In our last post, we featured the appearance of the
“iPad as document camera” phenomenon in the educational marketplace.
At about the same time, a friend who works in the document camera industry
wrote a disturbing thought to me: “You
are witnessing the end of the document camera,” he declared. Is it that
simple? Will the classroom document camera met a premature demise? Will iPads
conquer the visualizer universe?
I don’t think so.
Here are ten reasons why:
- Document cameras can cost much less than an iPad.
- A longer warranty (5 years for a visualizer, 90+ days for an iPad or tablet)
- Interactive software features (and controls)
- Gooseneck/arm flexibility for the limited space on teachers’ desktops or tables.
- Compare the portability for traqelling teachers of an iPad mount with a small form factor visualizer: no contest.
- Built-in lamps—ease of auto-focus: Choose one.
- No charging—no battery life: Choose one.
- USB media storage slot or SD card slot or USB cable for saving: Choose one.
- Try hooking up a microscope adapter to an iPad.
- Why would I waste the capabilities of an iPad by dedicating it to mimic the functionality of an inexpensive dedicated doc cam? Sure, I have extra iPads to spare.
Still, these new iPad mounts are fun. They are interesting.
But they are not transformational in
themselves. Frankly, I see it as another business idea, a “next-up” gimmick to find
a creative way to make money from iPad accessories. And they might be just
perfect for those educational settings that lack dedicated funding to do technology
in the right way. These mounts are nice tools for the creative few who must
have them. They will colonize a few classrooms, but I don’t see this accessory conquering the classroom universe at either the university or K-12 level. After speaking with many dozens of teachers about this, I am now sure. Most teachers don't want to use their limited stock of precious iPads in this dedicated way. It makes no sense to them.
Incidentally, whether you use a document camera or
a mounted iPad for visual teaching and learning, the ideas, strategies, and techniques
highlighted in my Digital
Shapeshifter book will apply richly to both.
Len, do you see the iPad / tablet replacing computers in the classroom? What about document cameras with strong software functionality for scanning, managing files, etc. These "software powered" document cameras require a computer ... how do these units face-off against an iPad? If classrooms still need a computer, isn't there room for both iPads / tablets AND document cameras?
ReplyDeleteTablets devices are outpacing computer sales across the globe. Still, most teachers still rely on legacy laptops and desktop computers to handle their data management, communication, and assessment needs. That, too, is likely to change over time. A document camera remains ever relevant because it actually serves as eight-devices-in-one. (See my Swiss Army Knife posting at http://futuretalk-viz.blogspot.com/2012/04/swiss-army-knife.html
ReplyDeleteTablet devices will continue to grow in penetration, and computer sales will continue to dwindle-- but the role of the document camera as a visual learning tool will remain strong--but only if we do a better job of providing effective professional development in visual teaching strategies to teachers.