What's Up?

[oefootball_70]

I am a new member. I am in school to become a teacher and I am trying to use my iPad as much in my classroom as possible. I am currently looking for outlets to project the image from my ipad onto the projector. Wirelessly if possible.

I appreciate the help and look forward to learning much more from you guys/gals in the future.

OE

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Good to hear from you. You’ll find a whole bunch of iPad enthusiasts in this Forum who are only too willing to help other iPad owners and to hear of their experiences. Don’t be afraid to post any questions you may have or use the ‘Search’ button near the top of the Forum web page. I usually find I discover one new interesting and useful piece of information about my iPad every day - and often not even what I was looking for!!

As you probably know, you can purchase an iPad dock-to-VGA accessory for your iPad to enable you to connect it to video projectors etc. That's the good news!! The bad news is that this accessory is only supported by certain apps - such as Apple's Keynote (PowerPoint) app - i.e. it is not a 'universal' accessory that simply projects the iPad screen, it needs to be explicitly supported by the app. There is more information, including some good and bad comments, here...

Apple iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter - Apple Store (UK)

So, if you simply want to project, say, lectures for your students using conventional PowerPoint slides there's no problem (though it's not a wireless solution). But if you want to project the output of other apps then you'll need to determine, on an app-by-app basis, whether they support the iPad's video output accessory.

In terms of wirelessly connecting your iPad to a video projector, I am unaware of any way that this can be done. The apps in the iPad are 'sandboxed' - in other words they have very limited interaction, unlike in the PC environment. The advantage of this is that an iPad should be effectively protected from viruses. The downside is that it is probably impossible for anyone to develop an app that could be used to project the iPad's screen wirelessly. There are far more experienced Forum members out there who will be able to shed more light on this but, without jail breaking your iPad, I suspect you are limited to using the iPad dock-to-VGA adaptor.

Once again, welcome to the Forum. Enjoy your iPad and I hope that your students enjoy their lectures too.

Tim
Scotland

 

[oefootball_70]

Thanks a bunch, looks like I might have to look into jailbreaking the iPad. I just hate how all the DIY for computers on forums are so hard to read. Not very user friendly. Gonna have to search for some good write ups!

Another question, can I run a wireless keyboard/mouse at the same time through bluetooth. or can I only use one at a time?

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Now you really knew it wasn't going to be that simple.....

The iPad supports Bluetooth keyboards but there is no Bluetooth mouse support because the iPad doesn't really have a cursor, in the way that a PC does. Similarly you cannot connect the iPad to your PC via Bluetooth or to your mobile 'phone....

This can be frustrating - or not - depending upon your perspective. The iPad was never intended to be a PC replacement. It is a different type of computing platform. So, if you bought a regular saloon car, you wouldn't expect it to be particularly suited to off-road use. For that you'd purchase a 4x4 off-road vehicle. But your saloon would be much better on the freeway.

Yes - if you jail break your iPad you can circumvent some of restrictions but you're entering a whole new world there. So you could raise the suspension on your saloon car, fit big tires and it would run better off-road.....

Tim
Scotland

 

[oefootball_70]

Well then I might have to wait and see what this iPad 2 does for me on wednesday. My mom said she might be interested in buying my iPad so I might make out of this whole thing not so bad. If the capabilities are there for the 2 I would love to go ahead and upgrade. :comingsoon: