Speed sharing…. Cut the VGA cable

Richard Kelleher eLearning Co-ordinator Killester College, Springvale, Victoria.

Killester College previously had lots of cables for projectors. Unsightly & dangerous (according to OHS)

With lots of adaptors: VGA iPad MacBooks ….and unsightly wall cabinets

With inconveniently located wall plates Teacher area Wall plate

Apple TV was the solution. (we are a Mac school)

Now (nearly) every projector has an Apple TV We have over 50 in the school

As does every flat panel Apple TVs need a HDMI port to work effectively (in our experience). HDMI-DVI-VGA converters don’t work that well.

Teachers connect their MacBooks wirelessly …and rooms have no cables (video works fine)

Student laptops connect via the Apple TV as well

Can non-technical teachers do it? How does someone connect?

Select AirPlay icon from the menu bar Select room from the drop down menu

AirPlay code appears on screen User enters AirPlay code into pop-up box on laptop.

Works equally as well for iPads

How is a network set-up for multiple Apple TVs? Image source:

We hard-wire our Apple TVs into the network. Completely wireless set-ups work in theory, but have not worked effectively for us when tested. Apple TV Network cable Network point

Image source: Apple TVs and any connecting devices need to be on the same IP subnet, or VLAN. If you hard-wire the Apple TVs (recommended) wired and wireless networks can’t be on separate subnets. We have multiple subnets, with ~50 Apple TVs, ~1,000 wireless devices and 150+ wired desktops.

Teachers don’t need to worry! The techs will sort it out. Schools that do have problems often have wireless & wired networks segregated, and work-arounds generally fail. Image source:

About $100 for an Apple TV + network point + cabling + labour = Not much extra when projectors or panels are being installed.

Chromecast has potential, probably most suitable currently for schools where the one teacher is in the same room - effectively using the Chromecast as a personal device.