Without a doubt, the most common issue with using projectors at the school is actually telling your computer that you want to project something!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Simple Solution (on a PC):


Press Windows-P!


You'll notice a selection/toggle window come up as long as you're holding the windows key.

Here you can chose to Mirror/Duplicate, Extend, or Display only on your Laptop/Projector.



How Can I Use This to my Advantage?


Mirrored/Duplicate Mode

This makes the projector and laptop show the same content, useful if you'd like to look at your laptop screen while demonstrating something on the projector without looking up at it. If you're teaching with the projected screen behind you, this is a good way to see what the students are seeing, without turning your back.


Extend Mode

This makes the projector act like a 2nd screen to your computer, useful if you want to queue up the next content, read from notes, or show the class one thing while you do another on your own screen. If you're showing the class a video, or need to leave notes/content up on screen, this allows you to move onto other things, KAMAR/Roles, Emails, etc without disrupting what the students see.


In this mode, you can drag windows from one screen to another with the mouse, 

OR for the quickest shift, press:

(Windows then Arrow Keys - Experiment with what each one does!)

The Chromebook Equivalent:


Press Ctrl-Screen!


By default this will extend the display (give you more desktop space on a second screen), but you can change this to mirror the display (show the same thing on both screens) if you'd like!



The Apple/Mac Equivalent:


I'm afraid there isn't a simple "Toggle" for Macs to do this quickly, but here are the steps to do the same thing:


1. Make sure your additional display is properly connected and powered on.

2. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.

3. From the View menu, choose Displays.

4. Click the Arrangement tab.

5. Enable (check) "Mirror Displays" in the bottom-left corner if you'd like mirrored, or unticked if you'd like it extended :-)