The recent announcement of the Google Chromecast creates some interesting possibilities for streaming content to TV's and projectors in classrooms. Sure, I know what a lot of people are thinking - AppleTV can already do this. But the difference here is that this is genuinely cross-platform, and not content dependent. Unlike the AppleTV, you don't have to worry about whether the app you want to stream supports it. Because it's relying on the Chrome browser to initiate the stream you're effectively locked in to web content, which is actually a good thing as far as I can see. We know The Cloud is the future of education, so this helps accelerate that switch by encouraging teachers to think in a "cloud-first" way. Let's also not forget that you can use this from any Windows, Mac, Android, Chrome OS or iOS device, so schools with multi-platform or BYOD environments should love it.
We know The Cloud is the future of education
The way the Chromecast works is limited, in that I assume you can't just broadcast everything that's happening on your screen like you can with something like MiraCast, but it bears the tradeoff that the Chromecast device is largely autonomous in the process, so once the stream is started the end-user stands less chance of interfering with it accidentally and they can continue using their device as normal.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/Tp9VA71eBew]
It's early days yet, so it's unclear if the little gadget works exactly as it appears, but at this point, who cares? For $35 you can bet we'll be trying it out, and even if you only get half the expected functionality, at that price it's still great value!
... now all they need to do is release it outside the US!:
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