Khwal12's Blog

USING THE SCHOOL DOCUMENT CAMERAS

CONNECTING DOCUMENT CAMERAS TO LAPTOP OR NETBOOK COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOL

NOTE:  Two new IPEVO Ipevo VZ-1 HD VGA/USB Dual-Mode Document Cameras were added to Grades K and 1 effective October 2013. A third IPEVO VZ-1HD VGA/USB Dual-Mode Document Camera has been added to the Friendship Hall Mobile Presentation Station for use by the “Specials” Teachers in that environment. The document cameras are both document cameras and WEB Cameras and can be used with the new projection systems in those classrooms.  Three new HoverCam T3 Document / WEB cams have been added to Grades 6, 7, and 8.  The Elmo Unit is now in Grades .  Grade 2 received a new Qomo Document Camera Device during the 2015-2016 school year.  Grade 5 has one of the Logitech 9000 Units and the other is presently in the Learning Commons Library area, but may be borrowed by any other class.

1.  Currently we have five types of document cameras /WEB cameras in the school.  See additional video tutorials at bottom of this page.
a.  The Elmo

b.  The Logitech Pro 9000

IPEVO CameraHovercam T3

Qomo Document Camera

Logitech B910  WEB Conferencing Camera

Logitech C920 WEB Conferencing Camera

NOTE:  The IPEVO, HoverCam T3, Logitech B910 and Logitech C920 all use USB connections between the computer and the camera.  The controlling software must be installed on the computer that the cameras will connect to, prior to plugging in the camera to the computer.

The Logitech B910 has been deployed in the Learning Commons Lab Area and was used for the Distance Learning Spanish Program this year.  The Logitech B920’s will be installed in Grade 7 and in Friendship Hall as of the Summer of 2014.

Please see basic directions below for connecting the ELMO to the LCD or DLP projectors.

2.  Connecting the Elmo is similar to connecting a computer to the LCD Projector.
a.  If you are using the Elmo as a stand alone document camera you simply need to connect it to the VGA Port (blue port) on the back of the LCD Projector.

b.  If you are using the Elmo with a Laptop to project from the Laptop Screen you will need to use the second VGA input port (black) on the LCD Projector.  You will connect the laptop to the Elmo via the VGA port on the Laptop and the VGA port on the Elmo (the Elmo has two).  Then you will connect the other VGA port of the Elmo to the LCD projector’s second VGA port.  These are labeled Port 1 and Port 2 on some projectors and on the Elmo.  If connecting via the laptop you will need two VGA cables.  The LCD projectors all come with one VGA cable standard, but you will need a second one.  In some classrooms I have provided the second cable, if I do not have a second VGA cable in your classroom, please contact me and I will provide one.

3.  The Elmo has built in software and a portable controller to help you use the Menu features to set up the Elmo to project images properly.  You do not need software on the laptop or netbook to run the Elmo.
NOTE:  The Elmo image clarity can be adjusted manually with the controls on the camera.
4.  The Logitech 9000 Document Cameras are also WEB Cameras.  To use these, you must connect them to a computer first before using them with the LCD Projectors.
a.  The Logitech Camera should not be connected to the laptop, netbook, or desktop computer until the software that controls the camera is loaded onto that computer.  If this has not been done in your classroom, please let me know and I will load that software for you.
b.  Once the software is loaded you can connect the Logitech camera to your computer using any available USB Port on the computer.  Since the Logitech camera cable is fairly long, you can use the available ports in the back of the computer or on the sides if using a laptop or netbook.
c.  The camera will be detected by the Operating System automatically and the camera control panel will load onto the computer desktop.  You control all camera settings from that control panel on the desktop.  If the camera desktop doesn’t load automatically, you can open it by going to the listing for the camera software on your Start Menu List by clicking the Operating System Start Button.
d.  Your LCD Projector also needs to be connected to your computer via the VGA cable.  Once the LCD projector is connected simply turn on the projector and the image from the Logitech camera will be displayed via the projector onto whatever screen you choose.
NOTE:  The camera clarity can be adjusted through the control panel settings in the software on the Desktop, or you can adjust clarity using the LCD projector’s manual controls.

If you need assistance setting up the cameras or projectors, please contact me and I will come to your classroom and assist you.

When using the cameras (ELMO or Logitech) please consider using a white sheet of paper as your background, unless you are using a page from a book or are using a printed worksheet.  The white background helps make the image stand out better.  If you don’t have white a beige sheet will work as well.  If the items is white or a very light color then choose a black or navy blue background for displaying the object.

Remember the extraneous room lighting can be a problem for the camera image so don’t place the camera near your classroom windows where the light is very strong.  The overhead lighting in your rooms should be okay because it is high in the ceiling and some of you have diffuser panels on the lights so they are not direct lighting.

If you are displaying very small objects these cameras can do a fair to good job but they are not meant to replace special magnifying lenses that are often used for microscope magnification.

We have at least one microscope magnifying system which has been stored in the 5th grade classroom.  The software that goes with this system only works on the Windows XP and Windows 2000 systems. Since we are replacing the Windows 2000 Systems, this camera will only work on the Windows XP systems in your classrooms.  I may try to set this up and test it using the WINE Windows Emulator on the Linux based computers, but I will probably not get to test that before the school year begins.  If you need to use the microscope magnification system early in the school year, please let me know so I can schedule this in to my computer servicing schedule.

Note:  This microscope system is no longer manufactured and I will be looking into purchasing a new system that can work with a variety of Operating System Platforms, and/or is platform independent and will work with our standard school microscopes.

Videos explaining how to connect and use the Elmo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnR91s6Q3X0&feature=related

Elmo with a Microscope

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZOj1ShC3bs&feature=related

Logitech 9000 Pro Setup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYDPadyu0Wk

IPEVO Setup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcvYM2zBnrw

HoverCam T3 Setup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxANe8rjb6g

Qomo Document Camera Setup Guide

http://qomo.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=72