App that streams video to multiple phones?

[mystvearn]

I am a teacher and using my phone mounted to a microscope for viewing specimens. I used mira cast previously and streamed it to a LCD monitor. However, the monitor is just 24" and it is hard for the entire students to view at the same time. Is there a method for me to broadcast whatever I am doing on their phones immediately? There is wifi in class, so data should not be a problem. Any ideas on what app to use?

 

[KBU2]

I am a teacher and using my phone mounted to a microscope for viewing specimens. I used mira cast previously and streamed it to a LCD monitor. However, the monitor is just 24" and it is hard for the entire students to view at the same time. Is there a method for me to broadcast whatever I am doing on their phones immediately? There is wifi in class, so data should not be a problem. Any ideas on what app to use?

/

Chromecast to multiple devices by following the steps below
1. Depending on the number of chromecasts that you would like to use, you must setup a user for each one in the Chrome Browser. To do this, simply click the settings button in the top right corner of the Chrome browser (it looks like three horizontal lines stacked on top of one another). Click the menu item that reads “Settings”. Another screen will open and you will notice an area toward the bottom where you can add a “Person”. If you have three Chromecasts that you would like to use at once, simply add three “Persons”. I like naming these something simple such as “Chromecast 1”, “Chromecast 2”, etc. As of this writing, this does not work on my Samsung Chromebook within the Google Chrome Browser for some reason but it should work on any other computer running Chrome. I am using Windows 8.1 with the most recent version of the Chrome Browser running.

2. Now it is time to Chromecast to multiple devices. Now, you are going to want to open separate Chrome windows (not tabs), for the number of Chromecasts that you will be casting to. You are going to have a dedicated window open (not tab) for each Chromecast. If you don’t know how to do this, in Windows simply right click on the Chrome Browser icon on your desktop and choose “New Window”.

3. You will notice in the top right of the Chrome Browser windows, you are going to see an area where you can switch between the “Persons” who you setup in step number 1. Now, all you need to do is choose a different person for each window.

4. Now, go into each window and open the Google Slides, video, or whatever you want to cast to the Chromecasts. You will need to do this in each browser window.

5. Now go into each window and click the Chromecast tab in the top right browser bar and choose a different Chromecast for each window. You should now be able to Chromecast to multiple devices by using a single PC. This works perfectly in situations where you would like to cast Google Slides or Web sites to multiple displays without using multiple computers. The only downside to this is that your source is coming from three different windows so if you want them in sync with one another, that might now work too well.

 

[mikedt]

I'm a middle school teacher myself, and quite frankly I think by far your easiest solution would be just a projector and a screen of a size suitable for the classroom and number of students. Chromecasts might be an option or perhaps live streaming to a private URL via YouTube. I don't think there's an app on the phone can do this on it's own, stream to multiple other phones simultaneously, not without some external service and/or devices. But I can just imagine trying to get all the students' phones connected to the stream would be a real PITA, and might take up all the lesson time just doing that. Along with things like...."Teacher! My battery has gone flat!", "Teacher! It's disconnected!". "Teacher! I can't see the video because my mum is calling me!", "Teacher! Little Johnny is playing PUBG and not watching the lesson!!".....
...and in my school, students are NOT allowed to use phones during lesson time.


Fortunately our classrooms are all equipped with screens of a suitable size....

 

[mystvearn]

/

Chromecast to multiple devices by following the steps below
1. Depending on the number of chromecasts that you would like to use, you must setup a user for each one in the Chrome Browser. To do this, simply click the settings button in the top right corner of the Chrome browser (it looks like three horizontal lines stacked on top of one another). Click the menu item that reads “Settings”. Another screen will open and you will notice an area toward the bottom where you can add a “Person”. If you have three Chromecasts that you would like to use at once, simply add three “Persons”. I like naming these something simple such as “Chromecast 1”, “Chromecast 2”, etc. As of this writing, this does not work on my Samsung Chromebook within the Google Chrome Browser for some reason but it should work on any other computer running Chrome. I am using Windows 8.1 with the most recent version of the Chrome Browser running.

2. Now it is time to Chromecast to multiple devices. Now, you are going to want to open separate Chrome windows (not tabs), for the number of Chromecasts that you will be casting to. You are going to have a dedicated window open (not tab) for each Chromecast. If you don’t know how to do this, in Windows simply right click on the Chrome Browser icon on your desktop and choose “New Window”.

