn about the technical specifications, check out the help center article.

Simultaneous improvements to the desktop app

Having shared the exciting news about Miracast, it’s equally important to note that the Airtame desktop app is here to stay. App version 4.0 is the result of extensive user testing. The design improvements, including how the notification bar is minimized, the size of the buttons, and the discovery of Airtame devices, all make screen sharing that much more intuitive.

To learn more about app 4.0, check out the blog post that goes through all of the changes and the design thinking behind them.

Previous update: Google Cast support is out with firmware 3.8.0

Date: February 18th, 2020

Expanding connectivity

Google Cast functionality is officially out of Beta! 

If you use an Android mobile device or the Chrome browser on your computer, Google Cast gives you the option to share your screen without needing to install an app. To test out the new connectivity, make sure your Airtame 2 is updated to firmware version 3.8.0 and enable Google Cast through your Airtame Cloud account. 

New powering and digital signage options

The firmware update also reflects new possibilities with Airtame Cloud Plus. 

To save energy, you can now schedule Airtame 2 to power your screens on and off at specific times of the day. This works with screens that have been programmed to power off whenever there is no input signal from any of its ports.

Playlists is another new way to manage screens. You can use Playlists to combine different digital signage apps, including slide decks, image galleries, and online videos to create a curated carousel that will inform and inspire. 

If you’re using Airtame, login to the cloud to test this all out! 

If you’re not a customer yet, reach out to our team to arrange for a demo.

Previous update: How Airtame 2 is getting even smarter

Date: October 24th, 2019

With firmware update 3.7.0, the LED on Airtame 2 now turns blue when a presenter is connected. With consumers opting for intuitive and sleek designs, there’s no reason why B2B products shouldn’t follow suit. That’s why we’ve made Airtame 2 even smarter.

Interactive streaming

As of firmware update 3.7.0, the LED (Light Emitting Diode) on the face of Airtame 2 changes color depending on what’s going on.

The only colors that the everyday user will see are white (when the device is ready) and blue (when a presenter is connected).

The other colors which are relevant for IT administrators to know are: solid green (new device ready to be set up), flashing green (updating), orange (network reset), and purple (factory reset).

The main benefit of this update is to reassure the presenter that everything is working. Blue light on = nothing to worry about. When someone stops presenting, the LED goes back to white, signaling to the next presenter that they’re welcome to get started.

Encouraging a smarter setup

You won’t be able to see the LED if the Airtame 2 is hidden behind a display.

Having the Airtame 2 secured next to the display (instead of behind it) has two benefits. First, everyday presenters will be able to see what’s going on based on what the LED is showing. Second, the WiFi signal strength will be much better, optimizing presentation quality.

It’s up to customers how they prefer to install the device, and for testing purposes, it makes sense to use an adjustable magnetic connection.
That said, we hope that the interactive LED will help to encourage a physical setup that has aesthetic as well as functional benefits.

Stay tuned

To get a breakdown of all previous app and firmware updates, as well as any that come up in the future, check out this article.

Got questions? Click on the blue bubble in the bottom right-hand corner of this page to chat with us, or send an email to support@airtame.com.

The post Product update: Miracast is out with firmware 3.9.0 appeared first on Airtame.

What defines immersive technologies?

Immersive technologies are any kind of technologies that extends reality or creates new realities. It enables users to look anywhere and see and experience content and a new reality. 

Immersive technologies are highly interactive, visual and engaging technologies that connect the real world with a digital one – or creates an entirely new one. There are a wide variety of VR applications that can help educators create a whole new world to interact with for students. 

Art projects, data visualization, science projects – even ‘traveling’ – can happen with immersive technologies. It gives students the opportunity to experience places and explore ideas they would otherwise never be able to reach. 

Take a look at these inspiring edtech companies around the world that are pioneering digital learning. 

Gamification feeds into the brain’s reward system

Gamification is game-design applied to a learning situation. It’s easy to understand for most students, as they have generally all tried some digital game or another. One very well-known gamification application is DuoLingo, the language learning platform that teaches people, not just students, new languages by making it into a quest with rewards where you can compete with other learners. 

So because students are already familiar with a gaming world that includes rewards and challenges that gradually become bigger and harder, it’s the perfect pairing for a learning environment. 

There’s also the added effect of dopamine being released in the brain with every reward, the chemical that triggers pleasure, motivation, and positive reinforcement. This makes the learning experience positive and ensures that students want to keep going. 

