CameraScope

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CameraScope A Digital Visualization tool for
Science and MathematicsClassrooms Bill
FersterThe University of Virginia
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Why Visualization? To help see events that are
too small
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Why Visualization? To see events that are too
fast or slow
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• A Tipping-Point
• Low cost of digital camera and webcams
• More digital cameras are sold than film cameras
• Even Kodak is giving up on film cameras!

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Students Understanding Role shift from passive
observer to active participant
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• Intel QX3 Microscope
• Popular, with lots of curricular activities
  developed
• Cheap (under 100)
• Easy to use
• Had time-lapse movies capability

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• Intel QX3 Microscope
• It had shortcomings, though...
• Poor image quality
• Toy-like software
• Discontinued by Intel after the Dot-Bomb

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• Why Make CameraScope?
• Support of Multiple Imaging Sources
• Web-Cams, QX3, Digital Cameras
• High quality images
• New devices on the market constantly
• Consistent look and feel to standardize
  curriculum on
• Uses Microsofts DirectShow devices

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• Why Make CameraScope?
• Designed Expressly for Education
• Easy to use
• Features tied into curriculum
• Lesson plans expressly designed for it
• Offered at no charge to schools

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• Why Make CameraScope?
• An optimistic future
• Cant be capriciously discontinued
• Open source
• Open architecture for new features
• Supports commonplace tools

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• CameraScope
• First tool from Thinking Spaces Tools Initiative
• Capture
• Measure
• Analyze

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• Capture
• CameraScope Image Sources
• High quality from digital cameras
• QX3 Microscope
• Digital Microscopes
• Digital Telescopes
• Web-Cams

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• Capture Stills
• CameraScope Still Images
• Multiple resolutions
• Stored as JPEG Files

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• Capture Time-Lapse
• CameraScope Time-lapse movies
• Speeds up slow events
• 1/4 second to 10 days per frame

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CameraScope Capture
Viewing screen Image Gallery Capture
button Controls
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• Capture Real-Time
• CameraScope Real-Time Movies
• Slows down fast events
• View the Motion frame-by-frame

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• Measure
• CameraScope Measurement Tools
• Measure on screen objects
• Get position, size and rotation
• Move through movies frame by frame
• Calibrate to real world dimensions
• Easy to use, but accurate

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CameraScope Measure
Reset Origin Scroll thru Movie See
Coords Calibrate
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• Analyze
• CameraScope Analysis Tools
• Saves data to spreadsheet
• Calls Microsoft Excel directly for
• Graphing
• Trend-line analysis
• High-level manipulation

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Excel Spreadsheet
Time (in ms.) X Position Y Position Scale Rotatat
ion Graph Trend Line
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• A Physical Science Example
• Measuring the speed of gravity
• Helps students understand velocity in Physics
• Record the dropping of a ball
• Calibrate the image to meter stick in scene
• Track motion of ball frame-by-frame into Excel
  file
• Graph Velocity curve in Excel
• Use trend-line analysis to figure out gravity
  constant

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A Physical Science Example
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A Physical Science Example
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• Future Tools
• Image processing add-ons for CameraScope
• Tablet PC Software
• Digital Story-Telling tools

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• Thinking Spaces
• Research into digital images in content area
  curricula
• Emerged from National Technology Leadership
  Summit
• CameraScope developed by University of Virginia
• All tools place in a Creative Commons

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Status Currently in in beta Available at no
charge. Website www.teacherlink.org/tools