Monday, June 18, 2012

Using iPad as a document camera

I've learned via Twitter that the iPad can be used as a document camera quite easily.  All you have to do is put your iPad in camera mode as though you were going to take a photo, but you don't actually take one.  You just leave it in camera mode so that it projects whatever it's pointed at...such as the document you'd like to show your class.  Because I am lucky enough to have Apple TV in my classroom, I'm able to mirror my iPad screen wirelessly onto the big screen at the front of my classroom.  Et voila...there you have it!  There is one necessary piece of equipment to make this all possible...one needs to be able to position the iPad above the document at the appropriate distance.  I started searching the web and discovered that teachers were making their own iPad stands for this purpose out of PVC pipes among other things.  But then I found a stand made just for this purpose.  It's called the Cobra SnakeClamp.  My family gave me one for Mother's Day!  Here it is.



In this photo, the Snake Clamp is attached to my desk.  As you can see, it has 3 adjustable joints, enabling you to get the iPad into any imaginable position.  Your iPad will snap easily and securely into the black grip, which can also be adjusted in any direction.  I used this for the last few weeks of school this year to project documents, and it worked well.  I discovered that I wanted to be free to roam about the room (and not confined to my desk) so I attached the Snake Clamp to an overhead projector cart so that I could move around the room.  I also used this to film student skits by pointing the iPad towards the students.  I love it!     
 

5 comments:

  1. Great idea! Thanks for sharing your experience with it. How quickly does the battery drain? Could you use it for, say, 2 45-minute periods straight?

    Teaching FSL

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    1. Bonjour! Thanks for your comment :). Actually, the battery will last for the whole school day! This is the main reason my school chose a 1:1 program with iPads rather than laptops.

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  2. I just found your blog through Pinterest and I am very excited to see a French teacher using iPads. I teach FSL to grade 5-8 students and this year I will have 1:1 iPads while I teach several of my classes. I look forward to digging through your posts and seeing what you've done with your students!

    http://ordinaryfslteacher.blogspot.ca/

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    1. Bonjour, Mme Jones! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my blog...I really do appreciate it :). The 2011-2012 school year was the first year for 1:1 iPads in my high school, so I've only just begun to figure out how to use them effectively in my classroom. I intend to blog more on the subject this year, and I hope you'll find some ideas to help you out in your classroom! We are both definitely fortunate to have iPads in our classrooms, n'est-ce pas?

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  3. Thanks for the mention and review of the Cobra SnakeClamp. We are excited to see educators using these in the classroom! And to offer our support of teachers everywhere...IF you or any of your colleagues are interested in using the Cobra SnakeClamp to turn their iPads into a document camera, we are offering 10% off for educators who use the promotion code EDU2012.

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