Blog #9- Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

This week's topic was one that I have been waiting to explore!  When I first took over the library at my school, I came across a few books in our collection that offered an app which brought some of the pages "to life".  While I was unsure if students were actually aware of this, I, myself was fascinated!  As I researched, I came across quite the variety of other books with augmented reality options. (Examples linked here.)  I will definitely be adding some to my next book order and planning lessons to introduce this feature to the students.  

While introducing augmented reality and virtual reality to the library can seem costly and overwhelming, these books don't require anything more than technology that the students already have- a phone, an iPad or a Chromebook.  For me, this makes it a great starting point!  

Photo by stem.T4L on Unsplash

Image of young boy and girl using Virtual Reality googles in front of a background printed with hot air balloons.

"Students will gain immeasurably from the enhanced delivery of information on a particular topic through VR or AR and the multiple means by which the student can become proficient in the basic information literacy skills culminating is successful search for information, using every tool at his or her disposal to complete their academic assignments" (Massis, 2015). 

I strongly believe this to be true. When students are able to fully interact with books and text, they learn while having fun.  This encourages them to explore deeper into the content.  As an educator, I am always looking for more ways to engage students and encourage text exploration.

In my search, I came across several other resources to help bring this to your students!

The Techie Teacher

School Library Journal

Video about Augmented Reality Toy Story 4 book.

Video from Little Learning Corner

References

Massis, B. (2015). Using virtual and augmented reality in the library. New Library World, 116(11/12), 796–799. https://doi.org/10.1108/nlw-08-2015-0054

Little Learning Corner. (2020, July 7). Toy Story Augmented Reality Books for Kids [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ePhBllu9ZY&feature=youtu.be

Blog #8- MakerSpace

Image from: https://teachoutsidethebox.com/so-you-want-to-start-a-makerspace/

Image contains various craft materials, including straws, scissors, a lightbulb, battery and colored popsicle sticks. Also included is the text "So you want to start a MakerSpace?"

While MakerSpaces continue to pop up in libraries across the nation, my school has offered a MakerLab within the Related Arts rotation for several years.  During their time in the MakerLab students collaborate to design and create various projects/ideas utilizing a variety of resources.   Because this space already exists in our school, I knew that it wouldn't be necessary to incorporate a full MakerSpace into my library.  However, that doesn't mean that I'm not interested in learning more about them and all of the wonderfully different ways they may look.  After all, there is not guarantee that I will always be in a school with an existing MakerSpace. 

One of my favorite ideas from the resources this week was presented in Dr. Moorefield-Lang's lecture.  She mentions that Laura Fleming describes a MakerSpaces as "a unique learning environment that encourages tinkering, play and open ended exploration for all" (TechFifteen, 2021).  As an educator, I see the value in allowing students to delve into their creative side and collaborate with others to explore ideas.  However, the thought of trying to create such a space on my own seems overwhelming!  On my quest for more information, I came across a blog by Brooke Brown called Teach Outside The Box.  While her whole blog has a lot of wonderful resources, I focused on the blog post entitled So You Want to Start a Makerspace?  She does a wonderful job of describing the components and set up of a MakerSpace.  What I love most about this site is that she includes many photos of all the different ways these spaces can look and function.  It just goes to show that these spaces really depend on the community they serve.  

Throughout her blog post, Brown also provides a variety of lists detailing materials that could be included in a MakerSpace, where these items can be gathered from, and links to resources such as posters and task cards.  One of the resources I found interested was the Maker Mats for each month.  These would be an easy way for anyone to start incorporating a MakerSpace into their area.  

Image from: https://teachoutsidethebox.com/so-you-want-to-start-a-makerspace/

Image contains examples of Maker Mats for each month.

I would strongly encourage anyone interested in joining the MakerSpace movement to take a peek at Brooke Brown's blog.  It is extremely insightful and offers a lot of quality ideas and information.  Some other posts of hers that might be helpful as well include:

MakerSpace Without the Space   

DIY Maker Tree

Read Alouds for MakerSpaces

Resources:

Brown, B. (2022, April 14). So You Want to Start a Makerspace? Teach Outside the Box. https://teachoutsidethebox.com/so-you-want-to-start-a-makerspace/

TechFifteen. (2021, May 18). Makerspaces Summer. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWQ6B4UnZaA