RISC PhotoCapture!
RISC PhotoCapture! was a new feature of RISC v7 that allows schools to capture and display a photo of each student together with their RISC contact record. Rather than utilising student photos provided sometimes by the school photographers which are often incomplete, not covering the entire school enrolment, RISC PhotoCapture! lets you take your own photos and have them attached immediately to each student's record. And as each photo is less than 4KB in size, disk space is no issue. Accessing the PhotoCapture! utility is by selecting the item from the Options menu in RISC as shown below:
This option is ONLY made available if you have already selected a student name from the RISC Student Database. In other words, you must have typed in a student surname, then pressed Enter to display the student's details. Ideally, the student's name you find is the student you are about to photograph.
The second requirement for using RISC PhotoCapture! is the right type of camera connected to the computer. PhotoCapture! does not use a standard digital camera. Instead, it uses an inexpensive and practical USB WebCamera, available from most computer suppliers for under $60.00. (current sample pricing for Logitech models available by clicking here). The Logitech models are only one brand available from many. The main requirement is that the WebCam you buy MUST be USB 1.1 or USB 2 compatible, and it must be supplied with driver software for Windows. Simply load the drivers that come with the USB WebCam onto a suitably located Windows computer and plug in the webcam. If you then setup a chair in front of a plain backdrop with appropriate lighting, then it's just a matter of having students come one by one into the RISC PhotoCapture "studio".
The first step in taking student photos is to call up the student's name in RISC, as we've done with our friend, Phillip Brown above (type in the surname and press Enter). Next, launch the RISC PhotoCapture! tool by selecting it from the Options menu in RISC. Remember, you can only use this utility on a PC that has the USB WebCam plugged in and the drivers for that WebCam pre-installed as per the manufacturer's instructions.
When you start the utility for the first time on a PC, you MUST set the WebCam to 160x120 (QSIF) resolution when prompted. A simple webcam settings display will be shown allowing you to do this quickly. RISC has been set to ONLY work with photos taken at 160x120 resolution, ensuring only a small JPG file is stored. Once set, the following screen will be displayed which allows you to "frame" the student in the live-video display box:
The live-video image can be improved by appropriate lighting - i.e. do not have a window behind the subject and if the webcam has a manual focus feature, try adjusting it accordingly.
When you and the student are ready, simply and click the CapturePhoto! button. That's all there is to it. A single frame will be captured and saved as a JPEG image and named automatically depending on the student's record selected. From then on, whenever that student is selected in RISC, the captured photo will be displayed as shown below:
If the student blinked exactly at the time you captured the photo, or the lighting was not exactly right, the image shown at the top of his RISC record would show him with eyes closed or would be poor quality. That's not a problem as you have a live video feed through the the USB WebCam you can just click the CapturePhoto! button again to automatically grab a new frame and REPLACE the poor photo in the RISC database. There is no fiddling with camera memory cards, transferring photos off the camera, resizing, renaming and storing. It's frame, then click. That's it.
Taking a Photo of
the Next Student:
To take a photo of another student, leave the RISC PhotoCapture! tool on
the screen, just click the Clear Form button (you may need to move
the PhotoCapture! window). Then type in the surname of the
next student that comes in and press the Enter key. With their details
displayed in RISC, frame that student and click CapturePhoto! At this
rate, you'll be capturing the image of students and automatically
attaching them to their RISC records at the rate of two students per
minute. As young Phillip above grows and changes over the years, it's a
simple task to sit him in front of the WebCam and update his photo in
RISC. RISC PhotoCapture! is available whenever you need it, as long as
you have access to a USB WebCam. The WebCam is only required for
capturing the photos for RISC. Photos taken using the tool will
display on all PCs running RISC.
As soon as you take a student's photo, EVERY one of his/her RISC contact
records will have that photo displayed and accessible by staff at any
computer in your school. It's perfect for teachers to put names to faces
and also to ensure you are entering contact records about the right
student.
The new RISC PhotoCapture! system is a great tool that can be used effectively by the school. All you need is a cheap USB webcam and you'll be ready to use it.
RISC Photo Import Tool:
If you do have a CD or DVD ROM full of student photos provided by the school's photographers, it may be possible to import them into RISC directly, instead of using the RISC PhotoCapture! option. The RISC Photo Import Tool is explained on the Extras page.
The Register of
Individual Student Contact (RISC) is developed & distributed
by Marillion Designs.
Copyright © 1995-2008 Marillion Designs. All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