Virtual reality takes you places you couldn’t otherwise go

Virtual and augmented reality applications offer students the opportunity to step into new places, situations, and roles that are otherwise impossible to access. 

These are the top edtech trends of 2019 that you should look out for. 

Besides the fun aspect of doing something ‘outside’ the classroom, virtual reality can be used to design experimental learning, training for a specific situation or even empathy learning. 

Students get to travel to scenarios in the past, discover career paths, different ways of living or environmental issues. All of it without leaving the classroom. It’s exceptionally popular with students studying medicine because it allows them to explore anatomical functions or even situations where they have to handle emotional distress – without having to actually harm anyone. 

Too much factual information can have the opposite effect than intended and make students disengaged and tired of trying to understand. Virtual reality is the perfect tool to make learning fun and easy to comprehend. 

Learning by doing in, for example, a lab situation also becomes easier as failure doesn’t result in an abrupt stop. Rather, students can start over immediately and try again. 

Why you should open up for immersive technologies in education

Immersive technologies are truly changing the way we experience the world and for educators, that’s a fantastic evolution in learning they can use to enhance their teachings. Of course, they don’t work without a dedicated setup and educator to back up the format. Instead, they should complement conventional teaching in making abstract and theoretically heavy subjects easier to comprehend. 

We know that people, especially kids, learn better by doing than by watching, which makes immersive technologies a powerful teaching tool. Not only do they create empathy by putting the student in other people’s shoes, it also makes complex scenarios tangible and easy to comprehend. 

Training skills, sharing knowledge … Almost any type of learning can be taught or improved with simulations through virtual and augmented reality and gamification. What are you waiting for?

The post How immersive technologies can transform teaching appeared first on Airtame.

What is the flipped classroom?

Flipped learning or flipped classroom refers to a teaching form that flips the traditional teaching structure. 

How, though? Traditional teaching usually requires students to listen and stay passive in class as the teacher presents their material, and afterwards, the students do their homework actively at home. In a flipped classroom, students watch teacher-produced material at home where they can pause, skip or go back in the material any time they please, and then work on collaborative assignments in class.

Did you know that Lake Superior College saw a 70% decrease in IT support tickets after implementing Airtame? Learn more here. 

More control

In a flipped classroom, students have more control over their own learning. They are given the freedom to study at their own pace at home and take the time they need to understand difficult topics before asking questions in class. 

Student-centered

The whole point to a flipped classroom is going from a top-down teacher-centric approach to a pedagogical shift that puts students in center. By allowing students to collaborate and participate in their own learning, students can feel encouraged about their own education and at best help them stay devoted. 

Online access

Because classes and tutorials are online, there are no excuses to stay up to date with the most recent class material and homework. It means students can catch up easily and it gives them a lot of flexibility. It could also eliminate the need for many heavy paper-based books. Online access gives parents a better insight into what lectures their children are watching or have missed.

What’s in it for students

What it means for students is that they can get all the help they need when they’re doing their ‘homework’, because it’s happening when they’re in school. They can ask their classmates for help, and they won’t get left behind.

The best part is that all students don’t have to follow the same goal. It fosters personalized learning and a less stressful environment.

Parkland School District amplifies the student voice with Airtame. See how right here. 

What’s in it for teachers

For teachers, it results in much more freedom because they’re no longer in the center. They don’t have to concentrate on delivering all the answers and information on the spot but can help students search for them. It’s also easier to set up goals and success criteria as teachers can monitor students’ progress in class rather than trying to assess it from the traditional form of homework.

Downsides to flipped learning

Done properly, the flipped classroom can provide a strengthened learning environment where teachers can focus on the individual and students get more free time and flexibility. There are some cons to the process, however. 

First of all, teachers have to trust that students prepare and study at home. Without a dedicated preparation, teachers can’t go over the same material as the class can’t follow the lecture. 

Moreover, the flipped classroom relies on some sort of tech inclusivity. Meaning that students who aren’t necessarily as tech-savvy as their peers or don’t own the same equipment in a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) environment might get left behind. It’s important to think about what technological implementation everyone, no matter their background, will be able to use and understand. 

Airtame is a BYOD inclusive, wireless screen sharing tool. We cater to K12, higher education, and universities alike. 

Another significant downside is the amount of screen time students will be forced to endure. Screen time isn’t inherently bad but can be problematic if it’s consistent throughout the day as the only educational tool. 

Conclusion

The flipped classroom can be an effective way of engaging students and aiding them in being a part of their own education. Done right, it’s a flexible solution that suits both students and teachers. 

