Chris Colley has been a teacher for over 14 years at the secondary and elementary levels and has now morphed into a pedagogical consultant over the last 7 plus years. He is presently a consultant on education in all the Anglo school boards of Quebec.

“I have been in education for the better part of two decades, and I have always pushed the boundaries with integrating technology. Perhaps one of my favorite go-to classroom items has always been my IPEVO doc cam.”

Student engagement is his jive. He believes that learning only happens when mistakes happen, and to make mistakes, students need to be actively involved in their learning process. He loves to support educators in creating environments where students are at the helm of their learning.

This is what he had to say about his first experience with IPEVO solutions.

“I was first introduced to IPEVO when I was teaching with a Smartboard. It amplified my teaching when I could throw just about anything onto the interactive whiteboard with my IPEVO. It brought the real world into my teaching in the most simple, yet powerful ways. Not only could I bring in a bunch of flowers from my garden into class to classify and discuss with my students, but reading stories to my students was more engaging, and they loved to show their flowers from their gardens too.”

Chris Colley is a Pedagogical Consultant at LEARN Quebec in Math, Science, Technology, STEAM, Early Childhood, and makerspaces.

LEARN (Leading English Education and Resource Network) is a non-profit educational organization with a mandate to serve the English-speaking community of Quebec. LEARN accomplishes this by offering a wide range of resources and services at no charge.

“During the pandemic, I used my IPEVO daily. I would use it for makerspace and designing prototypes with my students. Without it, I would have been lost. It allowed the student to see what I was doing in real-time. The picture was always perfect! The students enjoyed our making moments together more than anything else. Who says making can’t happen online?!?

I also used my IPEVO when I was doing online “Micro:bit” classes. It was essential when I was showing students how to attach peripherals, code, and introducing new things. Without that visual that the IPEVO document camera gave, I would have never been able to do “Micro:bits” online.”

The services and resources provided by LEARN Quebec include elementary and secondary level teaching tools and content; professional learning; community, school, and parental support; as well as a full range of online services through the LEARN Virtual Campus.

The Virtual Campus includes online classes for students across the province, personalized tutorials, summer school, as well as customized programs that are developed in concert with schools and school boards.

Check out Chris’ Maker Capsules made with IPEVO Document Cameras: https://hosted.learnquebec.ca/opencreativespace/learns-open-creative-space-live-stream-capsules-resource-page/

“I used my IPEVO for recording video capsules that I could then share with my community. These again were maker capsules, where we would introduce materials, models, ideas, strategies for educators to make in class with their students.“

https://www.ipevo.com/assets/v2/us/images/mediaroom/mediaroom-story-20210930-article-07.jpg?20211006192346

The traditional idea of education used to be limited to the four walls of the classrooms. Employees and students alike were in many cases compulsorily required to be physically present. The possibilities of technology in enhancing education were not fully exploited.

Everything changed after the pandemic hit the world. Almost every sector had to find a way to survive amidst the lockdown. Learning had to continue without the possibility of spreading the virus. A lot of measures were put in place. Academic institutions engaged students virtually as an alternative to physical classes. Students were given access to recordings and video presentations of educational materials in their various remote locations.

As the pandemic slows down, it is undoubted that the gains of technology in enhancing education are enormous. For this reason, many have adopted a hybrid model of teaching and work as the new norm.

DOCUMENT CAMERAS, A MUST-HAVE.

Sometimes called Visualizers or Doc Cams, these are high-resolution cameras used to magnify or project images of objects, paper notes are usually mounted on the arm to facilitate their placement over a page.

Document cameras are designed to display a three or two-dimensional object while the audience watches. The camera takes a picture and produces a live image using a monitor or a projector. Besides education, it has also been utilized to present materials in conferences, evidence in courtrooms, and even medical applications.

As the world changed its dynamic to a remote environment, Document Cameras have helped maintain an effective learning experience without regard to physical boundaries. Doc Cams have had to evolve to include more features that can improve remote learning regardless of the user’s surroundings, such as a microphone or a built-in LED light.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, A GREAT ADDITION TO A DOC CAM.

The main feature of artificial intelligence is a machine’s ability to mimic human actions and rationalize and exhibit traits associated with the human mind, such as learning and problem-solving. We can take the advantage of AI to enhance existing features, for example, the Microphone of a Document Camera.

Artificial intelligence technology in microphones is concerned with the suppression of background noise and enhancement of voice. The human brain can identify whether sounds come from a voice discussion between people or noise in the background. The hearing system can also focus on vocal sounds and ignore surrounding noises to make the conversation intelligible and clear.

Standard noise suppression technologies need to guess what type of emitted noise they need to suppress, resulting in random and poor efficiency. They rely on learning signals compiled manually by engineers. That means only noise that is stable and regular is removed.

IPEVO, a leading Document Camera provider, has introduced V4K PRO, the World’s first Doc Cam with an AI-Enhanced Microphone that is built to extract vocal sounds from a noisy environment and let you enjoy an apparent crystal conversation or lecture.

