Introduction

Document cameras have emerged over the last 12 years. It works in a similar manner to an overhead projector, but offers many additional benefits. Essentially, it is like having a live feed camera in the classroom. There is a camera positioned similar to an overhead projector, that projects real-time images onto a screen. The basic projection of an image onto a screen allows teachers to use document cameras with any written assignment, without having to transfer that assignment to an overhead transparency.

When the document camera was first introduced to the classroom, many teachers considered it a digital overhead projector. Over the course of its history, document cameras have become an integral part of the classroom by allowing teachers to project objects, activities, and experiments in a large, real-time, 3-D scale. Think about an activity with magnets that you might want to show your class. Without a document camera, you would have to awkwardly move and stand so that all of your students could see what you were doing. With a document camera, you can project your demonstration onto a screen. This is not only helpful to the teacher but fun and exciting for kids.

Because the document camera is easy to use, students can use it to demonstrate their science projects, present group work, or work together in small groups. The use of a document camera should be extended beyond just means to project homework corrections on the overhead screen. By using it with the students, or allowing them to use it, you are creating interest and excitement about technology. In addition, the use of the document camera allows access for all students to a text, document or visual aide.

There are uses for the document camera in every subject. The important part is determining the relative advantage of using it. This module attempts to analyze the abilities of the document camera beyond that of a glorified overhead projector. By doing so, we hope to create a helpful module that extends the uses of this technology in all classrooms.

Document Cameras 101

Once upon a time, if educators wanted to share a document with a group of students together in a large format, they had to depend on slide machines or overhead projectors. In both cases, this required that the teacher somehow transfer their intended materials to the proper medium for the device they were using; either a tiny transparent slide or a copy of a document on a transparent sheet of plastic. Slides were useful to display an image that could be discussed, and transparencies were useful because they could display information and be written upon by a teacher. But both of these materials are extremely limited in their scope of uses. Today, we have a new technology available to educators and others which allows us to go far beyond the capabilities of these aged devices. We have the document camera.

Document cameras take the capabilities of older projection tools and expand upon them. Teachers who have their tried and true overhead projection transparencies are still able to use them. They can simply place the transparency on the base of the document camera and project through them with the base light. However, with a document camera, the user is able to adjust the view of what is projected through a digital zoom and a focus control. There is no need to move the device around the room, trying to get the projection large enough and then struggling to make it clear enough for viewers to see as there is with an overhead projector.

But many will likely find the use of transparencies unnecessary with a document camera. There is a video camera mounted at the top of the device which is used to capture whatever is placed on its base allowing the user to place original materials, such as worksheets, text, images, maps, etc on it for projection. This puts the original materials directly into view without the need to change them into another medium. Yet one of the greatest advantages of a document camera over other projection sources is its ability to project three dimensional objects. The video camera captures and projects the objects in a live feed, which allows teachers the possibility for so many different uses such as science experiments, demonstrations, remote observations of class animals, and more.

There are different kinds of document cameras in production today. Most have similar features. They all connect to some kind of displaying device. This can include a multimedia projector, monitor, TV, and SMART Board. They allow users to adjust focus, lamp, positive/negative image projection, zoom, color of projected image, and input type. Some document cameras even allow you to save your projections using the document camera’s program software or a memory card. Some products have flexible, bending necks for the video camera while others have a more rigid structure with bendable joints.

One common model of document camera is the ELMO. You can learn more about using this model here. Another source for step-by-step directions on how to use an ELMO in different ways can be found here.

SMART Technologies has created a document camera model which works in conjunction with their SMART Board model. The company provides reference materials and step-by-step instructions about using their document camera here.

Document Cameras in the Classroom

One thing that is certain is that students really seem to enjoy document cameras. They have access to a lot more documents and the general use of technology is exciting to them. A quick search of the internet reveals that teachers who have document cameras love them. However, the full pros and cons of document cameras have not been fully explored.

An obvious use of document cameras in the classroom is to project images on a lager scale. It can also be used to project small objects so that the whole class may be able to see them. Because of its real-time camera, teachers can actually manipulate an object while showing it to the class. Other benefits include using it to display student work that otherwise may be unseen by classmates. Because no overhead sheets are needed, teachers can display anything they have around the classroom using the document camera. Students are able to see what the teacher is working on and watch him/her demonstrate good handwriting. Some teachers report seeing difference in their students participation, and that because of the document camera they are more excited and participate more often.