Interested in how wireless screen sharing can help create a better learning environment? Book a personal Airtame demo right now.

The post Turn traditional teaching upside down with the flipped classroom appeared first on Airtame.

The annual ISTE conference (International Society for Technology in Education) is an epicenter for edtech enthusiasts, especially within K12, and this year in Philadelphia was no different. Naturally, the Airtame team was present too.

The Airtame booth was on fire

Following the recent success at InfoComm in Orlando where we won a ‘Best of Show’ award, the Airtame team was ready to take on a new conference – and slay it! And that’s exactly what happened.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by our booth, from all of our fantastic Airtame ambassadors to distributors and curious souls. Our sales team and tech specialists literally lost their voices at the end of the conference because of the number of conversations and pitches. 

The ultimate stamp of approval

When it comes to ease-of-use, Airtame is definitely a top player. We spoke to several of the Airtame IT admins and end users who have been directly involved with deploying Airtame, and all of them highlighted how simple it is to manage and use. 

Parkland School District in Philadelphia are also avid Airtame users and made a small announcement during the conference about their experience. This is the best praise we could ever wish for and we’re humbled by the kind words. 

Here’s Tracy Smith, Assistant to the Superintendent for Operations at Parkland School District:

Edtech trendspotting at ISE

While many booths were displaying incredibly innovative solutions, some seemed stuck in the past. To me, at least, some booths had a faded idea of what a modern classroom looks like and who benefits from smart technologies. 

Specifically, I’m talking inclusivity. Edtech needs to be for everyone, and that’s something most of the ISTE exhibitors took a stand on. Whether students come from a background with or without technology in their lives, the classroom needs to include both – and everything in between. 

That’s why I want to highlight ease-of-use as the main trend at ISTE. Whether it was robotics, spell-checking or, obviously, screen sharing, there’s a need for technologies that work for everyone in the classroom, students and teachers alike and no matter their background. 

The post ISTE2019 recap: The no. 1 edtech conference appeared first on Airtame.

Code Your Future is one such example; a non-profit organization that teaches refugees how to code in order to have better job opportunities. They’ve got locations in London, Manchester, Glasgow, and now Rome too, with more than 100 graduates so far.

Because of the many cultural backgrounds of the refugees, it’s vital that the tech they use at Code Your Future is simple, reliable, and easy to use. That’s why we’ve recently gifted them four Airtames in order for them to succeed and create a better, open learning environment.

Germán Bencci is the founder of Code Your Future. We asked Germán for a chat about cultural differences, the modern workspace, and why coding is a great place to start if you want to learn a new, high in demand skill fast.

How did Code Your Future come to be?

The refugee crisis in 2015 hit me pretty strongly. I’m from Venezuela myself, and over the past years, many of my countrymen have had to flee as well due to the political climate. So when I experienced it in Europe too, I immediately started thinking about solutions.

I think what really drove me to start Code Your Future was the fact that big tech companies made a lot of promises and pledged to have a positive impact on the crisis, yet nothing happened. That’s when I knew I had to step in and present something tangible, and it was natural to me to use tech as an enabler.

Code Your Future helps create better job opportunities for future tech employees. But why coding?

No matter their academic background or if they have one at all, many refugees find it almost impossible to get jobs other than cleaning, repairs or sewing, etc. Coding gives you a lot of other opportunities and skills that are highly sought after, but without having to spend many years training.

It doesn’t take a lot of time nor money to learn how to code, and it’s one of the very few skills that makes you likely to get a good job instantly. Coding ignores ethnicity, religions, and cultural background completely.

What fuels your mission of helping refugees code? What’s the reward?

The opportunities and networks we have access to aren’t distributed evenly in society and, consequently, there’s a lot of social inequality. Disrupting that is pure magic! Of course, meeting new people and connecting with different, rarely represented cultures is also a fantastic bonus.

I guess it’s really mostly about taking the small steps towards change that inspires people to take the same small steps themselves.

What does it take to become an innovative organization, like Code Your Future?

People! People that want to make this happen. And a good portion of determination, welcome attitude, risk-willingness, and continuous yearning for improvement.

I’d also have to add that your ego should stay out of it. Working with what we do requires you to be selfless and open in a way we rarely are today. We’re non-profit, so we simply can’t think of it as a traditional business venture.

In relation to that, what do you think tech companies should do to accommodate employees with all sorts of backgrounds?

