Back in the early days of screen mirroring, Reflector seemed to have the lead on Air Server. Reflector had screen recording in place well before Airserver and it just looked cooler!  The latter recently seems to be devoting its time to supporting the dark side (Windows). So three big cheers to Air Squirrels (the makers of Reflector) for moving things forward again.

So with the new Reflector 2 software, you have to buy it, it isn’t a free upgrade and install it on your Mac. The free Student Reflector app enables the teacher to broadcast their iPad to each of the student iPads in the classroom.

The students use the app to connect to your Reflector software.

So think of it as the reverse of the kids sharing their screens with you! You are mirroring onto their iPad screens.

The real value of this where the teacher has an expensive app and wants the content to appear on the student’s iPad. This could be useful where you don’t have a large LCD screen or projector, but also great for sharing content that the class could be screen grabbing for their own learning.

It’s an interesting shift and some would say against the grain of student centred learning, but there are times when the teacher needs to lead and take control!

Reflector has also introduced an app called Reflector Director. This allows the teacher to manage Airplay connections. It shows which iPads have connected and allows you to take control of when they mirror. It’s not an exact science in terms of connections, but that is down to Airplay itself. I’m really enjoying using Reflector, Reflector Director and will soon be trying the Reflector Student out with classes.

Note about the app being used here….

The app that I am using here with Reflector is part of a new suite apps by Arloon. These apps combine Science and Maths content with great visuals and hands on Augmented Reality. They are pitched between primary and Keystage 3. I’ve only just started to explore them, but they do look good!