Reflector App: Mirror Your iPad in the Classroom

Are you looking for a wireless way to display your iPad through your overhead projector? I have been searching for a way to project my iPad for instructional purposes without having to use my dongle. The dongle kept me tied down to my overhead table. I wanted to be able to freely move around the classroom and pass my iPad off to a student to solve a problem, while at the same time projecting onto my overhead screen. The Reflector app has this capability and is a great way to assist you to becoming a paperless teacher while allowing you to move around the classroom as you teach!

The Reflector App does full mirroring; meaning it will also send the audio and there is orientation support (you can lock orientation).I simply purchased and downloaded the Reflector app onto the desktop of my classroom laptop. Now when I hook up my laptop to my overhead projector, I can open the Reflector app on my iPad and project my iPad through the overhead projector. This is a great way to model how to use a specific app, you can turn any of your “old school paper overheads” into PDFs and use Notability and a stylus for instruction, and now have a mobile Docucam!

Ways I use this app:

When my students finish an iPod project, they email their project to me and we are able to easily see their project. We have watched slideshows my students made using SonicPics and my students loved how they could easily share their work with the class.

The Reflector App allows me to have a mobile Docucam! If I want to display student work, I can simply turn on the camera mode and hover the iPad over a student’s work at their desk. Or if I am trying to highlight something on my bulletin board, I can display it from where ever it is in the room.

My class and I have created class SimpleMind+ mind maps. I can walk around the room and allow students to add an idea to our mind map.

I have turned my old overheads into PDFs and now use Notability for instructional purposes. I can now use my iPad and a stylus and move freely around my room as I teach.

I use Evernote for writing, we can easily collaborate about student writing and easily share student work.

You can use your favorite screen capturing application to record your lessons and flip your classroom!

1. Once you have purchased and downloadedReflector from their website onto your teacher laptop (and it is running), double click the home key on your iPad. Then swipe right to access your music. A square will now display. Click on the square and your computer’s name will display. Tap on your computer’s name and turn mirroring to “on.”

3. Now your iPad will display onto your laptop. I have my laptop projected through the digital projector so the entire class can see this. This is what it will look like.

4. Now open any app you want to use for instruction. Here I opened up SimpleMind+ to create a mind map with my class. While we were creating this mind map, I was keeping a record of the class conversation while sitting right next to two struggling students at their desk. Each student in my class was accessing SimpleMind+ on their iPods and creating their own mind map (borrowing ideas from the class mind map). This was a pre-writing activity for preparation for writing in their journal. I was able to walk around the room and assist students while not even skipping a beat with the classroom discussion.

5. If the background of your desktop is distracting as in this picture, while in Reflector on your desktop go into the menu bar and select >device>Enter full screen and this is how it will display:

6. If you wish, when on the menu bar for Reflector select >device>force landscape or force portrait.

I hope you find this application as effective as I do in the classroom! Please leave a comment with an idea of how else to utilize this app in your classroom.