The temperatures are dropping, and that means one thing –  the Squirrels team is headed south for the winter.

Okay, not really. But members of our team are traveling south this week to exhibit at the 30^th annual Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GaETC) in Atlanta.

Technology coordinators, media specialists, district administrators, superintendents and more will have the opportunity to learn about the latest in education technology and understand how technology plays a key role in education. And most of all, the more than 4,200 education professionals in attendance can join Squirrels to learn how to easily monitor and manage the wide range of student devices used in their schools (booth 733). Sounds enticing, right?

GaETC is dedicated to professional development of educators and gives attendees access to more than 250 concurrent sessions, nationally-known speakers, workshops focusing on the latest in technology innovations and over 200 exhibitors. 

What are some sessions that should be on your radar?
We’ve got a few in mind from our director of professional development, Becky Shiring, and certified Alpha Squirrels. Check out the session details below. Plus, our friend Leslie Fisher presents 12 times. View her session details here.

Wednesday, November 10
David Lockhart
What if We Ran Our Schools Like Google?
11 – 11:55 a.m.
Italian 1-2

The Best Setup…Googlifying Your Apple Device
1:30 – 2:25 p.m.
Kenyan 1-2

Super Spark: Tools To Start the Fire
4:30 – 5:25 p.m.
Gulfstream I

Thursday, November 9
Katrina Keene
BYODigital Leadership: Building a Grade A Culture
8 – 8:55 a.m.
Swiss 1-2

Leadership Discussion Panel – Interoperability
11- 11:55 a.m.
Salon 6

David Lockhart
Become Future Ready! Start Coding Today!
11 – 11:55 a.m.
Salon 7

The Wallet Killer Gadget Extravaganza
3:15 – 4:10 p.m.
Salon 7

The 5 Steps to Blend that Classroom Up
4:30 – 5:25 p.m.
Salon 7

Becky Shiring
Rethinking Assessment: Digital Tools to Engage, Assess and Differentiate
3:15 – 4:10 p.m.
Room Swiss 3-4

Friday, November 10
David Lockhart
Become Future Ready! Start Coding Today!
9:45 – 10:40 a.m.
Australian 3-4

Ready to talk EdTech with the Squirrels team? Stop by booth 733!

GaETC 2017
November 8 – 10
Georgia International Convention Center
Atlanta, Georgia
Booth #733

The Ditto wireless presentation solution received a number of highly requested feature updates that will make each screen-mirroring experience feel unique to your organization.

The new customization features allow schools, businesses and other organizations to offer their users a personal and familiar screen-mirroring solution. 

So what's new?

Custom room codes

Ditto room codes are what users type into the Ditto connect page to wirelessly display their screen to the AirPlay or Cast receiver in the room. Previously, these codes were randomly assigned to each room by Ditto. An organization had no control over their codes.

That all changed.

You can now customize Ditto room codes instead of using randomly assigned codes. The custom codes can incorporate your school name, company name, building name, room name or anything else.

For example, a school can now create a code like “Franklin Hall 101” to align the Ditto room code with the actual room. Custom codes are more memorable and more appropriate for each setting.

Custom-branded connection pages

Easily create your own branded Ditto connect page. Upload a logo, a unique background image and colors. Even insert a custom message for your users containing connection instructions or pertinent organizational information.

Using a branded connect page makes it feel like Ditto is a screen-mirroring solution tailored to your organization rather than a service provided by a third party.

Custom subdomain

When you create a branded Ditto connect page, you receive a special URL that’s needed to access the page. You’ll want a simple way to direct your end users to the branded page so they can enter their Ditto room code there instead of our generic Ditto connect page.

That’s easy when you create a custom subdomain. Pair your branded connect page with a domain alias such as ditto.yoursite.com for an even more immersive experience and easier access. Learn how to create a custom subdomain.

Room list view and search

The list of rooms in the admin portal can get lengthy if you have many Ditto rooms. Now you can easily search and find any Ditto-enabled room to make adjustments to rooms as needed.

Customize your screen mirroring now

These features are free and available now for all Ditto customers. This update takes Ditto way beyond your standard screen-mirroring solution. Ditto provides quality and reliable screen mirroring during presentations and meetings. That’s a given. Now you can turn Ditto into a solution that’s completely in tune with and connected to your brand.

More to come

We're excited to bring even more user-requested enhancements later this year. Stay tuned: More updates to come.

A new AirParrot 2 update is now available for all Mac and Windows users.