First of all, I genuinely feel that there’s a lot of good will and intentions in the tech industry. Tech products are used by millions of different people with tons of different backgrounds, so in order to cater to them, tech companies have to understand them and embrace their differences.

I think tech companies should be aware that they still have biases and then try to let go of them. They’ll be pleasantly surprised if they go outside their comfort zone a bit more.

Employees are one thing. What do you think the modern workspace should look like?

The most important thing for a modern workspace is understanding where their workforce is coming from. The same thing that goes for, say, Italian culture isn’t always a given for people with other backgrounds.

With the proper training, an open attitude as well as transparency, companies can come a long way. It’s imperative that companies figure out exactly what kind of company they want to be. What does the hierarchy look like? What about daily communication? Are you only considering a certain personality type? And so on.

When companies do that bit of ‘soul searching’, they’ll understand what they have to do to get to where they want. And maybe if the structures that are already implemented should be disrupted.

What have you learned through the process of establishing Code Your Future?

The most amazing thing I’ve learned is definitely that people are more than willing to share knowledge, help out, and make a difference. On the other hand, it’s equally amazing how willing the refugees we meet are to learn something new.

People basically want the same thing. They want to feel part of a group, they want basic safety in life and a sense that what they do matters. I’ve found through Code Your Future that it’s all possible if we’re open and treat other religions and cultures respectfully. We can achieve so much if we just acknowledge how alike we are deep down.

What do you wish every workspace had in terms of gear?

I can only speak for Code Your Future, but I believe this is applicable for other businesses too. Everybody needs work equipment that’s easy to understand and simple to use. Dashboards and big screens, for example, can quickly give workers a summary of the company’s impact and metrics. Tools like that empower your employees to feel connected and are a conversation-starter cross-team.

Can you describe one particularly meaningful student success story?

We have so many, it’s hard to just pick one. I’ll tell you the story of Louis who fled from Cameroon and rose from homelessness to a full-time developer.

After fleeing Cameroon, Louis found himself alone on the streets of London, scrambling to get by. He lived on the streets for a full year, after which he found a job as a cleaner and simultaneously enrolled in college to learn English. With no prior experience, he was afraid Code Your Future wouldn’t accept him into the course, but I told him to apply anyway.

He graduated from Code Your Future after just a few months and landed his first full-time job as a developer immediately thereafter. He laughed and told me he could have never dreamt of a life like this before, yet here he was! That made me so happy.

We try to give people the skills to become independent in a foreign country, and it’s amazing every time we succeed. It’s possible because we teach not only coding, but also communication, and how to work in a professional environment. Louis tells me he has a new dream now: to become a full-stack developer and teach others, just like we do, how to code. I’m confident he will do just that and help those who are in the same situation he was.

How can technology, like Airtame, help improve the workspace?

One of the reasons why Airtame has helped us so much is that you can be in a room with 30 laptops and people sitting in front of their computers working but still share the same experience. Airtame creates a unified feeling where everyone can be part of the same storytelling experience.

For us, it becomes a classroom environment where we break down hierarchy and let everyone be part of the discussion. Airtame allows people to tell their own story smoothly, no matter their cultural background, and share their problems in a visual way, and it’s very empowering to be a part of.

We look forward to seeing Code Your Future bloom.

If you want to know how Airtame can make a difference for your workspace, please don’t hesitate to book a demo with us now.

The post Interview with Code Your Future: How coding changes lives appeared first on Airtame.

We try to make things run as smoothly as possible for our partners who use Airtame but, sometimes, implementing a new technological tool can be challenging. Getting deployment right depends on everything from leadership to staff and student engagement and quality training.

In order to help you make the most of Airtame in your educational setting, this article outlines everything to take into account — from the preliminary questions to consider before purchase, to ongoing processes for maintaining Airtame, and re-training key staff members and keeping your student body engaged. Your school will be up and running with wireless streaming in no time!

Looking for a step-by-step guide on mass deployment? Take a peek here. And here’s a quick overview of Airtame:

Make sure that investing in wireless technology is the right choice

Before investing in a new technological solution, make sure that you have asked yourself these relevant questions that will uncover whether this is the right choice. These can involve anything from budget considerations to which computers and displays are most commonly used.

You should also be sure that people want the change. No decision should be made before taking into account the preferences and concerns of educators and other staff members. IT administrators must also be involved to ensure that deployment will be realistic from a technical standpoint.

