Android tablet as touchpad instead of IWB

[mavhc]

Has anyone tried this? Instead of buying a 65" touchscreen for £1.5k, buy a 65" non-touch screen and use a cheap android tablet as a touchpad for half the price?

[christhetech]

What sort of screen are you going to get for half the price though? If you are thinking of a consumer unit, it's not worth the hassle, and a 65" Commercial flat panel will not be that much less expensive than the £1,500 or so that you will pay for a touchscreen, so it may be a bit of a false economy overall.

[mavhc]

What sort of screen are you going to get for half the price though? If you are thinking of a consumer unit, it's not worth the hassle, and a 65" Commercial flat panel will not be that much less expensive than the £1,500 or so that you will pay for a touchscreen, so it may be a bit of a false economy overall.

 

What are the main hassles?

[difinity]

A interactive display aka touchscreen is OS neutral and as such any resources can be used from any platform. What you are proposing is displaying an Android tablet on a TV. It's a very different thing. No wonder it's half the price, although i'd consider that setup far less than half the functionality of a true touch screen.

 

I'm guessing as they come with a 5 years warranty they are designed more robustly than consumer TVs, both electronically and mechanically. LED failure in the backlights being the biggest point of failure in modern TVs.

 

Writing legibly on a large touch screen isn't to hard, writing on a small touch screen that's then projected large, the writing will look odd/childish/too large i think.

I'd also guess there's better student engagement when they stand in front/to the side of the board rather than look down at their tablet. The teacher also has both hands free.

[mavhc]

I'm proposing using an android tablet as a touchpad for a PC, not to display what's on the tablet. The resolution would be the main problem, could use a wacom tablet instead if it is.

 

You do lose the 1:1 touch what you see, but at least your pupils and teachers can both reach all of the screen, it should be used the same as a touchpad, you look at the screen and move your finger. Would rely on the software being good to determine move vs click.

 

Richer Sounds sells a Toshiba 4k 65" screen with 6 year guarantee for £700

[difinity]

Ah i see what you're saying now.

Usability is the main problem as I see it, i see no benefit attaching a touchpad to a PC displaying on a large screen. Have you seen how a decent teacher uses an interactive screen ? Having to hold the tablet and pass it between teachers and student and use it or mount it next to the TV just seems poor to me compared to this.

The warranty won't be valid in a school environment and the screen won't be designed for toughness.

[mrwoberts]

Crossed a similar bridge recently.

 

Some of the reasons we didn't go for a TV were:

 

Screen protection (not toughened glass), accidental damage is definitely not covered. This was probably the biggest factor.

Touchscreen built-in 'Android' OS is actually helpful at times, when you just need to write stuff down, or go straight to Google Earth to look at something... No need for the teacher to leave the laptop in the room.

(As others mentioned) Warranty is a grey area when the unit is used in a commercial setting, although we could have bought a 'commercial' grade TV.

Just having the ability to touch without having to think about it is probably a bit underestimated - will the tablet 'just work' without any issues. Had major problems with a friends Wacom tablet in a previous version of Windows 10 !

[christhetech]

Crossed a similar bridge recently.

 

Some of the reasons we didn't go for a TV were:

 

Screen protection (not toughened glass), accidental damage is definitely not covered. This was probably the biggest factor.

Touchscreen built-in 'Android' OS is actually helpful at times, when you just need to write stuff down, or go straight to Google Earth to look at something... No need for the teacher to leave the laptop in the room.

(As others mentioned) Warranty is a grey area when the unit is used in a commercial setting, although we could have bought a 'commercial' grade TV.

Just having the ability to touch without having to think about it is probably a bit underestimated - will the tablet 'just work' without any issues. Had major problems with a friends Wacom tablet in a previous version of Windows 10 !

 

To be honest, a commercial grade screen is not going to be that much less expensive than an entry level interactive touch screen, so it becomes an even bigger no-brainer.

[SamanthaD]

Add in the security aspect - at least the touchscreen is bolted to the wall and can't be put into a bag. Also you don't need to keep the touchscreen on charge, and it won't lose wifi connection when a class full of mobile phones comes in!

 

Touchscreens every time for me.

[mavhc]

In theory the mobile phones aren't on/in the class, also they don't have wifi password.

 

Tablet would connect via usb, just using it as a 1:1 touchpad for the laptop really.