You can update AirParrot 2 by selecting “Check for Updates” from the AirParrot 2 preferences menu. Additionally, you can download the new version from the AirParrot 2 download page.

AirParrot for Mac 2.7.3 update notes:

• Added compatibility with tvOS 11
• Miscellaneous bug fixes and performance improvements

AirParrot for Windows 2.7.3 update notes:

• Added compatibility with tvOS 11
• Miscellaneous bug fixes and performance improvements

Here’s an important piece of advice for anyone looking for a way to connect an iPad to a projector: 

Don’t do that.

Why?

Because if you’re looking for a way to connect an iPad to a projector, what you’re really looking for is a way to show a group of people in the same room what’s on your iPad.

Whatever method you’ve come across so far probably isn’t the best way to do it.

For instance, you might be inclined to manually connect the iPad to the projector via cable.

Nope. Don’t do that.

Why?

There are a number of reasons. Here are three big ones.

1. Cables are restrictive and often require you to remain within a few feet of the projector. Limiting a presenter’s mobility makes it difficult to captivate an audience.
   
   
2. Cable-based projector connections require outdated VGA and HDMI adapters. This is a problem because Apple has shown a tendency to change the connection ports on its devices.
   
   These adapters are not compatible with all iPads in use, and they will likely be incompatible with future iPad models.
   
   
3. Connecting via cables is a huge time waster, especially if other people in the room, such as peers or students, need to share from their devices as well.
   
   Each new connection requires the individual to walk their device to the projector. This process interrupts the flow of any meeting, class or speech.

We know what you’re thinking.

What about connecting an Apple TV to the projector and wirelessly displaying the iPad to the Apple TV?

Nope. Don’t do that, either.

Apple TVs are expensive. A new one will cost about $200. That adds up if you need iPad presentation capabilities in multiple rooms.

Apple TVs only allow one device to wirelessly connect at a time. That’s not ideal for collaboration or comparative analysis purposes.

So what are you supposed to do?

The best way to connect an iPad to a projector

The best, most cost-effective way to connect an iPad to a projector is with a $15 computer application called Reflector 2.

Reflector is an application that runs on Mac or Windows computers. It allows you to wirelessly display one or more iPads on your computer screen.

To display the iPad to your audience, all you need to do is connect your Reflector-enabled computer to the projector with a cable. Whatever you do on your iPad will display on your computer, and the connected projector will show the iPad to your audience. You will be free to walk around the room and wirelessly present from the iPad in your hand.

Thinking about using Reflector?

Do that.

Reflector is more cost effective than Apple TVs, and it allows you to mirror more than one device at a time. It also gets rid of all of the HDMI and VGA cables and adapters required to connect an iPad to a projector.

You just solved at least three presentation problems with a $15 computer application. Exciting, right? 

Screen mirroring iPad and iPhone screens to your Mac or Windows computer is easy with iOS 11.

All you need to do is add one application to your Mac or Windows computer to turn it into an AirPlay-compatible receiver.

That application is called Reflector 2. Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide use .

Mirroring your iPhone or iPad screen to a computer running Reflector is still fundamentally the same with iOS 11. The only difference is that AirPlay Mirroring is now called Screen Mirroring in the iPad and iPhone Control Center. 

Here’s how to mirror your iPhone or iPad running iOS 11 to any Reflector-enabled Mac or Windows computer.

Step One

Check that your iOS 11 device and your computer running Reflector 2 are connected to the same network. 

Step Two

Open Reflector 2 on your Mac or Windows computer from your applications folder. 

Step Three

Unlock your iOS 11 device, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the Control Center and select Screen Mirroring. Note: iPhone X users need to swipe down from the top of the screen to select Screen Mirroring. 

Step Four

Select your computer from the list of AirPlay-enabled receivers. 

Step Five

Once you've selected your computer, your device will wirelessly appear on your computer screen. Anything you do on your mobile device will happen on your computer in real time, including audio. 

Pro tip: You can wirelessly mirror more than just iPads and iPhones to your Reflector-enabled computer. You can also connect Android and Chromebook devices, and you can connect all of these devices simultaneously. 

Bonus Pro tip: How to record iOS 11, Android and Chromebook devices. Once a device is connected to Reflector, you will see a “Record” button in the top left corner of the mirrored device screen on your computer. Simply click that button to begin recording your session.

! 

Related Reading
Have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch running iOS 10 or iOS 9? You might be interested in reading:

• How To Wirelessly Mirror iPhones and iPads Running iOS 10
• How To Mirror iOS 9 To Your Computer