How to use your Smartphone as a document camera

For online meetings in this class, you may be asked to "show your work". If you have a document camera (~ $99 online) or a stylus+tablet to write on and share your work, great!

Otherwise, here is a possible setup for you to use a smartphone as a live document camera, as long as you join the meeting (Zoom, Canvas Conferences, etc.) from your phone AND simultaneously from another device (ideally laptop, but a tablet is ~ OK) to view everything.

Once signed in to the meeting on your phone, disable/mute audio on it, and you may have to switch between front- and rear-facing camera. Then you can leave your phone video "on", and turn your other device's video and audio on and off as needed.

Here is a 4-minute video that explains how to set up your phone for use as a document camera - he  then makes a phone platform using a coat hanger, but a ruler or wide flat stick (such as spatula, or a stir stick free from Home Depot's paint department) works just as well.

DYI Document Camera for Teaching at Home (Google Meet, Hangouts, Zoom) Links to an external site.

Here is my kitchen table set up. I use a bookshelf speaker with a ruler held between two heavy books, and a few rubber bands (from store-bought broccoli) to create a sticky surface on which to rest the phone. Instead you can build a ~ 40cm tall "tower" with large cans of tomatoes, or a box with something heavy inside for stability.

Got a better set up? Let us know!