Following stories are written by teachers, educators and other professionals. They provided the first hand experience on how the document cam assisted them on education and presentations using the iPad.

1. Kathy’s Story
Kathy Schrock, educational technologist, adjunct professor at Arcadia University. She chooses P2V to project iPad for the following reasons: easy to set up, low cost and compatible with smartphones, iPads, and other electronic devices.

“Good things come in small (low-cost) packages! With so many of us trying to demo our smartphones, iPads, or other devices to an audience of educators, the IPEVO Point 2 View ($69) is something to consider for your toolbox! It easily connects to a computer to project to a large group using an LCD projector for real-time viewing of the screens of the electronic devices we are trying to show.”

Let Kathy tell you more:
http://blog.kathyschrock.net/2010/08/point-2-view-document-camera-review.html

2. Paul’ Story
Paul Yip, educational technologist at The Bishop Strachan School. He selects P2V to deliver a quick iPad demo in a conference room for these conveniences: handy, portability, plug-and-play USB, no power cable required, compatible with iPods, iPad and apps

“For those of us doing demos of iPods and iPads, it seems to be one of those “perfect things” as it gives you the ability to show a complete workflow of either device, without relying on one special video cable as well as any apps’ compatibility with video out. Removing it from the stand gets me thinking about poking it into different parts of science experiments, or using it as a “field” camera with a laptop on a stage, in a gym or outdoors. These types of uses are more or less impossible with the larger ones.”

Let Paul tell you more:
http://themindofachildblog.blogspot.tw/2011/01/review-ipevos-p2v-80-document-camera.html

3. Steven’s Story
Steven Sande, Mac/iPad/iPhone guru, puts his iPad (or iPhone) on the big screen with P2V. Because P2V is low in cost, easy to set up, and compatible with every app.

“One of the things that was a bit frustrating for me after purchasing the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter was finding out that it doesn’t work with every iPad app… So what if you want to teach an iPad class and show your students everything that’s going on your iPad? ……
There’s a less expensive and pretty cool little camera that seems like it was designed just for doing iPad demos. The IPEVO Point 2 View (P2V) USB camera is inexpensive, has remarkably good resolution, and comes with a stand that is perfect for doing demos.”

Let Steven tell you more:
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/27/frustrated-by-no-universal-video-out-for-ipad-ipevo-p2v-can-hel/

4. Nathan’s Story
Nathan Curtis, founder/principal of EightShapes, told us how P2V solve many challenging aspects of sharing sketches in real time, and the benefits using P2V to demonstrate a device:

“I often throw a device (notably, my iPhone or iPad) under the IPEVO camera to demonstrate an experience with actual gestures, responsiveness and more, which feels more real that using an application like iOS Simulator on the Mac.”

Let Nathan tell you more: http://www.eightshapes.com/blog/2011/08/19/sharing-sketches-remotely/

5. Deborah’s Story
Deborah Highfill, art teacher at Cannon Elementary, shared how the Ziggi changed the way she teach and the learning atmosphere.

“I’ve used document cameras before but never have I seen a document camera display such clear, crisp, high quality images on the screen like this one. It can even display images from an iPad, which was something the document camera I had before could not do. “

Let Deborah tell you more: http://www.ipevo.com/wishpool/story/142

6. Alicia’s Story
Alicia Elrod, teacher at Lakeshore Elementary School, uses P2V to project iPad for its easiness to setup, image quality, and compatibility to all apps.

“I started using my document camera as soon as it arrived! It was very easy to set up and the quality is excellent! So far, I have used it to model graphing, share photos related to our science topic, and to show science videos from an app on my iPad. “

Let Alicia tell you more: http://www.ipevo.com/wishpool/story/97

7. Phil’s Story
Phil Goodman, Apple Certified Trainer, told us why he used IPEVO’s Point 2 View USB Document Camera to conduct iPad training for members of LAPUG: low cost, portability, and image quality.

“After using many different products to view the iPad, I settled on the Point 2 View, because it appeared to be an inexpensive yet flexible method to demonstrate the products we’re discussing…The P2V has much higher resolution and is much lighter and more flexible to set up and carry around.”

Let Phil tell you more: http://blog.ipevo.com/?p=2322

Zoomtext is a great software which integrates multiple features for visually impaired population. With the new Zoomtext 10, you can now setup an USB web cam as an inexpensive CCTV alternative. Here is an example of how to setup an IPEVO Ziggi USB doc cam with Zoomtext.

Related article: Zoom In with IPEVO Doc Cams and ZoomText

We recently heard from a customer named Pat who told us about her experience with the Ziggi USB Document Camera. Pat let us in on a new way to use Ziggi — as an aid for the visually impaired. It’s a nifty story that might help others, and we’d like to share it with you. Pat told us about a program called ZoomText which, when used with a webcam, allows significant zoom-in and other visual enhancements of images in order to display text or objects nice and big on the computer screen.

“I love this camera,” Pat wrote to us. “I am visually impaired and I use this to read documents, mail, notes, credit card numbers, etc. I also use it with Skype and ZoomText 10. It adjusts easily to almost any position you might need and the auto focus is fairly quick.” We had never heard of ZoomText before, so we did a little investigation and experimentation using both Ziggi and the Point 2 View doc cam. Pat is definitely on to something— both Ziggi and the Point 2 View work great with the ZoomText software.

