www.epson.com/documentcameras • Retail Price: $549 through the Brighter Futures program
The Epson DC-20 document camera is a perfect single-camera device for a learning environment. With multiple connection options, it can fit into any classroom technology infrastructure with ease.
Quality and Effectiveness: The DC-20 is effective for displaying images from all ranges of view. It zooms into details that are too fine to be seen by the human eye. Within seconds you can flip the camera arm and rotating camera head around and use it to capture a student presentation in the front of the room. A microscope adapter allows display even down to the microbial level. The images can be displayed in high-quality HD resolution on a screen or recorded onto the device. The camera performs well even under low light and offers a quick 30 frames-per-second response time.
Ease of Use: The rotating arm and 90-degree rotating camera are attached to a small base that makes the camera’s footprint suitable for any classroom. Integrated features can be controlled with buttons on the device or through an included remote. It is simple enough to allow many teachers to use the basic functionality with little staff development. However, it has enough rich features to be a powerful piece of technology in any classroom.
Creative Use of Technology: Epson has managed to create an ultimate single classroom tool for projecting items or documents, recording still images, capturing audio and video, or flipping the classroom. Inside the classroom, teachers can use the split-screen feature to display before and after photographs side-by-side, by pulling from the 1GB internal memory or with an SD card. Images can be virtually annotated using the included software or without a computer by attaching a mouse to the DC-20. Videos captured during class can easily be shared with students by uploading them to the Web through the included software.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: The Epson DC-20 can be used to capture and record student presentations for archives or review. Flipped learning environments and instructional strategies can easily be supported through technology such as the DC-20 with audio, video, and annotation capture capabilities.
TOP FEATURES
• Quality of images from all ranges
• Ease of set-up, training, and use
• Variety of uses from a single device
OVERALL RATING: A document camera, computer, and projector make up the ultimate trio of classroom technology tools. This is one of the best document cameras on the market and is a must-have device for any modern teacher.