 

If someone would add a touchscreen to a screen for a reasonable price that would be good, can't cost that much in reality, £50 at most above the price of a TV

[christhetech]

In theory the mobile phones aren't on/in the class, also they don't have wifi password.

 

Tablet would connect via usb, just using it as a 1:1 touchpad for the laptop really.

 

If someone would add a touchscreen to a screen for a reasonable price that would be good, can't cost that much in reality, £50 at most above the price of a TV

 

The difference in price between an interactive touchscreen and a commercial grade panel is really not that great. A consumer TV on the wall really isn't a sensible solution.

 

At least with an interactive screen, you have toughened glass screen and the peace of mind that if it does fail, the manufacturer is not going to Shanghai you on the warranty because you are using it for a purpose that it was not designed for. That is the ultimate get out of jail free card when it comes to a consumer TV being used as a classroom screen.

An interactive screen is simply more practical all round. It's designed specifically for the task, a consumer TV is not. If you were to go down the commercial grade panel route, there is very little difference in price and by the time you factor the extra £100 for your android tablet, you would be paying around the same overall anyway for a solution that is simply not as practical for everyday use.

[PrimaryNetMan]

Looking at it from the wrong perspective. A portable interactive tablet, iPad, Chromebook, MS Surface device for the teacher means they are no longer tethered to the front of the screen. So much more flexibility for the teacher to engage with their pupils and enhance teaching.

 

Spot the difference.

 

 

[SamanthaD]

Looking at it from the wrong perspective. A portable interactive tablet, iPad, Chromebook, MS Surface device for the teacher means they are no longer tethered to the front of the screen.

Mavhc has said the tablet would be connected via USB - so still tethered.

 

What you're suggesting is wireless casting, not what the OP is looking to do.

 

And I hardly feel the picture is a fair comparison!

[Alis_Klar]

What would be be best solution for wireless casting? What tablet device would people recommend? In my situation we are re-designing the computer suite and the head wants all pupils in rows facing the front. In order for pupils at the back the see it was suggested to raise the screen but it would not be reachable any more so a remote tablet was suggested as a solution. Crazy? or not? Wacom / Miracast /

 

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/turn-windows-10-pc-into-wirelss-display

[jmak]

Google cast for education?

 

https://support.google.com/edu/castforedu/?hl=en

[mavhc]

Depends how near your classrooms are to each other I guess, 1 wireless stream would be fine, but multiple is pushing it

[Alis_Klar]

Airtame seems a good solution https://airtame.com/compare/microsoft-wireless-display-adapter-alternative/

 

Anyone used one?

[Alis_Klar]

I was assured by Airtame support that it can be used as an AP for peer to peer WiFi (like a Apple TV) and still allow internet access for the device by connecting to an Ethernet cable and forwarding packets to the LAN bit keeping the mirroring traffic off the main WiFi and LAN

[mavhc]

Still using up a channel though, or 4 if it's bonded them

[Alis_Klar]

Looking to restrict traffic to 5GHz

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-networking/how-miracast-communicates-over-wifi-networks/c4e106dc-7e9f-4f5c-9976-433e76eafc55

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/all/specify-24-or-5-ghz-wifi-bands-selectively-on/0015e765-92ce-40c8-923b-9347b398f1b0

 

Summary

Miracast adapters like the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter and the Netgear PTV3000, etc. negotiate a connection with the source device. To do this, they broadcast a message that basically announces that they are available for a connection.

Details

 

Miracast adapters like the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter and the Netgear PTV3000, etc. negotiate a connection with the source device. To do this, they broadcast a message that basically announces that they are available for a connection. To do this, the adapter will use one of the three non-overlapping 2.4GHz 802.11 channels (1, 6 and 11) which in essence are the lowest common denominator and would be the most broadly available and used channels. (For this reason, if you are on a device that allows 5GHz only connections and suppresses 2.4 GHz, you cannot connect). Therefore, 2.4GHz is a requirement to negotiate a connection using Miracast.

 

• If 2.4GHz is the only frequency supported by your router, then issues might occur due to saturated channels from nearby routers in your environment. You might try changing the channel on your router to see if conditions improve. To see all the Wireless channels nearby, open a cmd prompt and type:
  
• netsh wlan show networks mode=BSSID [press Enter]
  
• If you are connected to your router using a 5GHz channel, the Miracast frequency can be negotiated to use 5GHz (but remember, the negotiation initiates over 2.4 GHz).
  
