Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel by Jason Reynolds
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Brass by Xhenet Aliu
Monogamy by Sue Miller
What’s the difference between VR and AR? Zoladz explains:
Virtual Reality strives to completely simulate an immersive sensory experience indistinguishable from the real … often using technologies like headsets that attempt to completely deprive human sensory organs like the eyes from any stimuli outside of that which is artificially generated by the VR technology. Augmented Reality strives to overlay additional layers of useful (e.g. actionable, descriptive, informative, directional) media onto the real without replacing it (as cited in Massis, 2015, p. 796).
While evaluating various options for this blog, here was my experience:
Yes, Minecraft offers
VR/AR options through Minecraft Education!
It just so happens that our school is a Microsoft school (as a well as a
Google school), and we have access to the educational version. Any educator can sign up for an account,
though. In addition, Minecraft offers a
way for students to access AR/VR activities even while learning remotely,
something that is not generally the case (Young, 2020).
I recently signed up for an account at https://education.minecraft.net/, so I am still exploring but an initial look reveals:
I was excited to find the following trailer (Minecraft Education Edition, 2020):
John Lewis was the Representative for most families in our school, and we are always looking for ways to incorporate his “good trouble” advice into our social justice and SEL lessons. This video could spur student discussion during our advisory period as well as provide inspiration to students for their culminating projects for our upcoming school-wide reading of Stamped! Check it out!
References
Aurasma. (2020, September 30). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurasma
Choudhary, S. R. (2020, November 7). Best HP Reveal
alternative in 2020 | Beaconstac. Beaconstac.com. https://blog.beaconstac.com/2020/02/best-hp-reveal-alternative/
cxocARd.com. (2020, February 12). HP Reveal (formerly
Aurasma) alternative. https://blog.beaconstac.com/2020/02/best-hp-reveal-alternative/
Facebook. (n.d.). Compare headsets. Oculus.com. https://www.oculus.com/compare/
Massis, B. (2015). Using virtual and augmented reality in the
library. New Library World, 116(11/12), 796-799. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/NLW-08-2015-0054
Maxwell, T. (2020, November 14). Google’s VR field trips
app, Expeditions, is headed to the graveyard. Input. https://www.inputmag.com/tech/google-is-killing-its-expeditions-vr-app-for-going-on-virtual-field-trips#:~:text=Google%20is%20discontinuing%20its%20Expeditions,home%20to%20some%20AR%20experiences.
Metaverse. (n.d.). https://studio.gometa.io/landing
Minecraft Education Edition. (2020, November 13). Good trouble:
Lessons in social justice [Video].
YouTube. https://youtu.be/IJpPmAgmM8I
Young, L. J. (2020, April 7). Get the most from AR/VR
technology without breaking the budget. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=get-the-most-from-ar-vr-technology-without-breaking-budget-library
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya
What Is Poetry?: The Essential Guide to Reading and Writing Poems by Michael Rosen
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik LarsonI am fortunate to have a strong partner in my school’s Instructional Technology Specialist (ITS) and incredible support from my district Educational Technology Specialist. They provide exceptional support for student and staff technology needs – from hardware to software - and I am able to focus my energies on supporting the curricular and extracurricular literacy needs and interests of my students and teachers in the library (which is good because that work takes alllllllllllll my time). A side effect of this situation is that the makerspace is not my space but the domain of our ITS. That said, I am always looking for ways to collaborate with and support the work of my fellow teachers, and my ITS is no exception.
 |
| The makerspace is entered from the door on the far left! |
In preparation for the move, over the past year, my ITS and
I have collaborated on acquiring supplies for the anticipated makerspace. I have curated a collection of books to
support my ITS’s learning goals in the makerspace including books on coding,
crafts, and other maker topics. When
visiting a giant annual local consignment sale, I picked up bargain sets of K’Nex and Snap Circuits along
with snapping up graphic novels for my readers.
Thanks to our move, I harbored our donated 3D printer in my bedroom
closet over the summer to keep it safe. In
addition, I served as Treasurer on the PTO Board and assisted her with managing
grant funds and purchasing supplies, so am aware of some of the technology
going into the makerspace, like a CriCut machine.
“Making is an inquiry-driven social activity" (Canino-Fluit,
2014, p. 21) that is engaged in “on the learner’s terms instead of on the
instructor’s terms” (Britton, 2012, para. 7).
Angevine and Weisgrau caution (2015) that makerspaces should focus on
student-directed activities that “is personally meaningful and embodies the
students’ lived experience” (para. 8).
This theme had me visiting the blogsphere for guidance.
Enter the Renovated Learning blog! Check out this engaging blog on all things makerspace here: http://www.renovatedlearning.com/blog/.
Author Diana Rendina is a library media specialist in Tampa,
Florida and the author of two books on makerspaces (Rendina, n.d.). I appreciate her practical approach to
makerspaces, and as someone looking to support my ITS in establishing a new
space in our new building, I particularly appreciate her post on best practices
for student exploration, which you can explore here: http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2019/09/16/open-exploration-part-2/
Since we are at the beginning of establishing our makerspace, I plan to share these helpful best practice ideas about logistics and procedures from Rendina with my ITS:
a.
When will it be open?
b.
What supervision is required (or not)?
c.
Do students need a pass with a specific stated
task?
d. Can student work be saved and, if so, how?
But if thinking about makerspaces while managing a virtual
library experience during a pandemic still makes you, like me, feel a little overwhelmed,
then you should also check out these two posts by Rendina:
http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2015/04/02/defining-makerspaces-part-1/
Remember that your makerspace is YOUR makerspace. It doesn’t have to be high tech or all things
trendy and expensive. It just has to be
what serves the needs of your community.
Whew.
And, if it’s REALLY overwhelming:
http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2020/07/27/you-have-permission-to-not-do-all-the-things/
Know that right now, especially, you have permission to NOT
do all the things. Take a breath! Give yourself space! Sometimes the only thing to be making is a moment
of calm.
Happy making!
References
Angevine, C.,
& Weisgrau, J. (2015, September 24). Situating makerspaces in schools.
Hybrid Pedagogy. https://hybridpedagogy.org/situating-makerspaces-in-schools/
Britton, L.
(2012, October 1). Making space for creation, not just consumption. The Digital Shift. http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/10/public-services/the-makings-of-maker-spaces-part-1-space-for-creation-not-just-consumption/
Canino-Fluit, A.
A. (2014). School library makerspaces. Teacher Librarian, 41(5),
21-27.
Rendina, D.
(n.d.). About Diana. Renovated Learning. http://www.renovatedlearning.com/about-diana/
Rendina, D.
(2020, July 27). You have permission to NOT do ALL the things. Renovated
Learning. http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2020/07/27/you-have-permission-to-not-do-all-the-things/
Rendina, D. (2019,
September 16). Open exploration in a makerspace: Best practices. Renovated
Learning. http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2019/09/16/open-exploration-part-2/
Rendina, D. (2015,
April 2). Defining makerspaces: What the research says. Renovated
Learning. http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2015/04/02/defining-makerspaces-part-1/
Sisters by Daisy Johnson