While things you could do under the lense of a document camera are numerous, some educators see document cameras as a tool that is often used in teacher centered instruction. It does not facilitate student groups, hands on learning, or discussion. Many teachers don't find any benefits from the document camera and it comes with a high price. Many teachers do seem to see a difference in participation and student attitude, yet in order for a document camera to be an effective and inovative tool, teachers need to continue to try to use the cameras in new ways.

A Case Study: Document Cameras

Document Cameras, Not for Everyone

Are Document Cameras Worth the Expense?

The Document Camera: Advancing Classroom Visual Technology

Notable Examples

Aver Media Lesson Plans

A fantastic site supplying many different lessons using the document camera can be found here. This site divides the lessons into subjects: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Arts and Music, as well as general grade levels: Early Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School and High School. Specific topics and grade levels are given in each link’s title. When you click on the link, you can quickly and easily download a Word Document or .pdf of a lesson written by an actual teacher. Following are four excellent examples taken from this site.

Science

Educator Sharon Brandt created a lesson plan entitled Pond Water Organisms for grades 6 through 8. In this lesson, she begins by placing a water sample collected by the students in a dish under the document camera to represent viewing the water with the naked eye. Then she places a sample of the same water onto a slide under a single eye-piece microscope. She aligned the document camera lens with the eye-piece of the microscope and displays to the whole class at once the micro-organisms that can be viewed through the microscope. She also suggests recording the experiment through connections with the document camera. This lesson can be found here under the heading: Science, level: Middle School, and title: Grade 6-8: Pond Water Organisms.

Social Studies

Educator Geoffrey Aladro created a lesson called Battles of the American Revolution through Narrative Maps, which uses the document camera as an integral part of the lesson. After learning about certain battle maps as examples, groups of students are each given a specific battle to research and create their own map to explain to the class. The document camera is used to share there maps with the class, but in a way more valuable than just projecting the map. Students need to use the document camera to zoom in on specific locations of their maps to explain its significance and then pan to another area of the map. Mr. Aladro also suggests the use of an interactive whiteboard in conjunction with the document camera for the presentations. This lesson can be found here under the heading: Social Studies, level: Upper Elementary, and title: Grade 3-5: American Revolution Battle Maps.

Math

Educator Heather Wright has written a lesson that demonstrates how to use a protractor during a 6th grade math lesson called Using Protractors. The document camera is the center of this lesson as this is how Ms. Wright displays her protractor to her students. By modeling the way a protractor is used with the document camera, students can see very easily how they can use a protractor to determine angles. There is also a chance in the lesson for students to come up and demonstrate how they used a protractor to solve a problem. This allows the students to see different ways to use the tool as well as talk about how the demonstrating student is using a protractor either successfully or unsuccessfully. Also included in the lesson are wonderful worksheets that Ms. Wright puts on the document camera so that students may easily see where they might make mistakes. This lesson can be found here under the heading Math, level: Middle School, and title: Grade 6: Using Protractors.

Language Arts

This 1st grade descriptive writing lesson uses the document camera to display high quality images to students that can be found in magazines or books. This lesson in particular uses images from Eye See You: A Poster Book. By using a document camera, teachers can show images like these to the whole class, and then use them as prompts for descriptive writing. The author, Tiffany Olsaver, designed this lesson with a rubric that she also displays on the document camera so that her students can reference what she is looking for in their descriptive writing. Coupled with great images that provide the student with lots of ideas to be descriptive, this lesson can help students to not only be creative and descriptive but understand what a teacher needs. I especially like the idea of displaying a rubric because 1st graders often forget the things you want from them at the beginning of an activity or test. By using the document camera to display requirements and duties, students can complete their work while self monitoring. This lesson can be found here under the heading Language Arts, level: Early Elementary, and title: Grade 1: Descriptive Writing Lesson.

Tips for Teachers

1. Make sure you do not limit your use of the document camera to only documents. If you do, you might as well have an overhead projector! Try to think creatively about your materials.

2. The document camera is a great tool, but do not use it for the sake of using it. Sometimes, it is better to use other materials. For example, doing something like reading aloud to students from a book while projecting the pages on the document camera makes it easier to see, but it takes away from the physical interaction with the books from which young students can learn concepts about print.

3. Make sure that you have the necessary companion software and hardware you need for your planning to work. For example, if you want to record an activity, you need to project through a TV or use a memory card.

4. Do not let the technology become a distraction to your students. You may not be able to use the document camera the same way with all students, so make sure to match what you are doing with what works with the students you have.

5. Doing research into this technology, we found that there were many opportunities for teachers to earn grants for or gifts of document cameras from companies. These companies held contests for lesson plan ideas using their product. So even if your school does not have the funds, keep your eyes open for these sorts of chances!