Until recently, available and obtainable classroom technologies have been extremely limited due to high cost, unproven results and simply the lack of physical technology designed for classroom use. For so many decades, teachers and administrators have relied on tried and true classroom presentation tools such as blackboards, overhead projectors, pencils, paper and textbooks. While these tools certainly have proven themselves over the years, the way in which students learn has changed to an increasingly visual format, partly due to an explosion and constant infiltration of visual information in our culture. Between television, the Internet, cell phones and PDAs, today’s youth are under a virtual visual attack from quick and flashy digital sources of information exchange. Therefore, keeping pace with this virtual digital media environment using traditional textbooks and blackboard methods is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the modern classroom.

Technology in the past decade has gone through a revolution not only in the availability of new digital presentation products, but also in their affordability and accessibility. The cost of powerful computers and emerging technologies is continuing to drop. As a result, digital multimedia projectors are fast replacing overheads, and the introduction of interactive whiteboards and digital document cameras are finding their ways into classrooms.

Within the last five to ten years, Spokane Public Schools (SPS), in Spokane, Washington, has seen the benefits of the integration of a variety of emerging classroom technologies. As a K-12 district with a standards-based, content focus, the effective integration of technology was deemed important as a mechanism to support student learning. This content integration was supported by a hands-on approach to learning using computers, document cameras, projectors and interactive whiteboards. SPS realized the value of visual media to support well designed lessons that differentiate the teaching and assessment process for a range of student learners.

Deciding on what form of emerging technologies and which brands are most appropriate for use in K-12 classrooms to support student learning was not an easy task. The decision making process began with the SPS Instructional Technology Support Center’s (ITSC) standards committee. The twelve committee members represent departments that specialize in teaching and learning, technology hardware and software, audio-visual, purchasing, and district level directors. As new technologies emerge, the team evaluates multiple brands. All reviewed products are run through a side-by-side comparison that focuses on the ease of use for teachers and students, as well as the reliability of the product to withstand extended use overtime.

SPS takes charge of choosing the most efficient, durable, reliable, and cost effective technologies very seriously. When evaluating emerging technologies the standards committee first makes a decision on which products and brands to compare. In the case of the document camera, the committee chose models from three brands that had similar technical specifications including: Elmo, Lumens, and AVerVision. For the side-by-side comparison, the committee used the same projector and display surface to minimize potential extraneous variables for the test. After the evaluation was complete, the decision was made to pilot the AVerVision 100 model, based on both performance and price. With the successful passage of a technology bond in 2003, SPS began classroom pilots of AVerVision document cameras, with an initial purchase of nine AVerVision100 models. Today, access to the bond funding as well as support from district parent/teacher organizations, has allowed SPS to outfit classrooms with 1,006 AVerVision document cameras, including the latest AVerVision300AF. The district plans to add 100 additional cameras by the beginning of the 2007 school year.

Within this district-wide technology implementation, document cameras have become the bridging tool that allows for multiple technologies to be used together while providing instant visual representations of lesson support materials and examples of student learning. Specifically, the integration of document cameras allows teachers to display tangible examples of documents or objects that allow students to view and interact with the content. Teachers use a “Just in Time” approach with students to display writing lessons, accessible text, explore math concepts, and/or show scientific examples including microscopic images on a large screen. By projecting these visual examples to the entire class, both students and teachers can gain instantaneous feedback without having to pass examples around, make photocopies, have students crowd around, or simply hold physical elements in the air hoping everyone can see them. Not only are the lesson materials displayed, but students are able to use the document camera to share their thinking, thus making their thinking visible.

According to Jane Miller, a SPS instructional technology facilitator, results from implementing the AVerVision Document Cameras were almost immediate. “We noticed more active participation and engagement around the content for students in the classroom,” said Jane. “Lessons have become more interactive, visually stimulating, and timely. Making thinking visible has allowed all learners to go deeper into the learning and as a result have more meaningful learning experiences. Students are able to construct their own meaning as they work together to explore and discover the full range of the learning targets. Science in particular has seen a measurable difference in student achievement. Experiments have come to life and the ability to create video and still logs makes an immediate impact on understanding concepts. Learning has taken on a whole new meaning by adding a visual, active and interactive environment.”

Furthermore, the ability to capture both images and video and save them to a computer allows both teachers and students to create their own electronic portfolios. Rather than storing and making photocopies, or even taking pictures with a digital camera, teachers and students can capture their lessons and work, then save it directly to a computer to be used or recalled later. Since most AVerVision Document Cameras have internal photo memory storage, digital snapshots can be taken of anything under the document camera, and then recalled immediately with the press of a button. Students at SPS typically use this during revision stages of lessons. Before students revise their work, a digital photo is then saved directly to the AVerVision Document Camera. When students revise the same work, they place it under the camera, then toggle back and forth between the revised and original work. The student, teacher, and class are able to see what the original work was, and how the student revised it over time. This opens discussions for instant feedback as well as encourages new methods of problem solving.

SPS has taken a lead in classroom technology implementation by providing professional development that builds the capacity of their teachers and helps them understand and effectively utilize the latest in visual learning applications. By creatively employing the features of their AVerVision Document Cameras, SPS has realized the value of this technology within a constructivist learning environment.

When asked what would happen if she were to move to a district without document cameras, Jane Miller stated, “The transformation that has occurred with the introduction of this type of emerging and cost-effective tool is outstanding. It is one of those tools that you never want to let go. My ability to differentiate instruction for all learners and to teach ‘in the moment’ has been strengthened with the use of this tool. If I ever have to teach in a place that doesn’t have one, I will just have to buy my own.”