001+Live+Cameras

Over the past decade or so, technological advancements have revolutionized the way people communicate with each other. Live cameras have become a major part of this revolution. With the invention of the live camera, people who are physically thousands of miles away from each other can still chat face to face as if they are in the same room. This technology can also be used as an educational tool in the classroom. This paper will attempt to give a brief history of the live camera, show how it can be used in the classroom, and discuss the potential costs and problems associated with the technology.

**__History__** Web cameras first made an appearance in 1991 at Cambridge University. The computer science department at the university provided this advancement in technology for those in other parts of the school to view the "Trojan room coffee pot" from their desktops. People were able to avoid pointless trips to the room. In 1993, the webcam was connected to the internet by Marty Johnson and Daniel Gordon (n.a. par. 3. 2010). Web cameras are now a popular part of cultures all around the world.

**__Uses__** One potential use of live cameras in the classroom is connecting with people, just as they are used in other aspects of everyday life. For educational purposes, the live camera allows students to connect with people across the country, whether it is with experts on the current topic of study or the authors of popular age-level books. For example, a middle school history teacher named Eric Langhorst wrote an article about how he uses live cameras in his classroom. During his unit on //Guerilla Season//, a historical novel by Pat Hughes, he organized an interview with the author via Skype, video chat software using live cameras. He likened the experience to chatting with Hughes in her home. “It was such a casual affair it seemed as if Hughes had simply invited us over to hang out and discuss her book” (Langhorst 2009). In addition to discussing his own experiences with live cameras in the classroom, Langhorst also explains how some of his colleagues have incorporated them into their teaching styles. A science teacher named Marty Kelsey brought his laptop and webcam to the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, CO. From the conference, he broadcast four live video sessions with his students in which he shared artifacts from the International Space Station. His Internet lesson gave his studentsa greater interest in science after they were able to experience it first hand via video chat. Another potential use of live cameras in the classroom is virtual field trips. Students love to explore and learn about new and interesting things. Although schools have field trips, it is not possible to go everywhere. With the use of live cameras in the classroom, teachers can now provide virtual field trips during lessons to give students a better experience and understanding. Scholastic.com gives a description of how virtual field trips are exciting for students of all ages. Sixth graders in Mt. Lebanon School District in Pennsylvania experience a volcano exploding while sitting in their classroom watching a live camera. An instructional technology coordinator for the school district explains, "Kids don't find studying rocks exciting...This changes when you making learning come alive like this." The best part of using live cameras for virtual field trips is it allows you to customize your lessons. You can use these virtual field trips according to what you are learning in class and for your goals as a teacher. Virtual field trips not only excite the students but it adds on to the beauty of education and helps teachers get a better lesson across.

Another potential use for live cameras are to feed the days lessons to students who are suspended. Instead of giving a suspended student a free vacation from school, the student will be placed in a seperate classroom and the lesson will be fed from the student's classroom to the seperate classroom for the student to be able to keep up with the work they would normally miss. A concern with this type of suspension (called in-school-suspension) is the question, "is this really punishing a student?" If done in thecorrect manner then yes, this is a punishment to those students. They must sit in a classroom all day without any interaction with their peers. They are not at home sleeping in until noon and playing games all day. They are still forced to sit in a classroom setting without the luxury of spending time with friends during lunch time. The cameras in the classroom can also aid in determining the quality of the teacher which then leads to privacy issues.

**__Potential Problems__** While this technology is changing the way students learn in the classroom, there are also some potential problems associated with live cameras. There was one specific problem that occurred in one Pennsylvania school district. A high school in this district issued each student with a laptop to be used as a resource in class and at home. Each laptop was equipped with a webcam. Even though the cameras were tools that could support learning, the school also used them to locate 42 laptops that were deemed missing or stolen. One high school student’s family sued the district, claiming that activating the webcams without the permission of the students was a violation of privacy. Because live cameras are new technology for schools, there is no precedent for issues like this one. The protocol doesn’t exist yet. Therefore, privacy issues are bound to happen, which is something to consider before implementing live cameras in the classroom. In addition to the issue of privacy, there is also the potential for the technology to malfunction, as there is for all new developments. So, just as with all aspects of technology, it is important for teachers not to rely to heavily on live cameras. If a teacher is thinking about incorporating webcams into his or her lesson plan, there also needs to be a backup plan. However the lesson requires the teacher to use the live camera, there is always the possibility that the technology won’t function as planned. __**Cost**__ There was not very much information on the cost of web cams that could be found. From what was read however, it seems to be that you can spend as much or as little as you would like to spend depending on the amount of technology and the picture quality you would like to have. If the teacher is not going to be using the web cams very often, it seems a waste to spend a fortune on them. However, if he/she is going to use them daily or more then once a week it would seem common sense to buy ones that are nice and will allow the students a clear picture which leads to a clear understanding of what is happening in the picture.

**__Conclusion__** When considering using live cameras in the classroom it is very important for teachers to inform parents and the administrator of the school. Live cameras are becoming more widely used throughout homes and offices everywhere are even being played upon to create reality television shows. (Wikipedia) Instead of just for entertainment, the idea came up to use them in the classroom so that students could have an interactive from of learnng so that they were not just sitting in a classroom all day. It is proven that students learn better doing or seeing. With the help of live cameras students are able to see the country they are talking about in Geography class or able to have a video conference with the author that they are studying in Reading. Even though there are issues with using live cameras (as there are with many other aspects of schooling) there are also many advantages not only to the student, but also to the teacher. **__Works Cited__** The Associated Press. (2007, April 7). Webcams posing policy conundrum. Education Week, 29(28), 24. History of Webcams (2010).retrieved on February 13, 2011 from []

Langhorst, E. (2009). You are there: no budget for travel? Try video chat. School Library Journal, 55(6), Retrieved from []  Scholastic. Virtual Field Trips. (2009, September/October). []  Girls Life. (2007 Apr/May) Smile for the Camera Vol 10 Issue 5 p16-16 []  []  http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/sites/sites081.shtml http://wize.com/web-cameras/t42075-price http://www.examiner.com/online-learning-in-toronto/use-a-webcam-the-classroom-to-enhance-the-learning-environment media type="custom" key="9275592" media type="custom" key="9275608"media type="custom" key="9283782" media type="custom" key="9002776"media type="custom" key="9285426"media type="custom" key="9283780"media type="custom" key="9202924"