It's always a pleasure to come across a simple design. The Magnalink S is a high-quality CCTV camera that is positioned on a right-angled arm and mounted on a circular base. The camera swivels through 90 degrees and has two lenses: one for close up and one for distance. That's it. Straightforward. Uncomplicated. Simple.
What it does is also easy to understand. It gives students independence in the classroom, support from wherever it is needed and kudos not usually associated with assistive technology. These it does, unsurprisingly, in a effortless but rather clever way.
The Magnilink S is for students with visual impairments; those who find it difficult to see things that are both very near and very far. This technology instantly enlarges whatever they need to see and shows it on their laptop screen. It has two lenses that are interchanged by swivelling one away: one is better for reading texts on the desk, the other for seeing the teacher and the board. Two buttons on the camera then allow the user to zoom in and out, giving an image remarkable clarity and almost instantaneous automatic focusing. With display variables including split screens and colour changes, such as high-contrast, this enables students see things how they want to.
It is very portable, with the base and arm separating to sit flat in a bag, even sharing with the laptop. As everything, including power, is connected through a USB socket, it can be set up anywhere so that the student can sit where they want. No longer is their choice confined to the front row to see the board, or to the side to be near a socket. And no need to enlarge lots of texts or assign a dedicated assistant to read them out.
The tools are controlled through the function keys and include the ability to take snapshots, of texts, teachers, whiteboards or friends, and save these for later review. These images can be run as a slideshow, or pulled up and posted into other documents. Possibly the only drawback is the absence of software to convert these into editable text, such as that you get with a scanner. That and perhaps a capture button on the camera itself or on screen.
It may seem to be a lot of money for what is not much technology, but not when you consider the alternative, which is depriving students who need it of a powerful and liberating learning tool.
