Eloam in the House

Considerable innovation in the document camera industry became evident this year at the ISTE 2017 educational conference. (With over 15,000 educators in attendance, ISTE is considered the largest ed-tech conference in the U.S.)

Some delightful sparks flew out from a new exhibitor, Eloam. Eloam offered a mouth-watering slate of highly capable visualization products at an attention-getting price point for our constantly strained U.S. education budgets. Their products ranged from extremely low-cost 5 megapixel portable visualizers to low-cost powerhouse 15 megapixel offerings. Demonstrating considerable product flexibility, Eloam showcased portable, wireless, and even new wall-mounted units, all of which earnestly captured my interest. 

Coupled with some outstanding and easily navigable software, these Eloam products offer me most of what I am looking for in a visualizer for the K-20 classroom. Beyond outstanding HD image display, flexible input options, fast scanning, zooming, timed scanning and video recording (also known as doc-casting), Eloam demonstrates some new or significantly improved capabilities for the classroom, including:

• image editing
• multiple pictures on screen display
• OCR capabilities
• PDF conversion

It is my sense that Eloam seriously raises the bar with inventiveness and true ROI for schools. The truth is that most document cameras in schools are now aging rapidly. Eloam has smartly positioned itself as perhaps the best possible option for replacing aging legacy equipment at a low cost, yet offering even better capabilities and visual quality.

A Lesson Plan

One of our fearless undergrad students at the University of Colorado-Denver, Zainab Hashem, recently developed a deep expertise on the use of visualizers in the classroom. She developed a solid lesson plan for use with the document camera, one that is student and not technology oriented. Here is her fabulous lesson plan and a picture of her presentation:

Lesson Plan link.

Congratulations!

Congratulations are in order for HUE visualizers for winning a best-of-show award at ISTE 2017 in hot and spicy San Antonio Texas. Good job. I guess HUE is not just a "pretty face."

New @ InfoComm 2016

I’ve been an educational technology director for 25 years, with a significant track record in large educational technology and AV purchases. I returned from walking every aisle of InfoComm 2016, searching for promising trends, developments, and products that might offer value for the education market.

What does an educator see? I look for both memes that make sense in education as well as the practical solution: the product that potentially meet a need or solves a pain somewhere in my organization. Something crisply new and eye-catching can also spark a burgeoning idea in an educator’s mind. And at times, we chuckle when we see the emperor’s new clothes (vaporware, hype, or solutions in search of a problem to solve).

Frankly, this year’s InfoComm hoopla—from an educator’s perspective only—left me underwhelmed. There were no blockbusters, killer educational technologies, nor grand entrances as in past years. There was little to get us to stand to our feet and applaud great educational potential. This was a tepid year—a year of stolid incrementalism at best. Nevertheless, here are some of my ed-market visualizer observations:

A Document Camera Uptick? 

This year I noticed far more document camera companies displaying their wares (Qomo, Elmo, Wolf, HoverCam, et. al.) But does this represent an uptick in document camera sales? Not really. Some data suggest that 60% of U.S. classrooms already have document cameras. So here's a trend I am seeing: It seems each of these companies is moving away from their core competency (manufacturing visualizers) and branching out to ancillary markets by retooling or creating alliances. Thus, these companies were all featuring lecture recording devices, 360° cameras, collaboration software, presentation stations, or other technologies that leverage their know-how. Still, I wish these companies understood a bit better how to reach the remaining 40% of viz-less classrooms, and how to enter the legacy replacement market in a more positive and proactive way. I wish I could hep them more...

Center Stage

At ISTE 2016, the HoverCam folks made a bold step, offering their excellent visualizer technology embedded in an ecosystem of resources called the HoverCam CenterStage. This includes their HD document camera, a height-adjustable podium (pictured above), their free interactive software Knotester, integrated classroom audio system, a PC, and an interactive multi-touch flat panel. I can’t believe I just said that in one breath!

The Knotester cloud-based software is new and promising (despite the spelling that defies pronunciation at a visceral level), but the big story here is the complete ecosystem.

Makerspaces

Here’s an amazing idea for using document cameras, one that has not been suggested before. While cruising the aisles of the ISTE 2016 Expo, I ran into this sign at the HUE visualizer booth:

This notion is spot on. What a great application for a visualizer: having one in your makerspace. Brilliant! It can be used for so many things:

• Showing up close how to make cuts, assemble objects, twist ties, connect pieces, and etc.
• Showing clarifying details of an example project
• Zooming in on the smallest areas to show where to hook, nail, tie, or screw a part
• Showing off finished products for everyone to see
• Scanning or recording final products to display on a website
• Filming any of the above for later re-use

Thanks to the HUE people for bringing this up. What a great idea.