Do your research to see if Airtame is the best match for your particular needs, by taking into consideration how it compares to other solutions (check out our comparison articles here).  Even when you feel confident that it’s the optimal solution, double check that the requirements for using Airtame can be met.

We understand that funding can be tight, which is why we run a 30-day risk-free trial, to give you peace of mind, and to help offset any uneasiness about investing in a specific solution before getting to test it out first-hand.

Still in doubt? Let’s talk your questions through in a demo call. Don’t have the time? Check out our recorded Airtame for education demo:

Install and configure Airtame

Perhaps you will buy 40 Airtames for your school or institute – or perhaps you will buy 400. You may be using Airtame for a television or projector at the front of a classroom, or in a hallway, lobby area, or assembly hall. Whatever the case, the initial setup will require some planning.

First, think in advance about how you want to power the Airtames (i.e. through the USB port of your display or with the AC adapter that comes in the box). You could also use a PoE (power over Ethernet) solution for your devices. Consider the physical layout of each room, and whether or not the chosen setup can be accommodated.

Second, take into account if the devices will be at risk of theft, and physically secure them according to your judgment.

Third, consider an efficient labeling system that will be used for each Airtame based on its location (e.g., Biology Lab, Lobby Left, Classroom 24, etc.). Later on, you can save the same name on the label to a given device’s settings.

Fourth, plan how you will configure the devices. Configuration refers to how you will connect Airtame to the local network, and the settings you will turn on for each device (e.g., Pin Code Connect, Password Protection, Resolution, AirPlay, etc.).

Many educational settings have various groups of people who’ll want to present wirelessly—teachers, students, parents, guest speakers, etc.—and they’ll all need access to Airtame regardless of which network they’re on.

Start streaming – and test, test, test

Once you have physically installed and configured Airtame, it’s time to start streaming! We highly recommend having students, teachers, and IT administrators stream to Airtame from the various platforms used with your environment (be they Chromebook, Mac, Windows, Linux computers and/or iOS and Android mobile devices).

You can share your computer screen to one Airtame-equipped screen, or to multiple screens at the same time. During testing, judge image, video, and sound quality when streaming different kinds of content.

You can always reach out to our support team if you encounter any challenges. We also have a help center with articles to help guide your IT administrator (and everyday users) each step of the way. During this phase of testing, it may be useful to:

1. Test your Airtame setup to make sure each device is detectable.

2. Calibrate your display for the best possible image quality.

3. Test and improve streaming: including audio and video streaming.

4. Test and improve your WiFi network for better overall performance.

4. Get your devices on Airtame Cloud

Airtame Cloud, used for the easy management of your screens is available at https://airtame.cloud/ and is completely free. You simply set up a Cloud account with your work email, and then start adding Airtame devices to the platform. Once this is complete, you will be able to monitor and make changes to devices even when working remotely.

Cloud management is great for ease of use when it comes to the mass deployment and upkeep of dozens or even hundreds of Airtames.

One-on-one changes can always be made to an individual Airtame through the Airtame app, such as in the case of a teacher wanting to update something specific for a particular class. The Airtame app is handy for the everyday user, and Airtame Cloud is the best possible way for IT administrators to monitor performance and manage settings throughout the entire school.

One Airtame customer, Lake Superior College, has seen support tickets drop by 80% since deploying Airtame. This is due to the efficiency that Airtame Cloud, and other features, can provide when deployment is done right.

Get rolling with digital signage

When no one is streaming to Airtame for a class presentation or meeting, it can be used to show an image, website, or custom dashboard. This lets you make the most out of the displays that are already in use in classrooms or public spaces throughout the building, and can easily be updated via the Airtame app or from Airtame Cloud.

You could display the school’s website or its logo along with a welcome message to visitors on career day, or you could have the class timetable shown when students are working on independent assignments. You could even show a clock ticking down the time until a test is over, or an image of a famous painting as the backdrop of an art class.

Administrators can use Airtame Cloud to instantly display relevant mass communication (related to fire drills, directions for guests, or other public service announcements) across a building or entire campus. There is a multitude of ways to use signage to make a learning environment that much more safe, organized and inspiring.

Teachers and other staff should have a way to either update this content themselves, by having access to the device settings (which can be password locked), or, alternatively, there should be a simple forum for requesting that the relevant administrators update digital signage on an ongoing basis through Airtame Cloud.

Train teachers – and students

Training teachers and students will be an essential part of making the most of the devices. Showing people what they can do with technology, that they could not do previously, is the best possible way to demonstrate value. Meaningful change can only occur when this is realized in the long-term.

