Technology & Learning - October 2008 - (Page 38)

PRODUCTGUIDE Picture Perfect By Jeffrey Branzburg Today’s document cameras continue to evolve light years past the dinosaur days of the overhead projector. Check out the latest features of these document cameras to see how your tech-loving teachers can find even more presentation perks. PRODUCTS ELMO’s TT-02s “Teacher’s Tool” weighs less than six pounds. The camera easily rotates to line up precisely with a microscope eyepiece. It has a stable camera arm that requires only one hand for easy adjustment. It has a zoom lens and auto focus and can be connected to a digital projector, TV, VCR, or computer. In addition, it has a SD memory card holder and a USB port to download images to a computer for storage. (www.elmousa.com/ applications-education.php; $769) What to Look for in a Document Camera FOCUS: Some document cameras include auto-focus, others require manual focus. FRAME REFRESH RATE: As you move or rotate an object under the lens, the camera must refresh the image; a higher refresh rate (for example, 40 frames per second) provides smoother movement than a lower rate (such as 20 frames per second). OUTPUT: In addition to direct viewing of objects through the document camera, many provide the ability to save 'snapshots' of objects in the camera itself, to a memory card, or directly to a computer's hard drive via a USB cable. RESOLUTION: The greater the number of pixels, the better the projected resolution. FLEXIBLE VIEWING: In order to view objects from all sides, a document camera should have the ability to rotate the head. Some have flexible gooseneck arms to allow precise manipulation. ZOOM: It is important to be able to zoom in for a closer look at an object; some provide higher quality (and more expensive) optical zoom, others lower quality (and less expensive) digital zoom, and some offer both. BRIGHTNESS: Some document cameras include extra lights to add brightness and eliminate shadows. 38 | TECH & LEARNING QOMO QOMO’s QD700 Digital Processing Visual Presenter has a 22x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom, and a motorized camera head for hands-free operation. It also has LED side and base lamps, and can freeze the top eighth of the screen for presentation title display. It includes split screen capability, can save 7 images internally, and has ports for RGB, S-video, composite video, and RS-232 for flexible output. It comes with a wireless remote, as well as a USB port for connection to a computer. (www.qomo.com; $1,290) ELMO http://www.elmousa.com/applications-education.php http://www.qomo.com http://www.elmousa.com/applications-education.php

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - October 2008

Technology & Learning - October 2008 Contents Editor’s Desk News & Trends We All Stream for Video Put to the Test Special Needs Guide to Tech Products The New Rules of Copyright Picture Perfect What’s New Leader of the Year Profile

Technology & Learning - October 2008

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