In our previous entry, we brainstormed some ways students can use IPEVO’s Ziggi and the Point 2 View Document Cameras.

But let’s now talk about document cameras in the classroom from the teacher’s point of view, from kindergarten to college. We put our heads together — and relied on a lot of feedback from educators we’ve talked to via email or in-person at Ed Tech conferences — to come up with 100 ways document cameras can enhance learning in the classroom.

And here (drum roll, please) are the first fifty. Have other ideas to share? Please leave a comment!

1. Chemistry lab — Demonstrate the steps of a science experiment.
2. Replace transparencies — Transparencies take time to make and require an expensive, hot overhead projector. Work more comfortably, and more quickly, with a versatile doc cam.
3. Steps of an assignment — Display the requirements for a test or homework assignment.
4. Digital clock — Capture a stop watch or egg timer for a cheap but effective way to keep students on task for tests and in-class assignments.
5. Math manipulatives — A doc cam is a great way to work out math problems.
6. Geometry — Teach shapes, angles, and how to use tools like the compass and protractor.
7. School board meetings — Doc cams are not just for students. Conduct meetings and display assessment data, agenda points, or anything else.
8. Study guide — Use the snapshot feature to capture images of notes or pages from the textbook. Faster than scanning!
9. Handwriting — Demonstrate proper technique and letter formation.
10. Maps in social studies — Say goodbye to huge pull-down maps.
11. Graphs — Teach about slopes, the x axis and y axis, and other concepts in a visual way.
12. Calculator — Show the class how to use a scientific calculator.
13. Daily agenda — Get everyone on the same page by displaying today’s agenda.
14. Thought of the day — Share a quotation or encouraging thought to start the day off right.
15. Let a student teach — Have a student demonstrate for the class. It’s sometimes the best way to learn.
16. Model note taking — Taking good notes is essential to education. Show them how.
17. Impress parents — Take snapshots of items from the day’s curriculum and share with parents.
18. Picture/photo books — You may have only one of an expensive book. Now you can share with everyone.
19. “Microscope” — Zoom and Macro mode will capture fine details from circuit boards, for one example.
20. Construction — Show students how to build or construct something.
21. Essay writing — Give an interactive lesson about the parts of a good essay.
22. Corrections — Correct a student’s work for the benefit of the classroom.
23. Reader’s theatre — Display text from the script as students perform.
24. Food — Teach how to read nutrition labels and ingredients, or share a recipe.
25. Current events — Spur discussion with pictures or magazine/newspaper clippings.
26. Measuring tools — Teach about thermometers, rulers, etc.
27. In-class contest — Keep everyone excited by keeping track of an in-class contest, such as reading a certain number of books during the year.
28. Grades — Visually share how a project (like an essay) will be graded: 25% for grammar, 25% for thesis, etc.
29. Dissections — From frogs to fish, doc cams are perfect for demonstrating dissections in science class.
30. Help for visual impairments — Give any visually-impaired students large, readable text.
31. Reading aloud — Help your visual learners by displaying text as you read aloud. Or, have students read from the displayed text.
32. Early readers — Related to #31, early readers can particularly benefit from watching your finger track text left to right. Plus, storybooks are more fun when students can clearly see the pictures.
33. Parts of a book— Identify things like the title page, table of contents and glossary.
34. Origami — Have fun with an origami lesson where everyone can follow along and attempt their own.
35. Typography — Compare fonts and page layouts in a graphic design class.
36. Rules — Establish your classroom’s rules with a list.
37. Word of the day — Have a word of the day or create word walls/vocab walls.
38. Art portfolios — Capture your students’ art projects with a snapshot and create an invaluable portfolio for student and parent.
39. PowerPoint — Images captured from the doc cam can be used in multimedia presentations like PowerPoint or iMovie.
40. Freeze frame — Snap an image during a crucial part of a science experiment, for one example, so that moment can be discussed later.
41. Sheet music — Teach musical annotation, or display music for band class.
42. Dictionary — Capture an actual page to show students how to use the dictionary.
43. Money — Use real coins to teach about money or solve math problems.
44. Diagrams — Show how to solve word problems in math by drawing diagrams.
45. iPad — Apple’s iPad has a growing number of educational apps that you can share.
46. Architecture — From dioramas to intricate scale models, get up close and personal with 3D objects.
47. Geology — Show fine details from different kinds of rocks.
48. Art technique — A doc cam is perfect for demonstrating your drawing, painting, or sculpture technique in art class.
49. Test answers — Display the test as you go over test answers to increase comprehension.
50. Archive — Snap day-to-day images and archive them so you have a record of your curriculum.