How?

It does this by acting as a filter to eliminate noise while still maintaining the natural sound of the voice. The artificial intelligence in V4K PRO has been trained with over 500 million data to effectively distinguish and preserve the human voice exactly as it would sound in a face-to-face conversation.

HOW CAN IT HELP SUPPORT EDUCATION

AI-powered devices like the IPEVO V4K PRO can help increase the efficiency of education workers in the following ways;

• Achieve virtual courses and presentations with sounds just as flawless as they should naturally be. Even if you are in a noisy or dim-lit environment, teachers can carry on with their lessons without interruptions.
• Make high-quality pre-recordings of your lessons or materials to share with your students.
• Set up hybrid classrooms where remote students can be just as engaged as your in-class students.
• Integrate your Document Camera with most existing software and hardware in your class set-up. For example, in-class projectors, computers, and 3rd party video conferencing apps.

It is evident from the pandemic experiences that education transcends the four walls of a physical classroom. To fully explore the gains of technology in education, consider adding a powerful, yet affordable, tool like the IPEVO V4K PRO. It is essential to delivering quality education and adapting to the ‘New Normal’, which features a blend of distant, in-person, and hybrid models of collaboration across institutions.

Find out more about the IPEVO V4K PRO Ultra HD Document Camera here: https://www.ipevo.com/products/v4k-pro

Skyrock is an experiential learning space that teaches STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) through practice, and stimulates genius and imagination through personal creation.

With the rapid digitalization of society as a whole, it has become increasingly important for students to be readily equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed in this digitalized society.

Zack Hwang, a former power engineer and now one of the headteachers at Skyrock, was able to successfully incorporate IPEVO products into their curriculum, both online and in-person. The concept of online classes has existed for years but it wasn’t until recently did it really establish itself as a legitimate and effective form of education in the eyes of the general public. With IPEVO products, Zack was able to seamlessly replicate the fine and intricate details of his classes to students all across the country.

“The cameras were helpful in teaching live assembly classes where the teacher wants to switch from face to hands recordings.”

Before integrating IPEVO products, Skyrock was struggling to maintain consistent quality in their videos:

“We were trying to record multiple assembly videos by many teachers. Our challenge was trying to get them to be consistent in quality and framing. “

Previously, Skyrock was using smartphones situated on phone holders to record their videos:

“The most significant change we noticed after using the IPEVO cameras was that the footage doesn’t shake or jiggle as much compared to before”

After experiencing much success with IPEVO cameras in their STEAM classes, Zack shares his thoughts on the potential application of the IPEVO cameras in other fields:

“I believe they would be good for classes that do live lessons that require different angles and cameras. Like cooking classes, art, and crafts, etc.”

In their mission to promote STEAM education, Zack shared the idea behind how Skyrock came to be:

“We have seen how all of the textbooks and tests are killing the curiosity in our kids. It’s serious work without play, and hard work that isn’t fun. We believe that cultivating both technical and creative confidence in kids is the best thing we can do to make kids fall in love with learning again. And for this, we think that creative projects that engage kids in SERIOUS PLAY and HARD FUN is the perfect tool!”

After experiencing a turbulent year due to the pandemic, some schools an businesses look to start welcoming people back into buildings while others intend to stay put. Document cameras emerged as one of the most crucial tools throughout the past year and look to further solidify its importance going forward. The ability to integrate document cameras with various software and hardware is a major contributing factor to its widespread success and popularity.

Below are 5 great uses you can give to document camera in a class or work setting:

Read and Annotate

Document cameras are the go-to tool when it comes to presenting materials. Effortlessly switching between materials and making live annotations results in a much smoother and time-efficient experience all around.

Record Lessons

With the steady increase in technology integration, educators all around the world are using document cameras to record lessons and tutorials. The small and simple yet powerful build of the document camera makes for a quick setup that requires minimal effort and space.

Document Scanning

Scanning stacks of paper may seem like a daunting and time-consuming task but document cameras are able to speed the process up significantly. Once the device is set up in place, scanning documents becomes as simple as sliding it under the lens and clicking a button.

Live Demonstrations

There are multiple instances where crowding around something to catch a glimpse simply doesn’t cut it. Intricate gadgets with small parts, chemical reactions, dissections, and art techniques benefit the most from it. Projecting the image on a large screen ensures that everyone is able to view the demonstration at an optimal angle.

Distance Viewing

For low-vision students, it can often be extremely difficult to follow along with the rest of the class. Simply have the set up the document camera, pointed towards the board, and zoom-in as needed. This is especially useful as the student may also take snapshots throughout the class if necessary.

Though document cameras have been around for quite a while, it wasn’t until the past year did it really pick up mainstream attention. After people started implementing document cameras into their daily routine, they quickly realized just how simple and powerful these tools were whilst providing much-needed versatility. The pandemic may be slowly coming to an end, but document cameras are here to stay.