News

This post was co-authored by Lucy Arthur and Amanda Sampol

Are you one of those presenters who prefers walking around your class to standing stock still and gripping the lectern? More than 150 UTS learning spaces now have AirMedia wireless presenting technology that could help set you free!

Wireless presenting…

Bring your smartphone, tablet or laptop. Download the AirMedia software and enter an IP address or room code. After storing your Powerpoint and files in the app or desktop client, you can begin presenting on the main screen in your teaching venue. You’re free to walk around the room while you control the presentation from your device. Use your device’s camera to take a photo of a student’s work – bam, you can flash it up on the main screen to instantly share it with the class. Airmedia works across all platforms – no annoying dongle or USB required.

You can use this technology now in a number of venues in Building 10, Building 1 and Building 5, with more venues being added all the time. Eventually this will become standard technology in all UTS learning and teaching venues, and meeting rooms too.

…and beyond

AirMedia is so much more than just one-way presenting software. Choose between different modes to do things like:

  • Share your screen on students’ devices. Ask students to log in to Airmedia and then they can view your screen directly on their own device. (This is especially great for students in the back row or those with access needs.)
  • You can even choose to share your students’ screens on the main screen. (There’s a preview feature in case this makes you nervous!). This is fantastic if your students are working in groups in a flexible space.
  • Shared presenting and collaboration. You can have up to four devices showing in quadrants on the main screen.

What you should know

  • AirMedia is great for showing documents, web pages and Powerpoints, but not so good for full motion video (yet!)
  • There is a little bit of prep required if you are using a mobile device. You’ll need to save your Powerpoint or other files to your device first.
  • Stay tuned: AV are currently in the process of setting up a prototype lab, giving staff the ability to trial the latest technologies!
  • Check with AVS to find out whether your teaching venue supports AirMedia.

Find out more

Already using AirMedia? AVS are keen to receive any feedback to help them guide future technology decisions.

Image by Maurizio Pesce

  • I have used (briefly) Solstice at Deakin Uni. Solstice seems to be a much easier tool – just connect to the screen and voila, I could display any content from my device. Airmedia seems to only let me play certain kinds of files and it seems to have no access to Dropbox or other file sharing apps. So, it feels quite restrictive and annoying to use. Ease of use needs to be the number one priority.

  • Hi, is this limited to PowerPoint files? Many people use the equally capable Apple alternative ‘Keynote’. It would be a real shame for this to be a MS Windows focussed tool.

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