Digital Shapeshifter

At last! My latest book is out on the shelves:

Digital Shapeshifter

Visual teaching, differentiated learning, and formative assessment with the classroom Document Camera.

It's the only book on the market about great teaching with document cameras. You'll love it! I't's 165 pages dedicated to totally transforming how we use classroom document cameras. You can find Digital Shapeshifter in the exhibit hall of your local technology conference or directly from the publisher at this link. Enough with crass commercials!

Legend of the Donkey Cam

Improve your Donkey Cam Kung Fu by following this blog.

In the previous post, I suggested that one of the names given to classroom document cameras is that of "donkey cam." Where did that notion come from? I assure you, it came from the hearts of students. Here's the simple genesis of that phrase: 

In a brightly lit Colorado classroom,  a teacher moves from behind his desk to a small table holding his document camera. A student cheerfully cries out, “Are we using the ‘donkey cam’ today, Mr. Allen?"

I chose this story because students really appreciate the visual allure and conceptual clarity provided when document cameras are used well in instruction. Lovingly calling this modern audio-visual device a “donkey cam,” it is clear that this young lady was extremely pleased that the day’s lesson might be forthcoming using the visual approach that reaches her best as a 21st century visual learner. This blog is really about richly visual 21st Century teaching and learning--using a document camera.

Clarifying Language

The humble yet educationally powerful document camera is known by many names throughout the world: No matter what you call it, the doc cam is a marvelous tool for teaching and learning.