If you already have a laptop connected to a projector in your classroom, check out Reflector or Airserver. They will let you mirror your iPad screen to your computer wirelessly using AirPlay. To make it a document camera, just fire up the camera app. Better yet, use an app that lets you take a picture with the iPad's camera then mark it up with drawings and shapes. Document cameras often have SD card slots for transferring pictures to a computer, but if you use an iPad you can store pictures on it and share them in any number of ways. The only issue with using your iPad as a document camera is having to hold it.
The Copernicus Dewey document camera stand is designed to let you use your iPad as a document camera, hands-free. It is a metal stand with a fairly wide base, so it is very sturdy but light enough to move around a classroom easily. It has three adjustable height settings. I wish the height adjustment was more flexible and didn't require both hands, but that is a very minor complaint. The mount holding the iPad will hold an iPad with or without a case. The mount rotates and pivots, so it makes a great iPad stand to use for viewing notes or to use with Skype, Hangouts, or FaceTime. I took a quick video of it.
Perhaps the biggest drawback to the Dewey is that it is designed for the larger iPads. It will not hold smaller tablets like the iPad Mini.
The Dewey is less than $100, so if you already have an iPad 2 or newer, a stand like this makes more sense than a dedicated document camera.
Perhaps the biggest drawback to the Dewey is that it is designed for the larger iPads. It will not hold smaller tablets like the iPad Mini.
The Dewey is less than $100, so if you already have an iPad 2 or newer, a stand like this makes more sense than a dedicated document camera.
