The "Document Camera"

I was talking to our art teacher the other day and he told me about a cool little device called a document camera. I thought it would be real useful to be able to project things I was trying to demonstrate up on the screen rather than have a gaggle of students trying to crowd around to see what I was doing. Did some research and came up with this!

Its a cheapo 5 megapixel webcam ziptied to a fancy arm light. I can point it in any direction I want, its plugged into my computer so I can project it on the screen, and I can also record things to use in step by steps or how-to's! Oh yeah, I can also use it to keep an eye on the students who always think they can get away with things behind my back.

You can see the webcam here pointing down at the table, displaying the images on my computer screen. The cables that go up from the computer go to the projector. Desk is a mess- last day of the tri and we were cleaning shop.

And today's test... How fast can I take an entire Briggs and Stratton engine apart? 5 minutes and 40 seconds.




Camera cost $7.00, light was about $80.00, and I needed a USB extension. The software was free!