My students need a document camera for close up views of demonstrations where lab equipment is not available for the whole class and for class projected microscope images.
Have you ever been to a college football game and sat in the "nosebleed" section and found yourself watching the action on the Jumbo-tron rather than the actual field? At times, I feel I need a Jumbo-tron in my science classroom so students can see small specimens and experiments up close as a class.
My students are from a suburban school where the majority are from middle class families.
Most of my students plan on attending college and have parents who have raised them with this expectation. My students are still curious by nature due to their age and are excited about the topics we cover in science class. They love to bring their own experiences to the classroom conversations and often times bring objects to share as well. It is not unusual for a student to bring in an x-ray of their broken arm, an interesting rock they picked up somewhere, an insect they caught and want to identify, or questions regarding a current event in the news. I love to foster their interest in science and encourage the exploration of science, not just at school but also at home. I want students to take the concepts we cover in science class and find places in their own life where it connects and where they utilize it. I find science amazing and I want my students to experience the same awe that I feel.
My Project
A document camera would greatly help to increase understanding of science concepts and curiosity among my students. While my school does have a nicely supplied science department, there are times where supplies are limited and not every child can access materials at the same time. A good example occurred last week when we were studying rocks and minerals. My school does not have enough samples for each table to have a set of rocks in front of them, so I had to do my best to walk the samples around for students to view their differences. With a document camera, I would have been able to project the rocks like a Jumbo-tron and even made comparisons between rocks for the entire class to see at one time. There are many times in the year where a document camera could be used to better student understanding including demonstrations of heat transfer, viewing microscope projections, and a great variety of other classroom demonstrations where viewing from afar is ineffective.
At the age of 11 to 12, my students are naturally curious and I want to take advantage of their curiosity.
I understand the importance of science to our future and I feel that I have the power, through classroom experiences, to inspire students toward a career path in science. We have all heard the saying "strike while the iron is hot." The "iron is hot" in my classroom, and I just need the tool to "strike" with and inspire a love of science in young minds. A document camera could be the tool.
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