• If you are not connected to a WiFi network, the Miracast connection will always be negotiated on 2.4 GHz
  

 

A Miracast session creates a virtual, second network on a direct, peer to peer basis between your host computer/device and the target Miracast display/Miracast enabled TV/Miracast adapter.

 

This is annoying as I was hoping to be able to do the negotiation over 2.4GHz and then setup the peer-to-peer miracast connection on 5GHz where there is much more bandwidth and chennels without it touching my infrastructure.

 

Guess I could have a separate AP and SSID in that room just for MiraCasting in 5GHz mode to work around the issue.

Edited November 20, 2018 by Alis_Klar

[mavhc]

Seems like if your laptop is connected to WiFi and 5GHz, but 2.4 is not disabled, then it'll talk over 2.4, and then start a connection using 5GHz

[SamanthaD]

There are loads of wireless casting solutions out there at the moment - you need to ask a few questions and identify how it's going to be used. We've been doing this exercise for about 3 years now and still don't really have an answer!

 

Questions you need to ask...

 

Do you want it to cast natively in your OS or are you happy with an app?

Do you want collaboration features, or just a way of transmitting AV over wirelessly?

How secure do you want the system to be?

Do you want to encourage BYOD functionality so students can cast to the screens - if so how much teacher control do you need for moderation?

 

A few products to get you started

 

WePresent - by Barco. Hardware solution, more for BYOD collaboration and easy connection.

Kramer VIA - Hardware solution, lots of collaboration and file sharing options, better security.

Vivi - simpler interface than others IMO

Sony vision exchange - software based solution...

 

We're still undecided - but have Kramer VIA installed in one of our rooms. Can't say more than that I'm afraid!

[Brimstone]

There are loads of wireless casting solutions out there at the moment - you need to ask a few questions and identify how it's going to be used. We've been doing this exercise for about 3 years now and still don't really have an answer!

 

Questions you need to ask...

 

Do you want it to cast natively in your OS or are you happy with an app?

Do you want collaboration features, or just a way of transmitting AV over wirelessly?

How secure do you want the system to be?

Do you want to encourage BYOD functionality so students can cast to the screens - if so how much teacher control do you need for moderation?

 

A few products to get you started

 

WePresent - by Barco. Hardware solution, more for BYOD collaboration and easy connection.

Kramer VIA - Hardware solution, lots of collaboration and file sharing options, better security.

Vivi - simpler interface than others IMO

Sony vision exchange - software based solution...

 

We're still undecided - but have Kramer VIA installed in one of our rooms. Can't say more than that I'm afraid!

 

Oh dear......there's far too much over thinking on these solutions

 

Products like Airserver (a software based solution) can do all of this.

 

Do you want it to cast natively in your OS or are you happy with an app?

 

It can either use an app to find the computer running Airserver (to get round VLANS) or use whichever mirroring tools you have on the device (platform makes no difference)

 

 

Do you want collaboration features, or just a way of transmitting AV over wirelessly?

 

Now you using the device to mirror use an app that has these live collaboration tools built in

How secure do you want the system to be?

 

Secure, why on earth would you even ask this question..?

Do you want to encourage BYOD functionality so students can cast to the screens - if so how much teacher control do you need for moderation?

 

Again use an app that has tools like this built in.

 

As for people on here saying that you should not be buying consumer based TV's for use with a solution like this, it's utter rubbish.

 

I have plenty of schools who trashed IWB's years ago and saved thousands, they provide zero impact in the classroom and are over complicated and difficult to use. They have TV screens that are 4-5 years old and not had one single one fail yet, one has just upgraded 4 65" screens, they connect easily to wireless and have Android built in.

 

My two cents...

[mavhc]

I have plenty of schools who trashed IWB's years ago and saved thousands, they provide zero impact in the classroom and are over complicated and difficult to use. They have TV screens that are 4-5 years old and not had one single one fail yet, one has just upgraded 4 65" screens, they connect easily to wireless and have Android built in.

 

My two cents...

 

What model?

[SamanthaD]

Thanks for the public bashing, but surely you'd want to at least consider the points I raised before rolling out the first piece of software that Google finds?

 

Oh and please let me know the first time a student hops onto Airserver and starts playing porn to a classroom. If you're not concerned about security it's only a matter of days before it happens....