Bring Your Lessons to Life with the BenQ ideaCam

BenQ

2024/03/26

Henry Chao, teacher of Technology at Jianguo High School (The top high school in Taiwan), shares his experience using ideaCam.

Handmaking for Self-Expression

When we joined Teacher Chao he was showcasing a remote-controlled car made by one of his students. "Living Technology" is a required subject for high schools in Taiwan and its primary aim is to foster technological knowledge, creative thinking, and problem-solving abilities. As a teacher, Chao’s goal is to pass on knowledge and skills through activities such as computer drawing, 3D printing, laser cutting, power circuit design, and soldering.

This year, senior students are expected to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom by building remote-controlled cars with GoPro cameras attached to record races around the campus and document their achievements. Teacher Chao hopes this project will help students develop self-expression skill

"Some people express their feelings, emotions, and thoughts through painting. Similarly, I hope my students can express themselves in their tech masterpieces, find fulfillment in the creative process, and pursue individual goals using the skills they acquired," says Teacher Chao.

The course covers a wide range of topics and involves reviewing the practical details. Teacher Chao continuously upgrades his teaching equipment to effectively convey the information to his students.

Tech Integration: Compatibility Matters

“ideaCam is portable and compatible with different platforms, making it easy to use it wherever needed.” — Teacher Chao

Teacher Chao manages his teaching environment with a BenQ ideaCam camera fixed on a tripod and connected to a laptop; the laptop display is then mirrored to a bigger screen through a projector. Due to budget constraints, several pieces of equipment in the classroom have not been upgraded for years. So it is essential to rely on a device that is compatible with different software applications and classroom setups.

With its plug-and-play design, the BenQ ideaCam allows Teacher Chao to transition seamlessly from one activity to the next. "During a recent teacher workshop, I only brought a small tripod, a turntable accessory, and an ideaCam. I can simply connect it to the computers that are provided in classrooms and I’m good to go. It's become a teaching essential for me, also because it comes with a lens cover so I don't need to worry about scratching it when carrying it around," he says.

Teacher Chao also recalls the time when schools were closed during the pandemic. He had to use a computer webcam, a GoPro, and a phone camera to show teaching materials during his online classes. "If I had ideaCam back then, I wouldn’t have needed so many accessories," he says.

An Intuitive Approach to Lesson Delivery

Flipping ideaCam toward the desk automatically mirrors the image to always provide an optimized perspective.

"Previously, when showing circuit boards to students, I had to reverse my actions to show students the right perspective. Now, BenQ's webcam ideaCam's automatic image-flipping feature automatically corrects the upside-down image when the camera is facing down, making demonstrations much easier for me," he says.

Teacher Chao can also magnify the circuit board’s details on the laptop screen thanks to the 15x macro lens. When he needs to bring the students’ attention to a specific component, he can use the control puck to instantly zoom to the desired magnification without taking his eyes off the board. “I use the wireless remote control to zoom in and out so I don't have to worry about shaking the camera," he says.

Teacher Chao believes that ideaCam offers a more flexible way of capturing objects than a document camera. He can remove the camera from the mount and show different angles of an object using the handheld mode. Additionally, ideaCam pairs with the expansive features from EnSpire software to maximize its potential.

EnSpire: A Powerful Presentation Tool

EnSpire is a web-based visual presentation tool that allows easy access to additional features when using the control puck. A desktop app is also available.

"EnSpire is extremely user-friendly: It provides easy access to a lot of useful features, including corner correction, screen freeze, and split-screen — all in just one click. The cool thing is that this isn’t limited to ideaCam; it’s also compatible with webcams from other brands," he says.

EnSpire saves Teacher Chao even more time when combined with the control puck. With just a touch, he can freeze the screen to pause on a specific frame to review or add annotations. Clicking “Snapshot” automatically saves captured images to his device, making it convenient to share them later. “I like the picture-in-picture and split-screen features because I can share two different resources simultaneously, making presentations more interesting.”

EnSpire is a valuable tool for educators. Together with ideaCam, it offers extensive features to enrich the teaching experience. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s a five out of five-star review,” he added.

ideaCam and EnSpire: The Perfect Teaching Duo

With ideaCam and EnSpire, teachers can deliver more effective and comprehensive lessons, boosting students' learning experience.

Teacher Chao continued by sharing more examples from his past teaching experiences. Preparing lessons required significant effort and time, as he had to take pictures of every single step to create his slides. What’s more, there are processes like PCB etching that happen too quickly for students to observe in detail. Now, with BenQ ideaCam’s near-4k resolution, screen freeze and screenshot functions, and recording capabilities, setting up for lessons takes only five minutes and demonstrations can be captured in clear detail.

ideaCam's different shooting modes provide the benefits of both a standard webcam and a document camera. Its complementary accessories — the control puck, built-in ring light, 15x macro lens, noise-canceling microphone, and EnSpire visual presentation software — make it a versatile tool that can enhance students’ educational experience.

Essential Elements in EdTech: Stability, Compatibility, and Simplicity

ideaCam seamlessly integrates into the teaching environment, pushing teachers beyond the boundaries of what’s been done in the classroom so far.

Flexible teaching and the technology integration in education have become even more important in the post-pandemic era, and tools like the BenQ ideaCam can support and accelerate this transition.

As a teacher of Living Technology, it’s easy for Teacher Chao to familiarize himself with technology and teaching equipment. However, he’s aware that some of his colleagues may see learning new technology and equipment as a challenge. "Tech tools should be user-friendly, intuitive to learn, and simple to integrate — ideaCam is exactly that," he says.

Teacher Chao believes that BenQ ideaCam and EnSpire have the power to deliver instructional content in a more comprehensive and approachable manner, bringing lessons to life. He looks forward to creating impactful lessons for his students and engaging with them better thanks to BenQ technology.

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