CONNECTING DIGITAL MICROSCOPES AND DOC CAMS TO YOUR COMPUTER

     
     The devices are plug and play, which means you shouldn’t need to install any new software – just plug them in a USB port and they should work.  You can download additional software if you’d like, I’ve put links for youtube videos providing how-to’s for downloading and using the specialized software for the digital microscope.  Sometimes the specialized software gives you a few more options, but if you just need the basic functions don’t worry about downloading any additional programs.

     To get started (I’ve tried both devices on Windows, Macs, and Chromebooks and they all seem to work well) with the simple version:

Windows - In the lower left corner of your screen there's a windows icon - if you click that you'll see all your apps.  You should see one called camera.  Click that and it will probably start your webcam.  When the webcam view comes up look on the right side for a reversal arrow (usually two arrows joined as a circle).  Click that icon and it should switch cameras to your digital microscope or doc cam.  Clicking it again will bring the webcam view back up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ddc8hwYL-I

Chromebook – push the Launcher button to display your apps.  Look for the camera app and click it.  Again, you’ll probably see your webcam view.  Look for the reversal arrow, click it, and you should see the doc cam or digital microscope view.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTvicB9JGcg

Mac – start the Photobooth app – it will usually open with the webcam view – then in the lower left corner of the Photobooth app window you’ll see a camera icon.  Click that and the view will switch to the device view.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtDyaNTye8E


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JOURNAL DESIGN - Request for feedback

Image
     Michelle Midkiff, a fourth grade teacher at Fredericksburg Academy, came up with some ideas for  Nature Journal design.  You can click here to see a PDF version of Michelle's journal.  For printing, print 2-sided, flip on short side. It will print as a booklet, and you can just add a cover and staple together. If anyone is interested in having it for their files, Michelle will email them a publisher doc so users are able to change whatever they'd like.      She would also like to get some feedback from the group for the following questions: I am concerned that it is not the correct length. I mean, I left out so very many things I'd like to include: fact sheets, vocabulary, puzzles, etc. But would that make it a workbook and not a journal?  Maybe it should just be a load of blank pages, because this way it's too teacher-led and the students would not have as much ownership of it. Maybe it would be good for a field trip to Crow'...
Read more

NATURE JOURNALING IN A FIFTH GRADE CLASSROOM

  Nature Journaling in a Fifth Grade classroom             Earlier this week I was able to visit Amtulnoor Grosser’s 5 th grade classroom at Garrisonville Elementary in Stafford to talk about Nature Journaling.   It was a great visit and I really enjoyed working with her great bunch of fifth graders.   During my visit Amtulnoor and I talked about ways to introduce the topic and how it might fit in as a regular classroom activity.   Based on that discussion and my observations of the class working in the classroom and outside, here are some ideas for using Nature Journaling.     Journaling using more than one notebook. 1.   The small, 3.5 in x 5.5 in, ruled journal - this is a pocket-sized, portable journal that students can carry just about anywhere.   It’s a place for recording quick observation, questions, ideas, and very simple quick sketches. 2.   The larger, 5.5 in x 8.5 in blank page journal – this is the...
Read more

GOOGLE 3D ANIMALS and Nature Journaling

Image
      Nature Journaling involves a lot of observation, and the best observation comes from looking at the actual living organism, using your eyes or a magnifier of some sort.  That's not always possible so we have to make use of pictures or video clips, not always a good substitute for the real thing.  Now, with virtual reality and augmented reality we have another option.        Google 3D provides a good, easy to use, and free introduction to this alternative.  It's available on phones and tablets, and doesn't require an app.  A good how-to can be found here .  You just google an animal (other objects are available as well), scroll till you see this link: Click the View in 3D icon and you'll see a rotatable moving image that you can resize.  You'll also see a button that says "View in your space."  Click that and you camera will open and you'll see an icon of a hand with a phone.  Point your phone at a flat...
Read more