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Apple technology is beginning to spread to new schools all over and one feature that has a lot of potential to enhance the learning experience is Airplay. In this post we are going to look at several of the issues we face when using Airplay features in a large-scale network environment and then we’ll look at temporary solutions to help until our IT departments and Apple can provide us with permanent ones.
In my courses at the University of Colorado Denver I teach music technology and I think it is important to teach topics related to iOS and mobile music making, but at first I found it difficult to show my iPad screen effectively to my students in the classroom. I really dislike using the A/V adapter which means I have to stand in a fixed location and not having Airplay limits other activities I can engage in. After speaking with my IT group and researching online, it has become clear that there is still a disconnect between the products Apple is releasing and the technology being implemented on campuses.
Here is an example from the University of San Diego IT website:
Unfortunately the technology that Airplay uses to communicate between iPads and Apple TVs is what is called a “multicast traffic” which essentially blasts out its location to all computers that are listening for that type of traffic. The problem is that since a single network segment can only handle upwards of 254 addresses that means only 254 computers could theoretically be on the network at once. Our network is set up in such a way that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 wireless network segments to allow all wireless devices to be able to access our network. The type of “multicast traffic” that Airplay uses can’t technologically cross between these network segments without causing so much traffic that it could reduce the wireless network to a crawl. If the airplay device and your iPad happen to be in the same network segment (1 in 30 chance) then Airplay will actually work on campus. However there is no way to guarantee that they will be on the same network.
We will continue to evaluate this, and if there comes a time when we can technologically implement this without crashing the wireless network we will certainly be looking to implement this in classrooms and presentation rooms. This is not just a USD issue, but one in which any enterprise network faces when looking to implement Airplay capability.
In fact, a petition was started by educators who want to see Airplay features changed so that they can work on campus networks without so much trouble. It doesn’t take much to see the frustration of educators as you read through the petition and accompanying comments.
It is clear that there are issues and that people are working on them. Until they are resolved, however, you’ll need an alternate way to get this to work. Here are two options that I use on daily basis with varying results.
Option 1.
OS X has the ability to create an ad-hoc network using your computer’s Wi-Fi hardware. In your Wi-Fi menu select ‘Create Network’ and give it an appropriate name. This broadcasts a new network which you can connect to with other devices. Once connected you can use an app such as Reflector to mirror your iPad screen on to your computer for projection and also let students connect to show their iPhone or iPad. In my music class any student with an iOS device can share musical examples and videos without leaving their seats.
Option 2.
If your laptop is connected to the internet through ethernet then you can go to your System Preferences Sharing options and enable internet sharing from your Ethernet connection over Wi-Fi. This essentially turns your computer into a wireless router which essentially accomplishes the same thing as option 1.
Option 3.
Use a wireless router in your classroom that everyone can connect to.
Issues:
All three options create a new, and potentially conflicting, network in the same airspace as your campus network. Since I only activate it for the hour of my class no one has ever noticed or complained but it is possible that setting up an ad-hoc network is in violation of your school’s policy. I firmly believe that asking forgiveness is easier than asking for permission but you should make your own decision on this.
At CU Denver the Wi-Fi connection is protected differently than wired connections and so it is actually not safe to broadcast the wired connection over a personal Wi-Fi network and when I do this I make sure to use encryption and I hide the SSID, both of which are not infallible security measures but better than nothing.
As you can see it isn’t necessarily straight forward to use Airplay in the classroom and you might be better off buying the A/V adapter when teaching but I love having the flexibility of using Airplay in different and creative ways to engage students and make things easier (?!) but the true promise of Airplay is yet to be realized where you can walk into a classroom with no wires and presenting an entire lecture.
» Related posts:
Education Update: Five School Districts Pilot New ‘Common Core’ iPad App
Netflix Adds HD Video and AirPlay in Latest iPad App Update
Califone Speaker Perfect for the iOS Enhanced Classroom
