Tag Archives: review

The IPEVO document camera – a cheap alternative to a visualiser

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The IPEVO camera set up that I received consisted of three separate parts – the document camera itself, a carry case and an extension stand to give it extra height.

The packaging that the camera arrived in had foam cut-outs which could make the carrycase an unnecessary purchase in this time of restricted budgets. The build quality of the camera looks a little cheap, although it doesn’t feel like it is going to drop to bits when you hold it. The camera comes with a clip (which my year 9′s showed me how to attach to my laptop) and a stand for functioning as a document camera. The extension stand is really needed to give extra height and should really come bundled with the camera rather than as an optional extra.

The camera functioned well, although when left in continuous/autofocus mode it would often keep adjusting the focus, so the manual focus mode was preferable. The way it focussed on objects meant I was able to get a sharp clear image (although when the focus was lost it took a couple of seconds to refocus). I found the images in good light clearer and sharper than those of my Avermedia visualiser. The camera could also be pointed around the classroom or used like a webcam to show demonstrations adding to its versatility.

The software for using the document camera is simple to use, well thought through and very good. Again I prefer the IPEVO camera software to the Avermedia software that comes with their visualisers.

Time will tell how durable the camera and stand turn out to be, but I would expect a slightly better build quality at this price point, however for those looking for a document camera this could be a worthy purchase.

From Amazon – IPEVO camera £55, Case £19, Height extending stand £22

What I liked about the IPEVO cam:

  • The software
  • The stand makes it easy to position the camera
  • The camera has many uses – and the laptop mount just adds to these

What I didn’t like

  • The build quality
  • The price – I’m not sure if the advertised price includes VAT but if it does it needs to be reduced
  • The case and stand being sold separately – they should be sold as a bundled package
  • I got interference patterns on images of paper when using artificial lighting
  • The camera often refocuses when on auto-focus

 

William’s Words – a useful book for supporting literacy in science lessons

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Regular readers of my blog may have noticed that I am an advocate of literacy across the curriculum and of literacy within science lessons. I was interested to come across a book that could be used to support literacy in science, written by an experienced science teacher. The book, titled “William’s Words in Science” is written by Dr William Hirst and is a useful reference material for students at KS3 and higher. The copy I received was a weighty tome of over 400 pages and with a useful plastic cover that would extend the life of the book in a student environment.

The main part of the book consists of a dictionary of useful words and terms, complete with definitions written in pupil friendly speak (although the format, language and fonts may make the book inaccessible to some low ability learners).

The dictionary part of the book could be used in multiple ways in the classroom, perhaps for setting word based cover work, for looking up key words during lessons, for checking spellings or looking up important scientists. This is where the author scores a master stroke and provides FREE materials, categorised by year and topic that could be used without the book, but that add an extra layer of depth and usefulness to the book.

Not only does “William’s words” provide a useful reference material for students, but there are extra reference sections in the book that cover common formulae, cycles, periodic table, skeleton amongst other topics.

I can heartily recommend this as a reference material, both for schools and for individual students. I would like to see a set of “William’s Words in Science” in every school, being used to improve the scientific literacy of our students.

Visit the William’s Words site to find out more about this book and to download free supporting resources.

My thoughts on “BTEC First in Applied Science Book 1” by Rebeka Hasan & Michelle Moran (Hodder Education)

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btecbook I came across this book as a result of someone posting messages on the TES forums.  I decided to check out the book, especially as Hodder make this very easy – you can sign up for an E-inspection copy and get access to the book on screen for 30 days.  Whilst this does not give the same experience as flicking through a paper copy, it does provide a very useful insight into the book. (Click here for more information)

It is interesting to see that the book is quite different from the Edexcel one.  Note that I say different, not better.  How you rate the book will depend on for what you intend to use the book, and the teaching styles of the department.  The emphasis of the book is more of a teaching resource than a reference resource.  As a result there is less factual information and content in the book, but more ideas of assignments.  For those that are serious about the vocational aspect of BTEC, the book also links topics with appropriate science careers, and is probably worth keeping a single copy in the department for this reason alone.  I’d rate the quality of the assessment tasks more highly than Edexcel book (especially P1,M1,D1 of the core physics module! If you’ve got the Edexcel book you’ll know what I mean!)

As I said above, how useful this book is will depend on how you deliver BTEC within the department.  The Edexcel was more of a traditional text book matched to BTEC, almost with assessment material added as an afterthought.  The Hodder book feels much more like a teaching resources, and has more teaching sequences that you could use with students, or that students could follow independently.  Of course using the text book as the primary teaching method could mean significant investment in a resource that could be out of date as soon as the specifications change again.

Would I buy the book?  I think in my last review I made my dislike of text books obvious.  Whilst they are useful for cover lessons or occasional use, I can’t imagine a modern and forward thinking department using text books as the primary teaching method.  I’d recommend science departments to check out both of the BTEC books and buy a set that most suits the use to which they will be put (e.g. cover lessons)

Online file sync – USB flash drive replacement software for teachers

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FreeFileSync File sync programs can replace the carrying of USB flash drives.  You simply install the software on your home and work computers, and then when you change a file on one computer the file is copied into the cloud and changed on the other computers that are in the sync relationship.  This saves carrying an unreliable and old fashioned USB flash drive that you have to remember to back up.

A while ago I blogged that I used Windows Live Mesh (beta) for syncing files between home and work.  I’d recently got fed up of the huge wait on boot up while live mesh indexed files on my hard drive and I decided to try some alternatives.  These are my thoughts on the software products I tried:

Microsoft Live Mesh Dropbox Jungledisk
Included storage 5Gb 2Gb 5Gb
(no free option)
Ability to expand storage for a monthly fee n/a 50Gb $9.99
100Gb $19.99		 $3 per month +
$0.15 per Gb (plus transfer fees for Amazon storage)
File conflict resolution yes yes basic (renames file with conflict)
Retain cloud backup of deleted files no 30 days 30 days
Online encryption (with own key) no no yes
Other software features remote desktop to control other PCs on same mesh account can also do cloud based backup of files (non-syncing)
Referral scheme to increase free space no yes no
USB version no yes yes
Access to files through a web interface yes yes Not for sync
Icon on windows explorer to show if file is synced no yes yes
Supported platforms Windows Windows, Mac, Linux Windows, Mac, Linux
History of synced files yes yes no
Website link link
(following this link gets you 250Mb bonus space)		 link

So which did I choose?  There was little difference in transfer speed and overall functionality between products.  Live Mesh took an age to start up (whether from boot or resuming from hibernation) but the other two pieces of software made little noticeable difference to start up times.

At the moment I’m using Jungledisk (I’m on an old plan and only pay the storage fees, not the monthly fee) and I feel safer knowing my documents are securely encrypted in the cloud.  The only catch is the lack of conflict resolution which has to be checked manually at regular intervals.

There are many cloud-based file sync products out there, and I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has tried one of the products above or one similar (e.g. sugarsync) for use by teachers.

Update:  I’ve moved to Dropbox because of the relaunch of Microsoft Live Mesh (with corresponding moving goal posts), and I kept getting file conflicts in Jungledisk.  I found Dropbox was extremely reliable and I’ve got my storage limit up to 6Gb with referrals.  Dropbox also links with other services like PixelPipe, providing alternative ways of getting content into your Dropbox.  Remember to follow my referral link to DropBox if you haven’t got an account already – you get extra storage space!