Both of IPEVO’s cameras feature high-res image quality and a Macro mode to capture close-ups and fine details. On top of these features, ZoomText offers multiple high-contrast color schemes, an up to 36x digital zoom, and clarity controls to make the image even sharper. So, it appears ZoomText and IPEVO doc cams are a great match for visually-impaired individuals in need of accessibility features on their computer. Capture a document with Ziggi or the Point 2 View, then blow it up and make it even more readable with ZoomText. Sounds like a winning combination to us! We’ll let Pat sum up her feelings on the subject: “The resolution beats all other webcams I’ve seen. My husband bought several webcams recently and all were inferior to this product. Ziggi is a wonderful camera for a great price.”

We are really excited that Ziggi and the Point 2 View have the potential to make documents more accessible for the visually impaired. We invite you to check out ZoomText. And as always, feel free to share your own story about our document cameras by writing to Customer Service at cs@ipevo.com.

Here’s wishing you a great 2013!

IPEVO‘s Ziggi and Point 2 View USB document cameras offer teachers some great opportunities for interactive, multimedia learning in the classroom that can engage and excite students. And we have tons of ideas to share with educators.

But for now, let’s flip the script, turn the tables, put the shoe on the other foot, and take a look at Ziggi and Point 2 View from a student’s perspective. How can students — whether it’s elementary school, middle school, high school, or college — use document cameras to take their own learning to the next level?

We’ve brainstormed plenty of ideas, and maybe you can add some of your own.

So without further ado, here are 25 ways students can use Ziggi and/or Point 2 View document cameras in the classroom. (And parents, this will give you lots of ideas, too.) Plenty more ideas for educators will be on the way in future entries!

1. Save math formulas — Use the one-touch snapshot feature and Review mode to capture useful formulas from your math textbook to save for later.
2. Study with a friend — Have a remote study session with a classmate and share test materials, class notes, or textbooks. But no copying, and no cheating!
3. Tutor time — Ziggi and Point 2 View make it possible to work with your teacher or tutor from anywhere.
4. Show and tell — For younger students (and teachers, you can show them how), show and tell is taken up a notch when everyone can see details on the big projector screen. No more complaints that students can’t see.
5. Better class notes — Enhance the notes you take in class by capturing small text passages, graphs, maps, data, or anything else from the textbook, and adding it to your notes.
6. Book report —Take your book report from good to great by presenting a sample page from the book and reading it for the class so they can follow along.
7. Play scene — Students acting out a scene from a play in class can display the scene in text form on the screen so the audience has two ways of understanding the play.
8. Art appreciation — Collect a semester’s worth of your favorite images from an art textbook or photo book using the snapshot feature and Review mode.
9. Diorama — Have you built a diorama? Give the class a close-up view of the diorama’s details.
10. All-subject essay helper — Students in upper grades and college need to cite and quote sources, data, and other texts in their essays. Use the doc cam to display the info on screen for easy reference and copying.
11. Help for the visually-impaired — Visually-impaired students can benefit from Ziggi and Point 2 View’s Macro mode and digital zooms for large, readable text.
12. Science fair project — Lots of science experiment ideas could benefit from some real-time video or snapshots, whether you’re presenting for the class or testing your hypothesis.
13. Help! — Stuck on a homework problem? Take a snapshot and email your teacher for help. Or, post the image to Facebook to get your classmates’ help.
14. Multimedia presentations — Save images from the doc cam and use them in PowerPoint, Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, and more.
15. Art class — Proud students can show off their latest painting, sketch, mixed media piece or sculpture for the whole class.
16. Side by side copying — Need to type up text from a worksheet or textbook? Use the doc cam to project it onto your computer to save time.
17. Web chats — Did you know both Ziggi and Point 2 View can be angled up and used like web cams? You never know when students will benefit from some face to face time.
18. Restricted texts — Take a snapshot of text you might not be able to take with you, like books in the library, a friend’s class notes, or books reserved for classroom use only.
19. Give your eyes a break — Hours of studying tiny text can result in eye strain and fatigue. Give yourself a break by displaying tiny text on the computer and zooming in.
20. Quality, not quantity — Posters, graphs, and charts are often made so they are large enough for the class to see. By projecting these items for presentations, they don’t have to be so large, saving time and material.
21. Add visuals to an oral presentation — Every student has to deliver an oral presentation. Give it some visual punch with accompanying images or text using the doc cam.
22. English literature — Need to analyze a passage from a text you’re writing about? Use the doc cam to put the text side by side with your word processor doc on the screen.
23. Nature “microscope” — Leaves, insects, dissections… you can learn more about anything complex and intricate by getting a closer view that’s still nice and sharp.
24. Cram for the exam — Host a study session with several classmates, and display test materials, flash cards, sample questions, etc., onscreen so everyone can have a look and participate.
25. Student becomes teacher — Use the doc cam as a presentational tool to teach other students how to solve math problems, construct something, or proofread a paper.

What ways can YOU think of for students to use Ziggi and Point 2 View? Let us know. And remember, many ideas for educators are on their way soon.