Intereactive Whiteboards | News

Texas District Teachers Control Computers via iPad

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 06/04/14

A Texas district is outfitting teachers with an application that will allow them to control their Mac or PC computers from their iPads. Garland Independent School District (GISD) in Texas has adopted Doceri from SP Controls specifically to help its educators be able to roam around the classroom rather than be tethered to their laptops.

Doceri is used by installing a version of the application on the "presenting" computer and an app version on the iPad. Once a link is made between the two devices, the teacher may use the iPad to share videos through the computer or make presentations onto the class whiteboard. Those presentations can be annotated over the content displayed and recorded to create short screencast tutorials or directions.

The software was first tested out at Lakeview Centennial High School, where its teaching staff of 200 was trained on its use during the last school year.

In July Doceri and other iPad tools and resources will be shared among district educators during the district's first "GISD iCon" conference.

"Doceri makes sense at Garland ISD because it allows the teacher to control their computer from anywhere in the room," said Jim Hysaw, executive director of technology. "The teacher also has the ability to hand the Doceri-controlled iPad to the students. Thus the students become the teacher."

The program has a 30-day free trial. A "single-seat" version of the software is $30; multi-seat discounts are available for schools and districts. The software has been used at Ocoee Middle School in Florida and at schools serviced by the West Georgia Regional Education Service Agency, among others.