What is Vivi?
Vivi is a piece of equipment installed in some rooms at the University of Bath (predominantly in 10 East, Department-owned teaching rooms and committee rooms). It allows you to wirelessly project from any device to the main screen. The Vivi box is a small unit that fits inside the system in the teaching space and connects to the University network. The user can then use an app on their phone, tablet or laptop which sends a mirror image to the desktop PC to display on the main screen.
How to use Vivi
First you need to install the Vivi app on your device. All major operating systems have the app available which can be dowloaded here. Once installed on your device, you can select the Vivi Button on the control system, start up your app, then follow the on-screen instructions. This normally involves searching for the number of the room you are in (e.g. WH3.36) and inputting a 4-digit room code which is displayed on the control system.
Features of Vivi include:
- Screen mirroring from your device to the main screen.
- An online digital whiteboard for annotating.
- The ability to annotate over a photo or screenshot.
- Simple feedback questions.
- The ability to ‘give control’ to a student which allows them to share their device.
How do staff and students use Vivi effectively?
Below are some ideas about how to use Vivi in teaching sessions:
- Students can present their ideas and get immediate feedback from staff as well as their peers.
- Staff can take a quick photo of a student’s work and display it for discussion.
- Vivi allows annoting on a digital online whiteboard. Use the blank canvas to write and draw ideas just like you would on a physical whiteboard. Images of whiteboard can be saved and uploaded to Moodle or emailed out.
- Immediate responses can be gathered using the feedback tool ‘on-the-fly’, for example, with multiple-choice questions.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Vivi can be used with a range of devices.
- Staff and students can sign in with their University account – no need for additional logins.
- Images are clear when projected and there is no noticeable time delay when annotating or presenting.
- Vivi allows the presenter to present from anywhere in the room.
- It allows others to present what is on their screen. As a result, the main AV desktop PC is no longer the only way of projecting and the presenter does not need to stand at the front of the room.
- The presenter can switch between Vivi and other equipment (PC, visualiser, HDMI connection) using the control panel.
Cons
- The Vivi app must be downloaded – it is advisable to do this before your session and test that it works.
- There may be wi-fi drop out which could cause connection issues.
- Some features of Vivi may work differently on a laptop and a mobile device, e.g. taking a screenshot.
- Some tools in Vivi are more limited than standalone alternatives. For example, Microsoft Whiteboard or OneNote would be better suited as an online whiteboard solution. Similarly, Mentimeter offers far more functionality for polling compared to the feedback tool in Vivi.