Visual support & teacher modeling using the document camera: Heritage Park P.S. spotlight

The most recent in-class observation session for the Mooneye Interactive Whiteboard Learning Community was at Heritage Park P.S.in James Watt's Intermediate LD classroom. In collaboration with itinerant resource teacher Valia Reinsalu, Mr Watt focused on the use of the document camera and the Desktop Annotate feature of the Promethean Active Inspire software during the observation teaching session.

 (To see an application of Desktop Annotate to support reading click here for our Tech and Spec. Ed Youtube video.)

Just a few ways the document camera can support the needs of all kinds of learners.

During the first part of the morning, Mr. Watt used the document camera for explicit modeling and demonstration of sketching techniques with his students in an Art lesson. The use of the live view aspect of the document camera allowed students to see dynamic change of a portrait from the before stage - prior to peer feedback of success criteria and rubric outline. The large, live visual support provides the necessary scaffolding that his learners require. A few students have auditory processing or working memory challenges and the visual helps them to make a concrete and more lasting connection to the oral discussion about their sketches. 

"Sitting at the projection desk allows me to demonstrate, respond to questions and repeat demonstrations/process as necessary.  I will find it hard to go back to teaching without this powerful presentation tool." - James Watt, Heritage Park P.S. Intermediate LD teacher

The entire lesson was recorded using ActivInspire's screen recorder so that students could review the lesson at a later date as many times as required.

Mr. Watt used student feedback to make changes to a copy of a student's sketch so that students
could visual see adjustments made, based on the required sketching criteria. Above right - the camera tool on Active Inspire allows for the capture of the before and after lesson image - as well as a large format of the rubric (which can have annotations added.)

Thanks to Mr. Watt for another successful in-class observation session, which highlighted a simple but powerful uses of the document camera to support student learning and understanding. 

Host James Watt, Heritage Park P.S. with LC observation teachers (left to right): Anita Ghosh, Charles Gordon  P.S., Rebecca  Chahine, Heritage Park P.S. and Samantha Bunting, George  Peck P.S.

In-class observation sessions are part of the year-long Learning Community support given to special education teachers, whose programmes receive the SEA Interactive Whiteboard group claim for this school year. There are four LC sessions at East (Terraview Learning Centre) and West (Burnhamthorpe Adult Learning Centre) sites along with opportunities for Job Embedded Professional learning in the form of co-planning and co-teaching with one of the six itinerant teachers who lead specific LC groups. The LC groups are formed based on geography and on student exceptionality.