Bring Your Lessons to Life with the BenQ ideaCam

When we joined Teacher Chao he was showcasing a remote-controlled car made by one of his students. "Living Technology" is a required subject for high schools in Taiwan and its primary aim is to foster technological knowledge, creative thinking, and problem-solving abilities. As a teacher, Chao’s goal is to pass on knowledge and skills through activities such as computer drawing, 3D printing, laser cutting, power circuit design, and soldering.

This year, senior students are expected to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom by building remote-controlled cars with GoPro cameras attached to record races around the campus and document their achievements. Teacher Chao hopes this project will help students develop self-expression skill

"Some people express their feelings, emotions, and thoughts through painting. Similarly, I hope my students can express themselves in their tech masterpieces, find fulfillment in the creative process, and pursue individual goals using the skills they acquired," says Teacher Chao.

The course covers a wide range of topics and involves reviewing the practical details. Teacher Chao continuously upgrades his teaching equipment to effectively convey the information to his students.

"Previously, when showing circuit boards to students, I had to reverse my actions to show students the right perspective. Now, BenQ's webcam ideaCam's automatic image-flipping feature automatically corrects the upside-down image when the camera is facing down, making demonstrations much easier for me," he says.

Teacher Chao can also magnify the circuit board’s details on the laptop screen thanks to the 15x macro lens. When he needs to bring the students’ attention to a specific component, he can use the control puck to instantly zoom to the desired magnification without taking his eyes off the board. “I use the wireless remote control to zoom in and out so I don't have to worry about shaking the camera," he says.

Teacher Chao believes that ideaCam offers a more flexible way of capturing objects than a document camera. He can remove the camera from the mount and show different angles of an object using the handheld mode. Additionally, ideaCam pairs with the expansive features from EnSpire software to maximize its potential.

Teacher Chao continued by sharing more examples from his past teaching experiences. Preparing lessons required significant effort and time, as he had to take pictures of every single step to create his slides. What’s more, there are processes like PCB etching that happen too quickly for students to observe in detail. Now, with BenQ ideaCam’s near-4k resolution, screen freeze and screenshot functions, and recording capabilities, setting up for lessons takes only five minutes and demonstrations can be captured in clear detail.

ideaCam's different shooting modes provide the benefits of both a standard webcam and a document camera. Its complementary accessories — the control puck, built-in ring light, 15x macro lens, noise-canceling microphone, and EnSpire visual presentation software — make it a versatile tool that can enhance students’ educational experience.