Monday through Wednesday I presented workshops at the Council Bluffs Public Library and they all went well. These workshops provided me with the opportunity to use the Linksys: WPG12 – Wireless Presentation Player. Basically, it’s a wireless router with a monitor plug in the back that you connect to your projector, removing the need to physically connect your computer (laptop) to the projector. Overall, this seems like a mighty fine idea. Overall, I wasn’t impressed.
The first problem was that I needed to install some client software. I downloaded the software from Linksys and installed it with minimal trouble. The problems arrived when I tried to run the program. Ultimately, whenever I wanted to use the program I had to run it, let it freeze/crash/fail to load, cancel the process, and run it again. Once I did that it would run fine. Oh, and it would also take control of my wireless connectivity management from Windows. (Had to go and find that little check box each time and give back control to windows.) The other problem was that since I was connecting to a 128-bit secured network I had to type in the 32-character key. Unlike, Windows and most other programs, the Linksys program refused to remember the key. So, each time I ran (and re-ran) the program, I had to type in the key again.
With all of those kinks worked out, I was warned that there would be a “slight lag” between what happened on my laptop and what was projected on the screen but that “it shouldn’t be a problem”. Well, as long as you’re running something like PowerPoint where the screens stay static for extended periods of time there’s no problem. The moment you try to show constant movement on the screen, the lag-time and blockiness of the the projector’s redraw/refresh rate was heavily distracting.
Linksys describes this unit as giving you the ability to have “any member of the wired or wireless network group to take instant control of the projector, with no cable-swapping hassle.” I can see this as a useful feature. They also say that it “allows a teacher to unobtrusively supervise each students’ progress without physically peeking over shoulders.” This I’m not so sure about.
This device has its place but, until the refresh rate is significantly reduced and the problems with the client software are eliminated, it has no place in a classroom of mine.
