My New Document Camera!!!

I am sooooo excited!   One day last week, I went back to my classroom to unload some books I had purchased over the summer, and to my surprise, sitting on my desk...

was a brand new document camera!!! 

To get excited of a piece of machinery, must make me the biggest nerd on the block, but oh well - I love it, and can't wait to use it! 

I starting making a list of what I can use it for, and got to thinking that others might be in the same "wonderful" situation and need some ideas for using this awesome machine. 

This little piece of equipment can show small items, text, and demonstrations in a much bigger way, not to mention it can reduce the need for copies.  Instead of copying 25 quizzes, you can just place the quiz under the document camera and have students record their answers on a piece of paper or use clickers if your school has them.

Here is a bulleted list of ideas, but I'm sure you'll think of other useful ways to put it to work for you.

• show science experiments or observations
• zoom in on a small object (i.e. rocks)
• make any text viewable to the whole class
• turn any book into a "Big Book" for shared reading
• model handwriting (cursive)
• work with a hundreds board
• show a manipulative demonstration during math class
• show your geoboard, as students follow along with theirs
• reuse materials used on that old overhead projector we used years ago
• use letter tiles or magnets for work
• scan items and save images into the computer to be used at a later time
• saved images or work done in class can be uploaded to the class website for parents to see
• show maps
• how to count money
• Daily Oral Language, paragraph structure and editing
• point out "teacher pics" from your book order for students to consider
• create graphs
• students can place their sticky notes underneath so all can see their reading responses and thoughts

Now, a new task...to organize an efficient work area to use it.  I know I'll need to keep commonly used math manipulatives nearby, lined paper and graph paper, my thinking maps and other small anchor charts, money, as well as enough space to lay an book open underneath.

I can't wait to use it!

For those of you who already have one, I'd love to know how you use yours.