Managing Your Screens

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 by Tracey Brown, Instructional Technology Teacher Specialist


Issuing laptops to every teacher had additional awesome results. You now have a docking station that simplifies connecting to multiple other devices including, not only your SMART board and Document Camera, but also an extra monitor. That means many teachers now have a total of 3 screens available in their classroom. Are you making the most of your screens?

Extend or Duplicate your screen


The first choice you have is whether you want to extend or duplicate your screen. This means you can see the same application on both screens, or different windows on each. For example, you could be projecting your lesson onto your SMART board from your laptop screen and have PowerSchool open on the second monitor to mark attendance or keep grades up-to-date. To choose between Extend and Duplicate you will use the shortcut Windows + P.



Getting Different Apps on Different Screens


If you choose to Extend your monitors, you need the next step which is how to get application A on screen 1 and application B on screen 2. You have two options for this, you can drag and drop, or use a shortcut. To drag and drop you want to select the title bar at the very top of an application and drag it from one screen to the next.


If you prefer shortcuts, it is Windows + Shift + < to move to the left screen and Windows + Shift + > to move to the right screen.

One cool feature is that your computer will remember which monitor you prefer for a particular application. Open Outlook on screen 1, and Chrome on screen 2? They will launch on those screens each time.

Stop going left to go right


When you connect multiple monitors and extend your screen, your computer doesn’t always know which screen is on the left or the right. It is pretty much a 50/50 guess. Are your monitors in the wrong order? Meaning when you move your mouse from the monitor on the left towards the monitor on the right, you can’t get there, but if you move it left, you can? This is frustrating! But I find that teachers just learn to live with it because they don’t know that it is a very quick, simple fix! This quick article will show you how to get your monitors in the right order and even tell your computer that they are different sizes if you choose.


My SMART Ink isn’t working


Having multiple monitors can have an unintended consequence for our SMART users; if the wrong monitor is displaying on the SMART board, SMART Ink and touch won’t work. Have you noticed an issue in the last year in which you attempt to write on an application like Google Slides using your SMART board pens and each time you touch your screen it just advances the slide? This is because “the wrong monitor” is projecting to the SMART board. In order for your SMART features to all function properly, the monitor projecting to your SMART board must be the laptop monitor, not the second monitor, so you will want to be mindful of your setup if you are still getting started or willing to switch things up.



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