I've been using my IPEVO p2v camera for about a week now, and I love it! For the price, you really can't ask for more. I created the screencast below to demonstrate some of the uses for it. For more ideas on how to use this, or any other document camera, visit Tom Barrett's Interesting Ways To Use a Visualizer. My students were dazzled with the ability to project live images from the camera to the Smart Board, and many of them wanted to test it out by projecting each other on the big screen (go figure). I'm excited about how much time and paper this little gizmo will save me; hopefully, it will reduce the amount of frantic races to the copy room when I realize that I forgot to run off one hundred and twenty copies of vocabulary worksheets or bellringer activities. I'm excited about finding more ways to put this camera to use. Please feel free to comment on your own experiences with document cameras. Note: View my previous post on the IPEVO p2v camera HERE. On Another Note: The embedded video was shot in a low light setting, similar to the lighting in my classroom when most of the lights are turned off.
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Every year, my students enjoy studying haiku poetry in honor of Asian Pacific American History Month. We discuss the traditional form in terms of traditional meter and subject matter. Students read examples of haiku translations, as well as modern examples. In the past, I've always photocopied pages from origami books, or handed out pages from day-by-day origami calendars, but students always get a little confused somewhere around step 23, or they aren't sure how to do a pocket fold. Recently, I found the Origami Club website, which offers tons of origami options. You can search by theme, or browse the "easy origami" section. (Some of my students struggle with the basics, while others can fold a crane from memory, so differentiation is a must!) What I really REALLY love about this site is that it offers animations that show you step-by-step how to complete each of the origami projects. Below, I'm embedding one of their animations which I captured using Screenr. Personally, I would use this website in conjunction with my haiku lesson, but this website would work well with art classrooms, world cultures studies, or even geometry activities. The Shakespeare Insult Generator is a fun way to play with archaic language. During my Romeo and Juliet unit, I let students come up to the Smart Board and click "next insult" to get verbally wounded by the Bard himself! There are multiple Shakespearean insult generators out there, but this is my favorite due to its visual appeal. (I like the cute little animated Shakespeare.) I also recommend the Shakespeare Insult Kit, which allows students to combines words from three columns in order to craft their own insults. This website is printer-friendly, if you decide to distribute the kit and allow students to insult one another in class. The IPEVO p2v camera seems like a wonderful (not to mention cost-effective) option when compared to pricier document cameras, such as the Smart document camera or the Elmo. It's only $69 and is compatible with both Macs and PCs. It can function as a webcam or a document camera. It hooks up to your computer via USB port, and it can be clipped to your computer, hand held, or attached to a stand for use. Watch the embedded video below to see it in action. This piece of equipment seems very user-friendly, even for reluctant technology users. It also comes with an auto-focus button, which is sure to come in handy. This camera is only a few dollars more than most presentation mice, and way cheaper than a replacement bulb for your projector! This would be a great way for me to save some trees. Instead of photocopying all of my bellringer activities, I can simply set one copy under the camera and project the image onto my board. From the reviews I've seen online, the picture quality rivals that of more expensive document cameras. The only downside seems to be that the software that comes with this camera does not allow you to record presentations, although this may be possible with additional software. Note: Since the original posting, I have had success using the IPEVO to create screencasts using Screenr. Read Ladybug's Teacher Files blog post about the IPEVO p2v HERE UPDATE: View my screencast of the IPEVO camera HERE. The Academy of American Poets has a fantastic database of poetry-inspired photography called the Free Verse Project. You can access the photos on the academy's website, or check out the "Free Verse" group on Flickr. This would be a wonderful way for students to find poems that they may enjoy. This year, I'm thinking about having students participate in the project by bringing in their own poetry-inspired photography and posting it in a highly-visible location at school in celebration of National Poetry Month (April). Of course, students' photos would also make a wonderful addition to a classroom webpage. Note: While visiting the Academy of American Poet's homepage, check out their available lesson plans, searchable database of poetry and poets, and their audio recordings. Teachers can also request a free copy of the National Poetry Month poster, and find NPM activities for their classroom and community. Update: As of March 2011, my students are currently working on their own Free Verse Project. Photos will continue to filter in until the April 8, 2011 deadline. http://pilgreenenglish.weebly.com/free-verse-project.html Below, I'm embedding the handout that I distributed to my students. If you would like a copy as a Publisher file that you can edit and customize, please send me an e-mail. ZooBurst is "A digital storytelling tool that lets anyone easily create his or her own 3D popup book." This a fun tool that would really get students engaged, and eager to share their work with others. Books can be viewed later and controlled via keyboard commands or webcam. (Let's face it, though--the webcam option is so much more fun!) Below, I'm embedding a Screenr screencast of myself interacting with a very simple pop-up book that I created in about 10 minutes in order to "test drive" ZooBurst. I haven't tried this program yet, but after watching the video below, I am definitely curious about its potential as an educational tool. I'll be posting in the future after I have the opportunity to experiment with it. IF you are interested in using Edusim, check out their website here. Also, please contact me if you have any experience working with Edusim; I'd love to hear what others are doing with this. A tutorial on getting started with Edusim can be found here. My Fake Wall allows user to create fake Facebook walls for fictional (or nonfictional) characters. The fake wall to the left is from the website's "Favorite Fake Walls." This would make an excellent exercise for introducing characterization. I would love to see a chemistry teacher have students create fake walls for different chemicals, or see a math teacher have students create walls for different geometric shapes or theorems. Creative Commons allows users to search for media online without violating copyright laws. This is a great tool for teaching students about fair use, copyright, and plagiarism. If your students are looking for images that they can display publicly on websites and blogs, have them use the Creative Commons. Create falling sand art. Need I say more? While this could have some educational functions, it's also just plain fun! |
AuthorDr. Jessica Pilgreen, Ed.D. Archives
December 2020
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