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Projector for MacBook Air.....

phoenixsan

phoenixsan

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 19, 2012
1,342
2
Hello all....!

So a friend of mine bought a MacBook Air 1.8 GHz, 11", mid 2011. Would like to use it in a teaching enviroment. That would be possible? And what projector do you recommend to tackle this task?

Apreciate and give you thanks for the help/advice in advance.....:D

:):apple:
 
Abazigal

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,551
21,993
Singapore
How does he plan to use it?

My classroom uses a VGA projector connected to a Promethean smart board. Currently, my air is connected to it, and mirroring my ipad via airserver. You will need to supply your own network connection though, if your school network blocks the requisite ports.
 
phoenixsan

phoenixsan

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 19, 2012
1,342
2
He plans......

Abazigal said:
How does he plan to use it?

My classroom uses a VGA projector connected to a Promethean smart board. Currently, my air is connected to it, and mirroring my ipad via airserver. You will need to supply your own network connection though, if your school network blocks the requisite ports.
Click to expand...

to connect the projector directly to the Air, if it is possible and show the clases in a portable screen he plan to buy.

Thanks for the answer, by the way....:D


:):apple:
 
M

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
"Mirroring" the Mac's screen to another (big) screen is not a problem, and there are a variety of ways to do this.

A few months back however somebody was asking, he doesn't want to "mirror" the Mac's screen all the time, he doesn't want his students to see everything he is doing on the laptop, he just wanted to show selective screens on the wall, like when running powerpoint, there is a way to show ONLY the powerpoints slides and nothing else. Sounds like to me, a good idea.

Never followed up that thread since I have no interest.
 
MacDawg

MacDawg

Moderator emeritus
Mar 20, 2004
19,823
4,503
"Between the Hedges"
Mrbobb said:
"Mirroring" the Mac's screen to another (big) screen is not a problem, and there are a variety of ways to do this.

A few months back however somebody was asking, he doesn't want to "mirror" the Mac's screen all the time, he doesn't want his students to see everything he is doing on the laptop, he just wanted to show selective screens on the wall, like when running powerpoint, there is a way to show ONLY the powerpoints slides and nothing else. Sounds like to me, a good idea.

Never followed up that thread since I have no interest.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is possible
 
Abazigal

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,551
21,993
Singapore
You can set the display as a 2nd screen. It also screws up your resolution a lot less.

However, I believe this works only if you are using a smart board as a another screen. I don't think this is possible using just a projector alone.
 
C

cgk.emu

macrumors 6502
May 16, 2012
449
1
So...he wants to connect it to a projector? Just get a mini displayport to vga adapter...not so hard. Why do you say a teaching environment? That's not some kind of standard we have floating around out there, be specific.

----------
Abazigal said:
You can set the display as a 2nd screen. It also screws up your resolution a lot less.

However, I believe this works only if you are using a smart board as a another screen. I don't think this is possible using just a projector alone.
Click to expand...

The resolution of the main display is dependent on the resolution of the projector if you are projecting your internal display via a projector.
 
phoenixsan

phoenixsan

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 19, 2012
1,342
2
Yes.....

cgk.emu said:
So...he wants to connect it to a projector? Just get a mini displayport to vga adapter...not so hard. Why do you say a teaching environment? That's not some kind of standard we have floating around out there, be specific.

----------



The resolution of the main display is dependent on the resolution of the projector if you are projecting your internal display via a projector.
Click to expand...

on your question. Maybe I used a convoluted phrase, meaning: He wants to use the Air in a classroom for lectures and classes....:eek:

:):apple:
 
Abazigal

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,551
21,993
Singapore
cgk.emu said:
So...he wants to connect it to a projector? Just get a mini displayport to vga adapter...not so hard. Why do you say a teaching environment? That's not some kind of standard we have floating around out there, be specific.

----------



The resolution of the main display is dependent on the resolution of the projector if you are projecting your internal display via a projector.
Click to expand...

To elaborate:

My classroom projector has a resolution of 800x600. Compared with my air's 1366x768 resolution, if I simply have it mirror my macbook, its screen is going to shrink to the point where it is more difficult to run apps (especially if you select them from the top toolbar, as everything is squashed together).

Conversely, if I choose to use the projector as a 2nd screen, it preserves my macbook's original resolution, and only affects any app I drag off-screen (which is what the students will see). I still have my main desktop available for the apps I would like to keep open (but don't want the students to see).

The drawback here is that if you are seated with your back to the screen, it can be very difficult to manipulate the app off-screen because you can't see where you are clicking. In the classroom, I sit perpendicular to the whiteboard, so I can see what is on the board while keeping an eye on my class.

So to the OP, what sort of classroom is your friend teaching in, and what does it come equipped with?
 
phoenixsan

phoenixsan

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 19, 2012
1,342
2
We....

Abazigal said:
To elaborate:

My classroom projector has a resolution of 800x600. Compared with my air's 1366x768 resolution, if I simply have it mirror my macbook, its screen is going to shrink to the point where it is more difficult to run apps (especially if you select them from the top toolbar, as everything is squashed together).

Conversely, if I choose to use the projector as a 2nd screen, it preserves my macbook's original resolution, and only affects any app I drag off-screen (which is what the students will see). I still have my main desktop available for the apps I would like to keep open (but don't want the students to see).

The drawback here is that if you are seated with your back to the screen, it can be very difficult to manipulate the app off-screen because you can't see where you are clicking. In the classroom, I sit perpendicular to the whiteboard, so I can see what is on the board while keeping an eye on my class.

So to the OP, what sort of classroom is your friend teaching in, and what does it come equipped with?
Click to expand...

dont have too fancy classrooms. An acrilic board, the chairs where the students sit and a desk for the professor. Desk is mobile and can be accomodated.

:):apple:
 
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