Document camera
Hi
I wish that all classrooms could have a
document camera connected to their smart board.
By investing in a document camera to have in
the classroom helps the teacher a lot. It's a time saver. The teacher are able
to show all the student things at the same time without having to handing out
large numbers of papers. The time the teacher saves they can a lot of devote to
the pupils and lesson planning. Instead of wasting time to
queue at the copier making numbers of copies before a lesson. Another
major advantage is that we conserve our natural
resources by not wasting paper.
How to use it?
The document camera can be used in all kind of
subjects and ways. It is easy to use and it has a numbers of functions such as
zoom and auto focus. You as a teacher can demonstrate different experiments on
their and all the pupils can take part of what you are doing on the same time.
How can it be used in
the classroom?
Example: If
the teacher is reading a book to the pupils he/she can put one copy of it on
the document camera so that all the pupils can see the pictures and the text.
by doing so the pupils can easily keep up and make connections to the pictures.
The teacher are also able to stop at any "hard" words and they can
look at the spelling and pronunciation together.
Exemple 2:
If the pupils brings something to school or finds something during their break on their school yard that they want to show their fellow
classmates and talk about (show and tell) it is easy for the pupil to show the whole
class at the same time by putting the object under the document camera.
Pros and cons
This teaching tool is very time saving for
teachers and it is a great help I believe in the classroom when it comes to
show the whole class texts, objects, books etc.
By using the zoom effect the pupils may notice
things on objects that otherwise can not be seen by the naked
eye. Another advantage is that these cameras have a USB input
for enabling students and teachers can share text and
images.
Unfortunately many schools today do not have
the money to invest in a smart board, and to access
the document camera's effects, a smart board is
required.
Therese Asplund
Vt-12
1EN30L
Hi Therese!
ReplyDeleteYou have many arguments for the advantages of using a document camera.
You mention that the teacher don't have to hand out papers which saves time and is good for the environment. I think that the pros about handling out papers is that the students can make notes on them and return to them. That's how I do to increase my learning. So, I think the teacher should choose when and what to show on the camera and hand out. But on the other hand, if you use a smart board you can give the pupils access to the information in that way.
Your example about showing pictures while reading was very interesting, since that’s usually a big problem and the pictures help the understaning of the text.
I also think that the document camera can be the base of many group activities and problem solving in a class. It can also be an aid when pupils, and the teacher, have presentations.
I believe that ordinary document cameras (not connected to smart boards) also can be connected to a computer or projector. So maybe you can get some of the advantages even if your school doesn't have a smart board.
I haven’t thought about the advantages of a document camera before, but after your text I’ve changed my mind:)
Best Regards Sandra Sandqvist