06 / Source care

Capture the text. Respect the source.

Camera capture is useful because real study still begins with real books, handouts, and editions. It also requires care: OCR is a bridge into analysis, not permission to reuse every text freely.

iPad camera scanning an open Latin book
iPad camera scanning an open Latin book
OCR

The useful part

Capture removes friction, not responsibility.

Typing a passage by hand can be valuable, but it can also become a barrier. Camera capture helps a learner move from page to workspace quickly, where the real work begins: checking the text, dividing sentences, glossing, and translating.

The first step after OCR should always be verification. A small recognition error can create a large grammatical problem.

Source care checklist

  • Use public-domain, licensed, owned, or otherwise lawfully usable material.
  • Check OCR output against the page before analysing.
  • Preserve line or sentence boundaries when they matter for class discussion.
  • Do not redistribute captured text unless you have permission or a clear legal basis.

The capture step should make study easier, not make the source invisible.

Responsible workflow

Why this belongs in the method

Source care is not a legal footnote tacked onto learning. It shapes good scholarship: know what text you are using, know whether it has been copied accurately, and know what you are allowed to do with it.