Tricia Fuglestad is a visual art teacher who has done some truly innovative things in her art class with IPEVO’s Point 2 View USB Document Camera. And as it turns out, she had plenty to teach us (and potential Wishpoolers) about what’s possible with our favorite featherlight doc cam. What can you do with IPEVO ed tech in the classroom? Maybe the better question is: what can’t you do!

Working with K-5 students at Dryden Elementary School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, Tricia is the current recipient of the NAEA 2012 Illinois Art Teacher of the Year. Her art blog was an Art Ed finalist for Blog of the Year as well as a finalist in the 2011 Edublog Awards for best new blog. (Translation: it’s really good, check it out!) Tricia originally became interested in the Point 2 View after attending an education tech conference in her area. Many educators were praising the Point 2 View for its high quality and low price, and she decided to try it out.

There’s nothing like digging in and trying things out first-hand, and Tricia did just that with the Point 2 View. She developed 6 ways to use the Point 2 View in art class, and we even have an additional couple of updates to share. We’ll let Tricia tell you more in her own words:

Animation

“The Point 2 View was a perfect tool for explaining and demonstrating the stop motion animation process to my students. Just move an object, click the snapshot button to take a still image, and move the object again.”

Augmented Reality

“We printed out an Augmented Reality marker in order to view a 3-D model of the Parthenon on the projection screen during our study of Greek art. Students could hold the marker at a comfortable level to view the model from all angles.”

iPads and iPods

“I connect the Point 2 View to the computer and project these devices for demos. This use is perfect for the Point 2 View.”

Photo Booth

“Apple’s Photo Booth allows the Point 2 View to record video. I can aim the Point 2 View at my students who are too small to reach the desktop camera or who can’t position themselves because of a disability. We recorded students’ lips for artwork we created.” (Here’s their amazing video presentation of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax using this method.)

Sharing sketches

“The Point 2 View gives my students a way to share their sketches or writings with the class quickly. It’s perfect for playing guessing games or sharing with the class to see if artwork has communicated ideas clearly.”

Fine Art Techniques

“The Point 2 View is great for demonstrating small detailed techniques. Instead of calling all the students out of their seats to stand over me as I demonstrate, I use the camera to make art along with them.” (See picture below for the setup Tricia used to demonstrate in real time how to create the illusion of a curved 3D apple.)

Update #1 — Collaborative Sculpture

Students made clay mask sculptures. To supplement the activity, the iPad was loaded up with an app called 123D Sculpt. The Point 2 View was set up to capture the iPad for projection as students took turns digitally sculpting the same image. Fun!

Update #2 — International Exchange

Mrs. Fuglestad’s fourth-grade students had a Skype conference with Professor Juan Carlos Castro’s students (future art educators) studying at Montreal’s Concordia University. The Point 2 View was turned up and used like a web camera to capture students presenting for their audience. As Tricia explains on her blog: “Each student presented one slide and glowed in the polite applause of their audience in Canada (that was so sweet). Then they lined up to answer questions and later ask questions. We all learned so much!”

Tricia sums up the Point 2 View this way:

“The Point 2 View has amazing clarity and great weight balance, and I like that it uses USB as opposed to other document cameras that use VGA, which requires more fiddling with the projector. $69 is a very affordable price for a teaching tool that can make a world of difference for students.”

Interested in trying out some of the same techniques or a few of your own? We created Wishpool to help you. Become a Wishpooler, tell us your story, and you just might get a free Point 2 View or other IPEVO ed tech for your school. It’s free and it’s easy. Meanwhile, remember to check out Tricia’s art blog for more great artwork and teaching ideas.

To learn more about Wishpool, please visit http://www.ipevo.com/wishpool.