HoverCam Enables Unique Learning Experiences

Academic classes have been taught in much the same way for years: a teacher stands at the front of the class and lectures, using a chalkboard (or lately, PowerPoint) to provide written material for note-taking. However, a new style of teaching is beginning to gain popularity. The so-called “flipped classroom,” in which students learn on their own time using instructor-provided resources and then use class time to work through examples, has been lauded by many as the next big thing in education.

Pathway Innovations and Technologies, the company which makes HD HoverCam document cameras, is finding that its technology is allowing this type of learning experience to go more smoothly. When instructors make the materials that students use to review the course material on their own, they need to make sure that everything presented is legible and understandable. A HoverCam helps make this goal a reality due to being specially designed to work well with text. Instructors can record lectures that involve a chalkboard or whiteboard and not have to worry about the picture being fuzzy or their writing being unreadable.

The use of a flipped classroom enables teachers to spend more valuable one-on-one time with students. Instead of spending all their time speaking to the class at large, teachers can spend their time helping individual students with their unique issues with the subject matter. The other main benefit of a flipped classroom is that students can review lectures however many times they need to in order to properly grasp the material, and can even fast forward through parts they already understand or pause to think about a particular statement before they move on.

Even in situations where a flipped classroom would be unrealistic, such as for students younger than high school age, technology can be used to create a more interactive learning experience. For example, the South Side Area School District implemented a program where every student was issued a laptop or iPad for use in class. First-grade students could play addition games, which held their interest better than doing worksheets, and kindergartener students could see different visual representations of numbers. According to Superintendent Tammy Adams, students are now “more engaged.”

Regardless of how exactly technology is put to use in the classroom, it has the ability to revolutionize the way that students are educated. From the method used by the South Side Area School District to entire online courses enabled by HoverCams, technology is showing up everywhere in the education field.