Free Yourself From Your Document Camera in Class with a HoverCam and Splashtop
All the teachers I know enjoy teaching. The most fun in their day involves interacting with students. Some teachers I know also enjoy “the other things” including grading, discipline and the long summers. But the majority of teachers I have talked to just want to be around, interact, mentor, and positively influence their students. Students make schools go ‘round, and teachers mold students into better people and citizens. Learning is of the utmost importance, but if a teacher is hindered by classroom technology, learning can suffer.
Sitting behind a computer all the time in class is probably not the best method for teaching. Sitting behind a computer keeps you away from the students, takes you out of the conversation, and can lead to diminished learning. Most of the overhead projectors of yesteryear and many traditional document cameras in classrooms today are obsolete and not engaging. To overcome this, Pathway Innovations and Technologies, Inc. set out to produce a document camera for the classroom that would be easy to use, intuitive, intelligent, lightweight and produce stunning images and just be fun!
After years of research and development, and continuous feedback from administrators and teachers alike, Pathway Innovations has cracked the code with its HoverCam document camera lineup and accessories. The newest document camera to come off the design floor is the Solo 8. The Solo 8 embraces new technology and really changes the game in education technology and classroom learning. The HoverCam Solo 8 offers a massive 8.0 MegaPixel sensor for crystal clear images, scanning, an impressive 30 frame/second refresh rate when showing live HD video or recording 1080p video over a USB cable directly to a computer, with audio. No more blurry images. Together, these features make the Solo 8 a central piece of technology you can use in your classroom to teach and engage students every day.
To make engagement even easier, and to enable you to take the HoverCam image around the room right to any student’s desk, HoverCam has partnered with Splashtop to allow wireless streaming of the HoverCam image directly to your iPad or Android tablet. Using your tablet, you can control the Solo 8 from across the room and bring the HoverCam image anywhere in class. And, if your students have wireless devices, there is an optional software available from HoverCam called “Splashtop Classroom” that will push the HoverCam image wirelessly to all of the students devices. There’s even an optional mirroring software app so that you – the teacher – can display your tablet image directly to the large screen display or projector, or allow your students to show their tablet image on the projector – without Apple TV or Chromecast.
Think about this: you no longer have to use clunky, oversized, dumb document cameras that can only show a low resolution image and if they work with USB are painfully slow. Now, an intelligent document camera, the Solo 8, is available and it functions as an extension of your computer. And you or your school don’t have to break the bank to purchase a Solo 8, which is only 349 dollars, or 399 dollars bundled with Splashtop, an extra 15’ USB 3.0 cable and a microscope adapter. Remember, at Pathway Innovations, we want to provide teachers with the latest and best technology at an affordable price. We have embraced new technology and we encourage teachers and schools to evaluate the Solo 8 and embrace one now. You’ll love it!
If you have any questions or would like to test-drive a Solo 8 and Splashtop in your classroom free for 30 days, please visit our website at www.thehovercam.com for more information. Embrace new now.