At a Glance

MIT Sloan classrooms with a Teaching Table have a document camera built in.

If you need to write on paper or show something physical on the projector screen, the document camera is the tool for the job. This will allow you to:

  • point at things,
  • annotate,
  • and share a specific view of objects.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to activate the document camera and customize where it is displayed using the touch panel.

Activate the Document Camera

  1. Locate the Teaching Table and Touch Panel in the front of the room.
    Picture of an arrow pointing to the teaching table
  2. Open the drawer on the right side of the table.
    Picture of an arrow pointing to the document camera drawer
  3. Lift the document camera up by the ring and allow it to boot up.

Please use the ring labeled pull on the document camera’s arm to lift or lower the camera. Do not use the arm, camera, or light to lift or lower it.

Photo of someone properly lifting the document camera up by the ring

Choose Where the Document Camera Shows in the Room

We call things like the document camera a “Source” or an “Input.” All of the projectors, displays, and screens are called “Destinations.” Though many terms exist, one way to describe making changes to any of them is “Video Routing.” Please use one of the following video routing options: the Menu Bar or Easy View. This is done using the touch panel at the Teaching Table.

Photo of Teaching Table in Classroom

Routing Option 1 – Menu Bar

  1. On the top, you will see the available destinations for the Document Camera.
    Screenshot of the top of the teaching table interface in classrooms with an arrow pointing to the header where you can change inputs
  2. Tap on the screen or monitor you want to see the Document Camera on [1]. Select Doc Cam [2].
    Screenshot of the classroom UI with the document camera sected on the center screen
  3. Repeat Steps 1-2 until the document camera appears on all desired classroom projectors and monitors.

Tip: If you want to use the chalkboard in the classroom, tap the Move button in the top center. This will turn the Center Screen off and put the Document Camera on the Side Screen. Simply tap it again to bring your content back to the main screen. If you have two screens active, it changes to a Swap button to exchange what is on the screens.

Screenshot of the classroom interface with an arrow pointing to the move button with the doc cam up

Routing Option 2 – Easy View

This is one panel that contains screen routing and some room controls. It is meant to put things in one place.

  1. On the left side of the touch panel, you will see a button for Easy View.
    Screenshot of the teaching table UI pointing to Easy view
  2. Tap on the screen or monitor you want to see the Document Camera on [1] and select Doc Cam [2].
    Screenshot of easy view with the center screen highlighted and the doc cam pointed to
  3. Repeat Steps 1-2 until the Document Camera appears on all desired classroom projectors and monitors.
  4. To choose the Downstage Monitor (the display on the ground), swipe left on the Destinations and repeat the above steps.
    Screenshot of the easy view panel indicating one needs to swipe left to get to the downstage monitor.

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