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| Overviewer .. assists teachers with presenting material via Zoom |
As students and educators continue to work from home during the Coronavirus pandemic, Overviewer becomes a new free iOS app that can be used to convert iPhones into document cameras via Zoom and other video conferencing apps.
This app makes it easy for teachers or others to use camera phones as an alternative to the traditional document cameras that are common in education but are expensive and cumbersome to use.
The document camera is a traditional camera that teachers can use to view spreadsheets and other documents in the classroom. Since many schools run by default, this problem is difficult to solve.
Overviewer comes from developer Charlie Chapman, who is also the developer of the popular surround sound app Dark Noise.
The app uses Zoom's built-in screen sharing, which can be used with the iPhone when connected to a computer using a Lightning cable or wirelessly via AirPlay.
This function can display a summary of the cell phone camera on the screen and has the function of activating the cell phone flash when the light is not perfect and changing the displayed camera.
Chapman posted some interesting details about the inspiration behind the app in a blog post. He said: My wife is a kindergarten teacher. When the Coronavirus exploded, she had to figure out how to teach a group of 5-6 children how to draw using zoom in / out to children 1 year of age or older.
Added: Zoom platform has iPhone screen sharing feature. However, there are two problems opening the Camera app due to the numerous buttons. The camera and camera app do not rotate when rotated sideways. Therefore, you can only share your phone in portrait orientation. There are huge black bars on either side of the zoom call.
Overviewer addresses these issues by allowing iPhone users to use the phone as a document camera for video conferencing applications.
Overviewer can send a zoom in exactly what the iPhone camera sees, including support for landscape rotation, so that teachers can use the iPhone as a document camera and students can easily view math problems, drawing, and other classroom tasks.