A single training session won’t be enough to ensure that old habits don’t kick back in soon after. Ongoing workshops and one-on-one sessions with an instructional technologist can help to sustain steadily increasing use of all the different features of Airtame.

While individual instruction is effective, a complementary learning tool is to have a landing page that gives everyone an overview of why you’ve chosen Airtame, and how it works.

A great example is this one created by Boston Public Schools who have taken a special initiative to take full advantage of their investment. Our team is of course always happy to assist over the phone, and by offering written instructions such as our printable guides and help center articles.

Continue updating, teaching, and learning

Airtame is a living product, meaning that we’re continually working on improving the user experience and product in order to help you use your screens better.

The Airtame Cloud platform offers a centralized and efficient way to make sure that all the devices are up to date. Ensuring quality control is also made easier by staying in touch with Airtame’s support team, in order to learn about relevant developments as well as get answers to any questions or concerns.

Airtame can help unlock more collaborative learning, one teacher, and student, at a time. With a steady influx of new educators and students, it’s important that training is ongoing, and that everyone has the time to peacefully move into a new method of teaching, and learning, in an increasingly wireless world.

If you have questions or need assistance with setting up Airtame in your environment, please get in touch via:

• Our live chat at www.airtame.com
• Email at support@airtame.com
• Booking a call

The post Things to consider when rolling out Airtame in schools appeared first on Airtame.

In one of his case studies, he let students attend lectures and then gave them a pop quiz right at the start of the next class. The performance was abysmal. A few weeks later, the results were deteriorating further, which indicated that the students were only retaining a minimal amount of what was taught during the lectures.

The solution to this problem meant a radical change to the traditional methods of teaching, but something that was very much possible. Here is a glimpse into some of the essentials that you need to consider for your classroom next semester.

Active learning methods to replace long lectures

Active learning is a new teaching approach that progresses with a student-centric mindset. In this approach, the teacher wants the students to take back something and probe into it. One of the most effective active learning methods is to divide a problem into subproblems and assign it to several small groups within a class. Occasionally, the teacher should group them back together and also guide them in the right direction.

Another active learning method is One Minute Paper or The Muddiest Point Paper in which the students are given the opportunity to write down the most important points from the day’s session or the least clear point (muddy). The responses can be later addressed in the next class or through online groups.

A popular active learning method is brainstorming where students are encouraged to generate ideas on a certain topic or a particular category. The ideas they pitch are written on a blackboard and all of the ideas, however improbable they may seem, must be noted.

Active learning is not just about handing over responsibilities to the student, it involves a great deal of effort from the teacher’s side as well. The teacher must not only know the content but should also know how to create interactive experiments and challenging scenarios.

Laptops are not the biggest source of distraction in a class, it is boredom and irrelevance. Students tend to stay attentive to topics that grab their attention and has an impact beyond the classroom itself. Teachers should look into changing the way they construct their lectures and incorporate new teaching methodologies to enhance student throughput.

Building a dynamic study environment through tech

The smartphone penetration in Europe was 84% of the total population at the beginning of 2017 and over 23% of the total population is under the age of 24. This opens up a huge potential for bringing flexible and innovative learning methods through technology to a large population of students.

Most of the existing classrooms have a specific set of hardware that the students and teachers are expected to comply with. This creates a lot of cable clutter, confusion, and difficulty for maintenance. But incorporating a device like Airtame into the classroom removes the necessity for cables when it comes to presentations and seminars and eases the maintenance overhead on the IT admins.

It also opens up the entire classrooms to learn collaboratively by allowing every student and teacher to mirror the contents from their device to the monitor independently.

Students nowadays don’t just want to learn about something, but they want to feel the context. This is where some of the most popular gadgets and technologies come into play. Virtual reality headsets can prove to be a boon for teachers as it allows students to virtually experience what is being taught.

Whether it is learning about the solar system, different parts of a car or historical monuments these headsets can elevate the learning experience to a whole new level.

Hands-on learning is crucial

Knowing concepts but failing to understand where to use them renders the knowledge useless. This is a very relevant statement in today’s world wherein students are only taught the high-level outline of concepts but are not encouraged to move deeper into the subject.

Hands-on learning through Arduino kits, 3D printers and more are proven to be better for the students in terms of retention capacity, problem-solving capability and better engagement.

The post The essential teaching tips you need to bring to your classroom next semester appeared first on Airtame.