CameraScope: A Tool for Digital Visualization for Science and Mathematics Classrooms

School Science and Mathematics, Nov 2004 by Bell, Randy, Garofalo, Joe

Analyzing Images

Collecting this quantitative data is further enhanced by the ability to manipulate it mathematically and graph it to see the relationships embedded within the numbers. Measurement data from CameraScope is automatically stored in a Microsoft Excel-compatible data file, which contains position, size, and rotational information on a frame-by frame basis.

Excel canbe launched directly from CameraScope, where students can use its powerful data manipulation tools to modify, graph, add trend-lines, and analyze the data gleaned from the images. In so doing, students become more fluent with commonly available computer tools, as they participate in learner-centered exploration (as defined by Bull, Bell, Garofalo, & Sigmon, 2002)

An Example From Physical Science

Measuring the velocity of a falling object using digital video is a valuable activity that helps students understand this highly abstract concept in a concrete way. Using an inexpensive webcam, students can record the dropping of a ball from 2 meters against the backdrop of a meter stick for subsequent real-world calibration (see Figure 1).

The height of the ball is measured at each frame of the movie (.033 second increments). The resulting data file is brought into Excel and graphed, with trend-line analysis showing a near-perfect (r^sup 2^ > .99) fit to the theoretically expected velocity curve (a second order polynomial). The force of gravity can then be calculated easily to a high degree of accuracy when compared to the theoretical 9.8 meters/second^sup 2^ (see Figure 2).

Conclusion

CameraScope was developed at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, by the authors, in collaboration with Glen Bull and Randy Bell.

The software currently operates on all versions of Microsoft's Windows 95 and later. We plan to develop a Macintosh version in late 2005.

References

Bull, G., Bell, R., Garofalo, J., & Sigmon, T. (2002). The case for open source software. Learning and Leading with Technology, 30(2), 10-17. Available: http://www.iste.org/LL/pdfs/index.cfm?sku=30210b

Resources

* TeacherLink.org web-site: www.teacherlink.org

* A good overview of using digital microscopes: Optical Microscope Primer: Digital Imaging in Optical Microscopy, http:// molecularexpressions.com/primer/digitalimaging/ index.html

Editor's Note: Randy Bell's email address is randybell@virginia.edu; Joe Garofalo's email address is jg2e@virginia.edu