Your iPad is your document camera

In a classroom where we need to make things visible for all of our students, or when we want to model a process for students, nothing beats a document camera.  They give us a live video feed that we can quickly and easily project to the class.

And the great news -- you already have a document camera available to you. It's your iPad.

Paired with an Apple TV and Airplay (for a wireless experience), or even hard wired into a projector, the camera app on the iPad gives us a live video feed that can be easily shared with the class.

The process is easy. Find, make, or buy a stand that will allow you to be hands-free with your iPad with whatever is below (or in front of) the camera. Then simply connect it to the projector and open the camera app.

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The trick is finding a great stand at a great (or no) price. You can buy iPad doc camera stands, but if you look around you'll probably find exactly what you need in your classroom or around the house/apartment.

The stand at right meets all of the requirements.

  • The stand must be sturdy. iPads are expensive, and setting them on a wobbly stand where they may fall is not a great idea!

 

  • It has openings at the top to safely set your iPad on while allowing the camera to peer through.

 

  • It lifts the iPad up from the "stage" below so you can fit objects of various sizes underneath.

 

  • There is a clear working area underneath to fit the demonstrator's hands. This is especially important when annotating text or "modeling" for students.
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So go ahead. Look around. What clever ideas have you had for making your own useful iPad document stand?

By the way, this is a GREAT design challenge for students. Set forth the design parameters (something similar to what we outlined above) and let students start thinking creatively.

 

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