A great teaching tool

[James Price]

I hope it is OK to mention a brand-name product on this site. If that's a no-no, I apologize and won't do it again.

Last year, I made an impulse purchase in a computer store, and it was the best $80 I ever spent. It's called the Digital Blue computer microscope, and while I'm not a biology teacher, I would guess that this would be the best classroom tool you could possibly find for that little money.

It hooks up to your computer with a USB connection. You put your specimen under the microscope and sit back and view the image on your computer screen. Magnifications are 10X, 60X, and 200X. The resolution is surprisingly good. You can use it for viewing live, but you can also take still pictures and time-lapse video. You can also use it as a Web cam. It is much cheaper and easier to use than an optical scope, and a whole classroom can watch it at once.

I've taken great time-lapse clips of monarch caterpillars hatching and consuming their egg-shells. You could also observe molting, etc., and look at look at butterfly wing scales, veins, mouth and leg parts, etc. You could also use this with a computer projector, of course.

I am NOT associated in any way with the company that makes these, and I generally don't indulge in free advertising. But this has become my favorite toy, and I think it's worth sharing.

[Jim]

Hi James - welcome to the Forums!

Please post some images of the microscope as well as some captured using the scope when you get a chance. Thanks!

[Farfalla]

Woo.. I would love to see (and share) those pics with my kids!

[Meg_va]

The Intel digital blue Microscope is a great tool. But since teachers are always strapped for cash, I'll let you in on my secret stash.....

You can often find them on eBay for a greatly reduced price!! It seems that many grandparents find these to be wonderful Christmas gifts....but when the kids lose interest, they end up on ebay. We've purchased several for $40 or less!

Happy hunting!

Meg

[Farfalla]

Thanks for the tip,Meg! I saw this at an MTN workshop. I just HAVE to have one. The standard microscopes are way too difficult for my kids to use in a meaningful way. This thing was just awesome!!!

[Jacqui_in_NZ]

These are really great - I bought one and filmed a caterpillar emerging from its egg.

You can see the film here:

http://monarch.org.nz/monarch/2006/08/13/1055/

[James Price]

Congratulations, Jacqui, on a great piece of film. That's exactly what I made my first film of, but yours is even better. I'm so sorry I never got back to this thread after my first posting, and so never responded with pictures (I haven't quite figured out how, either). Anyway, I'm glad more teachers are discovering this great tool. And, I've got another one for you, which might be available on e-Bay. This is a Canon Vizcam 1000, and it is a macro-focus camera (now discontinued) on an armature, and it is great for live viewing of events too large for the microscope but difficult for a whole class to watch with the naked eye. For instance, our third-grade class watched pupation and emergence on "the big screen," via a projector, with the subject really filling the whole screen. You can focus this thing within 5/16ths of an inch of the subject. Our kids were thrilled out of their socks -- as was a janitor who happened to be cleaning the room while the class was at recess when a caterpillar decided to pupate for him. NOTE: This product does not plug directly into the computer unless you have a video capture devise that accepts composite or S-video. Newer versions are USB-enabled, but they are not quite as useful as they are simply mounted on stands rather than on armatures.