Document Camera for the Classroom
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to Amazon.
Not too long ago, I bought a portable document camera to try out. I have to say…it’s so great!
I didn’t have anything like this when I was teaching, but I know that it’s very common for classrooms to have something similar. A lot of document cameras work with your laptop and projector so you can share pictures, books, science demonstrations, or whatever else with your students!
Here’s how it works:
- Connect the document camera to your computer or projector. The HUE HD Pro Document camera made that a breeze! I simply plugged it into the USB port on my computer and it was ready to go. I didn’t even have to download any software to my computer.
- Since I use a Mac, I opened up QuickTime to use the camera. Windows Camera would also work.
- Then I just placed an item underneath the camera and a larger version appeared on my laptop. If I was in the classroom, I would hook this up to the projector so a bigger picture would be shown to students.
The point of this camera is to show close-ups to students. I’m sure you all know that feeling when you’re trying to show the whole class something, but not everyone can see. This solves that problem!
Ideas for the Classroom
- Show science demonstrations
- To show students words or pictures in a book
- Explain math problems with manipulatives
- Show & Tell items
- Demonstrate how to write alphabet letters or numbers
- Model how to do an activity
- Show concepts of print from a book
- Display students’ work
You can also use this for virtual learning!
I love that this document camera allows you to take snapshots or even videos of what you’re demonstrating under the camera. The neck is adjustable so you can position it however you’d like.
Here are some other features of this camera:
- built-in microphone
- auto-focus
- manual zoom
- can be used for video chat
This is really a cool addition to any classroom!
How would you use a document camera in the classroom?
This looks like an awesome little doc cam! I’d love it for distance learning.
Love this! I’ve been wanting one of these for my kindergarten classroom. I love the idea of having my students follow step by step directions while watching my model on the board.
What a neat gadget!
I would love to have a portable document camera for subbing. Not all classes have this technology but it would help immensely!!
Doc cameras can be useful – we have 12 year doc cameras on our campus and they are not always working! A new one that works would be amazing!
super cool, especially because most document cameras don’t have the flexibility this one does so it’s hard to show everything on your screen.
This would be perfect for read alouds on the Smart Board!
This looks awesome. Be so handy in our classroom. Never knew anything like this existed.
I would love the camera. I have visually impaired preschoolers. I would love to see what we can accomplish with this.
I would love to have this camera! I was in the classroom in the overhead projector days! When I subbed and helped in my children’s classrooms I got to use these and I always think about how great they would be for virtual learning – especially when I teach printing and cursive!!
Love it. So compact, portable, cute and modern compared to the old one I use to use in my classroom! Technology has definitely come a long way since I started teaching.