My latest area of technology related exploration for classroom
use is the WebCam. I feel that it has tremendous potential
as a
teaching/learning tool. I shall go over a few related ideas below.
What:
A WebCam, as it is going to be discussed
on this page, is a camera set up to deliver images (captured at
a predetermined interval) to a web site - so that they might be
observed by others.
Why:
Perhaps the best reasons for creating
a WebCam are to share something and because "it can be done".
To me WebCams are an interesting way to observe what is happening
in the world. Also, WebCams are an inexpensive way to travel around
the world.
Who:
Who creates a WebCam site? These sites
are created by just about anyone with a desire to share with others,
a suitable camera, a computer, and an internet connection. All
WebCam sites seem to have something that somebody wants to share
with others. This could vary from their personal lives to views
of their environment. There are lots of neat things to be seen
through WebCams.
Note: There are many sites that you will not want students
to visit!
When: Depending upon the type of internet connection people
have, the times available for viewing their WebCam images might
vary from only when they are on-line to 24 hours a day.
Where: WebCams are found absolutely everywhere - from large
cities to the wilds of Africa to outer space.
Some Possible Educational uses for WebCams
The educational uses for WebCams are many and varied. I do suggest
that with any classroom WebCam activity that you run a highly
structured classroom with little opportunity for students to deviate
from the assignment. To accomplish this, you will need to carefully
craft your student activities and preview the sites. The reason
for this unusually rigid structuring is to avoid students stumbling
upon inappropriate sites. They can explore at home under parent
supervision.
Some potential activities:
(Social Studies - climates,geography) - Students go to
a selected series of WebCam sites and describe what they infer
the climate at these sites to be. Next they place these sites
on a map (digital or hardcopy). Using texts, CDs, or the internet,
they
determine the actual climate for these regions. Finally, they
draw conclusions between their inferences and the actual data.
(Social Studies - climates, economics, geology, architecture)
- Students go to various "city shot" WebCam sites and
compare types of buildings seen. Questions students are to answer
include such things as: Are these structures related to climate?
Are these structures evidence of geologic formations? Are these
structures a reflection on economic conditions? What are the similarities
between all buildings seen and what are specific differences?
(Weather) - Students visit 10 sites around the world and
record what the current weather looks like at each location. They
then get a local weather report for each location (from the internet)
and check for satellite images. Students determine if weather
reports, satellite images, and real time ground level images all
agree. If not, they need to try to explain the discrepancies.
Platform/Software Issues:
I use the PC platform for the WebCam that I am currently setting
up to help promote my businesses. I felt that this platform's
software would show what I wanted to be able to show my customers.
I am able to upload fresh images every 30 seconds (interval is
limited by the time needed to ftp images over the phone connection
- a faster connection = faster image updating). If I do not want
live images sent, I can have a preselected set of images uploaded
to my site. Or I can mix live images with a preselected image
every few frames. On the PC platform there seems to be two software
programs used by most WebCam sites. These two are Webcam32
($25 shareware) and ISpy (free). Both are easy to use and
set up. On the Mac platform a program called SiteCam should
do the job for you. The documentation for these programs is excellent.
Hardware Issues:
All that is needed to set up a WebCam is a camera which connects
directly to the computer such as the Connectix QuickCam - color
or grayscale. On occasion when I want a better quality image,
I will use my camcorder with a Dazzle DVC unit. Other brands of
cameras and digitizers will also work.
I hope this will give you a start on thinking about, setting up,
and using a WebCam.