VIZ + AR

Here's an interesting development I saw at FETC 2016 this year: the unique combination of classroom document camera and augmented reality. See this video to get the idea:

Alive Studios Augmented Reality for Early Education from Alive Studios on Vimeo.

Well, the actual product, developed by ALIVESTUDIOS is quite attention getting--and unique in its offering. What a nice mashup--the classroom visualizer and augmented reality. They mix well. Too bad the document camera they use is such a low end solution. This company would do better partnering with more well-featured document camera companies. That way the doc cam has a life well beyond this application. But this application could also help sell other document cameras. Something to think about!

What's new @ FETC

I recently spent many days at the FETC 2016 conference in Orlando, looking for what’s new. One of the most interesting findings was in the AVERinfo booth. They released their new AVerVIsion F70W document camera. So what’s new? This high-definition classroom visualizer offers wireless mobility—the ability of the document camera to rove free across the classroom.  AVER claims this can help “transform the traditional front-of-the-classroom teaching style that so characterizes document camera use.Simply move it to where the kids are! It’s eight-hour battery makes it all possible. 

Cross-Post

Here's a cross post in another blog about doc-casting that might be worth your attention:

DOC-CASTING

Jetion Arrives

Another new product appearing at conferences this summer is the Jetion visualizer. This visualizer offers a number of advantageous features for the educator:

• It’s very high definition (ten megapixel)
• It’s compact
• It permits wireless image transmission to laptops, tablets, smartphones or other mobile devices.

You can learn more about Jetion here. 

Ultra Cool

While attending ISTE 2015 in Philadelphia, I was pleasantly surprised to see HoverCam had reached new heights with their document camera offerings. Of course, I am talking about their new Ultra 8 visualizer, which was on display at the conference for the first time. 

Basically, the new Ultra 8 raises the bar in three ways:

A bump in high-defintion to 8.0 megapixel. (Special note: high definition really matters in the classroom.)

Compatibility with USB 3.0. (Special note: a good move, catching up to the newest devices, which have left USB 2.0 for the high speed USB 3.0)

No noticeable latency. (Special note:  latency is a deathblow for many classroom visualizers. Down with lag! Up with instantaneous response time!)

There’s some real ground breaking news here, folks. Something akin to a secret sauce. Viewing lag is a big deal. I did my secret latency test on this HD visualizer and was shocked to discover unnoticeable lag. That’s good for teaching. And good for learning. And oh-so-good for children’s eye comfort!

New Wireless Visualizer

At the huge InfoComm 2015 conference being held in Orlando in June, Ken-a-Vision featured a new classroom document camera: the EduCam WiFi Wireless Camera 7880c. 


I wish I could put my hands on one to test it in the classroom. Past wireless visualizers were either two finicky or too complex for use by mere mortals. I would like to see if this one breaks the boundaries. On the left is a picture I snapped on the showroom floor.

It boasts 8+ hours of operation (from a 7-hour charge) and built-in networking capabilities. Of course, it transmits images cross-platform to Macs, PCs, iOS devices, and Android devices, including iTouch and iPhone,

Hue of Learning

A number of new developments in the classroom document camera world erupted at the ISTE 2015 conference in late June, among them the release of the HUE HD Pro classroom visualizer. This document camera is full featured, high-definition—and frankly—just beautiful in its look and feel. Quite an aesthetic experience, really.

This USB visualizer can also be purchased with powerful control software and additional creativity tools, notably an animation tool that allows students to create stop motion animations.

And the price is right: the visualizer sells for only $69.95. Schools will like that, along with teachers who have to carve resources out of their own budget.

Readers should note that the HUE HD Pro won a Technology & Learning “best of show” award in their category.

Diluting the Dream

I have noticed an unseemly shadow slowly overtaking the document camera industry over the last half-dozen ed-tech conferences, a trend that deeply bothers me: some companies, most recently Aver Information and Lumens, seem to be disengaging from their core mission of selling visualizers and promoting visual teaching and learning. Instead, they are refocusing and retooling their business in favor of display sharing software, school video security systems, or even video conferencing.

Why are they doing this? Evidently, the document camera market has been shrinking, as it approaches 60% deployment in U.S. classrooms. They need to feed the revenue zombies with additional profit centers it seems. They need to survive.

