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Screen Sharing with Mikogo
Mikogo is a simple to use screen sharing tool for teachers who have students who are low vision learners.
Screen sharing is a well known feature in the world of technology. It is used for presentations, remote PC repair, etc. One application that is relevant in the world of visual impairments is sharing a teacher’s computer or projector screen content with a student’s personal device. For students who use their vision as a primary method of accessing learning content, having the important content being displayed right in front of them can be a huge benefit, as opposed to straining to see the board or follow along with a monocular telescope. Today, I am going to profile the program Mikogo, which I find to be a simple to use example of this classroom AT solution.
1. To start, the host (screen sharing) computer must have Mikogo installed on it. Once installed, the Mikogo window will appear.
2. Next, the teacher should pull up the content that is going to be shared: presentations, videos, document camera video (i.e. Elmo), etc.
3. To start a screen sharing session, the teacher simply selects the left most button that looks like the universal symbol for power. Then, select “Standard Profile” from the drop down list, and select the “Start Session” button.
4. The Mikogo window will update and display a 9-digit session ID number, as well as the login URL: go.mikogo.com.
5. At this time, have the student navigate to the login URL in a web browser using the device that he or she is using. The device does not matter and might include a laptop, cell phone, tablet, or Chromebook. In the picture below, I have navigated there using my Kindle Fire. Add in the session ID number and a user name, then select “Join.”
6. Congratulations! You have successfully shared from the host computer to a separate device. Pull up the presentation, video, website, or document camera (i.e. Elmo) video that you want to share. See the example below, where the presentation I want to share to the user also appears on my Kindle. If you need to change which screen needs to be shared (which may occur if you are sharing projector screen content), my recommendation is to set the second screen to be the same as your main computer screen (clone) in your computer’s display settings (Mikogo’s free account does not let the screen sharer select which screen they are sharing; it is a premium feature). In Windows, go to Display Settings => Multiple Displays => Duplicate these Displays.
7. When you are done sharing, the student can simply close out of the browser tab or window that they are in, and the teacher can close the Mikogo window. When this is done, the Mikogo window will revert to the start up window.
I’d love to know what you think of this solution! Please try it out and leave a comment with your thoughts! Thanks for checking it out!
By AllenHHuang