3. You will notice in the top right of the Chrome Browser windows, you are going to see an area where you can switch between the “Persons” who you setup in step number 1. Now, all you need to do is choose a different person for each window.

4. Now, go into each window and open the Google Slides, video, or whatever you want to cast to the Chromecasts. You will need to do this in each browser window.

5. Now go into each window and click the Chromecast tab in the top right browser bar and choose a different Chromecast for each window. You should now be able to Chromecast to multiple devices by using a single PC. This works perfectly in situations where you would like to cast Google Slides or Web sites to multiple displays without using multiple computers. The only downside to this is that your source is coming from three different windows so if you want them in sync with one another, that might now work too well.

Thank you for the solution. This solution requires a computer to be connected right? Well that is possible, it will add unnecessary hardware to the lab. Forgot to mention that this is in the science lab and not classroom in general. Everyone are moving around most of the time.

I'm a middle school teacher myself, and quite frankly I think by far your easiest solution would be just a projector and a screen of a size suitable for the classroom and number of students. Chromecasts might be an option or perhaps live streaming to a private URL via YouTube. I don't think there's an app on the phone can do this on it's own, stream to multiple other phones simultaneously, not without some external service and/or devices. But I can just imagine trying to get all the students' phones connected to the stream would be a real PITA, and might take up all the lesson time just doing that. Along with things like...."Teacher! My battery has gone flat!", "Teacher! It's disconnected!". "Teacher! I can't see the video because my mum is calling me!", "Teacher! Little Johnny is playing PUBG and not watching the lesson!!".....
...and in my school, students are NOT allowed to use phones during lesson time.


Fortunately our classrooms are all equipped with screens of a suitable size....
View attachment 132492

Thank you for the reply. I was thinking of a private streaming/youtube though I don't want to put the videos on youtube though. It is easy enough since everyone can get the feed immediately. I am not sure if the quality will be good though. I am teaching at university level, so students bring their phone all the time and they don't play PUBG during class and definitely not watching Harry Potter Most the students rely on the phones for the lab handouts since they don't want to print it.

Nice setup there. It is Can I ask what is the screen size? Maybe I will source a big LCD and let them view it there.

 

[KBU2]

Thank you for the solution. This solution requires a computer to be connected right? Well that is possible, it will add unnecessary hardware to the lab. Forgot to mention that this is in the science lab and not classroom in general. Everyone are moving around most of the time.



Thank you for the reply. I was thinking of a private streaming/youtube though I don't want to put the videos on youtube though. It is easy enough since everyone can get the feed immediately. I am not sure if the quality will be good though. I am teaching at university level, so students bring their phone all the time and they don't play PUBG during class and definitely not watching Harry Potter Most the students rely on the phones for the lab handouts since they don't want to print it.

Nice setup there. It is Can I ask what is the screen size? Maybe I will source a big LCD and let them view it there.

If I knew you were going to be in one location I also would have suggested a big stream TV, but considering you asked to stream to multiple devices I was thinking your students was not going to be stationary in one classroom and you needed to steam information to multiple locations.

 

[mystvearn]

If I knew you were going to be in one location I also would have suggested a big stream TV, but considering you asked to stream to multiple devices I was thinking your students was not going to be stationary in one classroom and you needed to steam information to multiple locations.

Forgot to mention that. They will be in the same lab space. So technically they can just bunch near the TV. However, it becomes clunky when 30+ people go to one TV source before the experiment for a briefing.

 

[mikedt]

Thank you for the reply. I was thinking of a private streaming/youtube though I don't want to put the videos on youtube though. It is easy enough since everyone can get the feed immediately. I am not sure if the quality will be good though.

Streaming with YT is all about available bandwidth. Do you think there's enough bandwidth in the classroom and internet connection to handle all the streams to the phones, especially if using HD? You can set a stream to be private, and then just send the URL to the clients who want to watch it.

I am teaching at university level, so students bring their phone all the time and they don't play PUBG during class and definitely not watching Harry Potter Most the students rely on the phones for the lab handouts since they don't want to print it.

Nice setup there. It is Can I ask what is the screen size? Maybe I will source a big LCD and let them view it there.

It's a 72in LCD electronic-blackboard screen, and we a PC in the podium to show things on it. I do use quite a wide variety of educational materials....like in this lesson about American Culture.

It's large enough for 50 students, all sat at their desks and can see it comfortably.