ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition from Actiontec

As a professor of education, I am always looking at new technologies that can enliven my classroom and give me and my students tools to share ideas. When I purchased my Surface Pro 2 and Dell Venue 8, I learned about an Intel standard called Wi-Di (Wireless Display) which allows you to stream the contents of your tablet or computer to a HDMI  device without cables or wires. Many educator often refer to Wi-Di by using the term Miracast to describe a peer-to-peer wireless screencasting standard formed via Wi-Fi Direct connections in a manner similar to Bluetooth. Having access to Wi-Di would be great for the classroom because it would enable me to move about the classroom without the need to be tethered to the projector. Since I had half the solution in the Surface Pro 2 and Dell Venue 8 running Windows 8.1, all I needed was a Miracast receiver to enable me to use this technology. Researching which Miracast receiver would be best, I came across the ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition from Actiontec which got great reviews from many educators on the web. ScreenBeam Pro for Education sells for $99 dollars and comes complete with everything you need to get started and also includes a HDMI to VGA converter which is ideal since many classrooms still have older projectors without a HDMI port. 

The ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition from Actiontec is a small 2 inch square receiver that plugs into a HDMI device. In my case I plugged the VGA cable from my classroom computer into the HDMI to VGA converter and plugged it into the Screenbeam Pro. Since VGA does not support wireless audio out, I was able to plug it into the supplied RCA audio cable from my computer into the ScreenBeam Pro. Once I powered the ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition the instructional landing screen was displayed and prompted me to enter the PIN. Once I entered the PIN, I was able to swipe in from the Charms menu click on Devices and select Project and select Add a Wireless Display.  Within a second or two the Actiontec ScreenBeam Pro device comes up and I simply clicked on that and within seconds my Dell Venue 8 Pro screen was projected on the screen in my classroom. I now opened OneNote and began writing write notes which were automatically displayed in my classroom. It was that simple. 

One of the benefits of Miracast is that it does not require you to use the school's wireless network to set it up. Since ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition creates an ad hoc network it will not require IT support to get started. I was really excited with the out of the box experience and everything worked exactly as it should. If you have a Windows 8.1 tablet or computer that supports W-Di you really should take a look at ScreenBeam Pro for Education as a solution for giving you more flexibility when teaching in the classroom. I didn't have a chance to test it out but using the ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition in the classroom will enable students with Miracast supported devices to project the contents of their screen to the entire class. The ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition enables teachers to secure the device and give permission to students to project their screen to the class. 

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to cast your screen from your Windows 8.1 tablet or computer then you need to take a look at the ScreenBeam Pro for Education. ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition offers educators a great way to share the contents of the screen using Miracast technology. If you are trying to source the ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition or are looking to implement ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition in your classroom email me for the details. 

Unboxing the ScreenBeam Pro for Education