Why does this trend deeply concern me?  Well, I would rather see these companies concentrate on

•  teaching strategies using document cameras;
• better professional development for visualizer use;
• visual teaching and learning approaches.

Doing these things well will create a welcome swell of new customers. Providing professional development services will usher in a fresh new revenue stream for a rapidly fossilizing hardware market. Concentrating on the instructional use, and not the hardware specs, of visualizers will create a freshness in the education market.

It’s always easy to follow the hardware breadcrumbs for revenue. But forsaking the heart of the matter—visual teaching and learning—is an immense mistake. That’s the core mission for these companies. Unfortunately, some of these firms are diluting their future potential by diversifying and moving away from their core.

As things slow down...

After attending the first three large ed-tech conferences of the winter (TIES, FETC, TCEA), I realized that there wasn't a whole lot of new news or recent developments in the field of classroom visualizers or document cameras. 

But that's a good thing, if you remember my recent post about the industry changing features too fast for for education, making us dizzy. It's better to concentrate more on how to teach with the tool, than to worry about the next feature of the tool. That is why I want to remind you to take a look at the only book on the market focusing on effective teaching strategies using the classroom document camera, shown below.

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 directly from the publisher at this link. 

Visual Teaching and Learning (2)

Classroom visualizers can become transformative tools for visual teaching and learning. If we are going to get really effective at using document camera, consider the following highly effective instructional practices:

• Fill your screen with large images. When showing pictures, photos, graphs, charts, or other visuals in class, be sure to fill the entire screen with your visual. Small visuals don't grab the brain's attention. Full-screen visuals do.

• Add color. Use color to show organization, relationships, hierarchy, or key concepts/vocabulary. But watch out! Moonlighting directly above your projection screen can wash out even the most vibrant colors.

• Add the creative storytelling. Some of the most effective teaching I have seen with document cameras is when the teacher combines a large immersive image with gifted storytelling. The multiplier effect is phenomenal. Try it out.

• Involve your students. Can you get your students to use the document camera more than you do in the classroom? Think about it. How could you do that?

Viz @ ISTE

The ISTE 2014 educational conference, with over 16,000 educators and thousands more vendors in attendance, was remarkable. Let’s zoom in on some of the document camera developments in the exhibit hall. 

Document camera manufacturers and vendors were back in force this year, after a slight dip in presence last year. Checking in with each booth, I found no breakthrough features being touted at this time. But that's a good thing. See my previous post, Improve This!, to find out why. Some of the new offerings are shown below, although not all. 

Still, document camera exhibitors continue to make the same mistakes and need to address these issues in order to be more successful in reaching schools:

• learn how to speak in the language of the educator
• don't just show the visualizer--show how to teach with it
• develop training programs behind your offerings

More Assessment Ideas

Here are some more ideas for using document cameras in an assessment role. These ideas come from some of the creative graduate students in my University classes.
"It would be beneficial to record a student's hands moving over a text while reading aloud and document progress over the year. It would also save time because students could record their own reading while I'm working with other students--and I can assess the recordings later."

"For first graders, I would engage the entire class in an assessment as learning activity in which two kids at the visualizer search out long vowel a words in Click, Clack, Moo while the rest of the class follows along. I would give the children glass magnifier beads and show them how to take screen shots to share with others."

What's Missing?

The more I work with teachers in my graduate classes who have document cameras, the more I find that they really want to use document cameras more effectively than they do now. So what's missing here?

Transformative training, that's what!

Although it is certainly true that teachers rarely take advantage of some of the best and most powerful instructional features of these tools, the real key is using these powerful tools differently--doing new things--not just automating old practices. My national workshop "Powerful Visual Teaching and Learning with the Classroom Document Camera" is an example of what is desperately

needed. What matters is using richly visual teaching strategies, transformative student-involvement strategies, and fresh ideas. Those are the pillars of my workshop. If your school, organization, or company is interesting in leveraging these strategies and insights, please contact me. I am available to travel and present in your community, if interested.

Train Me!

Although document cameras are easy to use, it is rare that teachers take advantage of some of the best and most powerful instructional features of these tools. One resource that many educators are unaware of is the training video library for your manufacturer’s document camera

Check these out (shown in alphabetical order):

       Elmo

       Hovercam

       Ken-A-Vision

Lumens Recordex

I am willing link to the training libraries of any vendor that contacts me, so manufacturers should never feel that I am playing favorites. Just send me your links to add here. For now, these are the only ones I could find.