Anthony Hornof - April 2, 2020
This document explains how you can (perhaps optimally) recreate the in-person classroom experience of presenting digital lecture notes such as Powerpoint slides side-by-side with a whiteboard or blackboard in the classroom. This might be done in the classroom when a student asks a question about a Powerpoint slide, and the instructor draws something on the whiteboard to answer the question, and then goes back to the Powerpoint slides.
The key idea here is that you set up a document camera in addition to your face camera (such as the camera built into your laptop), and write your "whiteboard" notes on a piece of paper under the document camera. You switch between the face camera and the document camera during lecture, depending on whether you want to show your face or the "whiteboard". Meanwhile, through all of that, you screen-share your digital content such as your Powerpoint slides, and so those remain visible at all times.
This technique is superior to using (a) the whiteboard built into Zoom because that cannot be shown side-by-side with Powerpoint and (b) a high-end iPad and Apple Pencil because this device would need to be logged on as a second instructor device and, when that second device takes focus, the screensharing of the primary instructor account is no longer side-by-side.
Here is more detail, and some images of what the setup looks like.
Figure 1. A makeshift document camera albeit with a high-quality tripod and webcam.
Figure 2. Examples of what you can include on the whiteboard. Students confirmed they could read the smallest font shown here. Note that this is a photo of the paper. What was actually seen by the students was a little more blurry.
The doc cam can be set up with a good-quality webcam (such as a Logitech C920) mounted on a tripod (which could be makeshift) pointing down at a piece of paper. (Legal size paper happens to fit this camera's frame perfectly.) This works particularly well with Zoom because Zoom is designed to show the instructor's face video alongside his or her screen-sharing of powerpoint or digital lecture notes. My technique replaces that face image with the paper "whiteboard", which students can then view side-by-side with the lecture notes, or switch easily between the two on a smartphone.
An iPhone can probably be used as a doc cam in this manner with an App such as EpoCam (for Mac) or iVCam (for Windows), and propped up with books and sticks. But these Apps certainly add another level of complexity and configuration to the setup.
It is very helpful if you can lock the focus on the document camera.
Some important settings:
The instructor prepares as follows:
• On his or her desktop/laptop, log on as a host, and use that system to show the digital notes such as Powerpoint.
• Also set up the document camera on that desktop/laptop.
In video settings:
• Enable HD.
• Turn off "Mirror My Data".
To permit students to focus on just see whiteboard/instructor and the lecture notes:
During Lecture, all students "Stop video" except during specified times, such as Q&A, discussions, the start and end of class, etc.
Students using laptops/desktops set:
• Settings / Video / "Hide non-video participants".
Students using iPhones and iPads (and probably Android devices) set:
• Meeting Settings / "Show non-video participants" / Off
• Meeting Settings / "Show My Video in Gallery View" / Off
• Students should now have two video feeds from the instructor. They should be able to see and read both side-by-side on a laptop, or flip between the two with a single tap on a smartphone.