Gone Exploring: Using AR and VR Technology in Today's Media Center

 As a child of the 80's, there were few toys I loved more that my shiny red ViewMaster, and the vast collection of picture wheels I amassed for several years that went with it. I have a particularly fond memory of one picture wheel that featured scenes and characters from my favorite cartoon at the time, He-Man, portrayed in stunning (for the time) 3D. I still remember the click- whir sound it made every time I pushed the knob on the right side that advanced to a new frame. 

Why I loved that toy so much isn't easy to explain, but clearly the appeal of the ViewMaster lives on as evidenced by current modern day versions; from the inexpensive and readily accessible Google Cardboard, to the hot item on every kid's Christmas list last year- the VR Oculus. 

However, finding ways to incorporate VR and AR technology into classroom instruction can be challenging to say the least. As the required reading article in SLJ for this week's module points out, there are not many presorted and curated collection resources out there for media specialists and other educators. "Cassidy has identified specific criteria for classroom simulations. She looks for those that require teamwork and are short enough to be completed during a single class period. (Unfortunately, she says that information isn’t always readily available.)" (Virtually There: Kids are using VR to Explore Worlds and Create New Ones)

There is also the matter of students needing to bring their own phone or device to school from home to even be able to participate in such a lesson. While students growing up in affluent neighborhoods and schools may not see this as an obstacle, I know that some of the students I work with at my Title 1 designated elementary school would definitely struggle with this requirement. Not to mention that many schools prohibit students from having their phones out during class time as well. 

So although I do see many potential benefits to using immersive VR and AR tools to occasionally engage students with something new, I don't believe that this technology is quite ready to be widely implemented in schools. However, I do believe that the tools and resources that can be found in Google Arts and Culture offer a great start. In particular, I like the 360 degree tours and other tools offered within Google Expeditions using their "street view" feature and and can see how I will likely incorporate it into what I do next year during my lesson plans.  

I was aware of Google Expeditions prior to completing this week's class module, but watching the Virtual Field Trip webinar on YouTube created by LOM Media Specialist Amanda Jones really opened my eyes to potential applications I had not previously considered. In particular, I loved how she used Expeditions as one of the tools to create her "Journey With Jones" lessons. 

Google Expeditions is part of the larger Google Arts and Culture platform of materials and lesson plans curated by Google. This tool can be found at https://artsandculture.google.com/project/expeditions and once there, one can browse pre-loaded destinations or search for other topics.

One of the lessons I complete every year with my fourth and fifth grade classes is an introduction into genres, with Historical Fiction being a specific example that we study. In the past, I have used one of the books in the I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis, I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, as my read aloud example to go with the unit and also played a short video I found using Discovery Education Network that summarizes the events of that pivotal day in ancient history. The student feedback I have received in the past has consistently shown this to be one of their favorite lessons, and after finishing this week's unit, I am excited to incorporate some of the features I found in Google Expeditions into the same lesson this upcoming year. In particular, I would like to print off a copy of the map of Pompeii that can be found within Expeditions and use it in conjunction with Google Street View to have students explore different areas of the city that are settings within the book!

https://g.co/arts/5nR3XXdS2qqyZb646

https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/pompei/DgFCpWRJ88P0ng?sv_lng=14.4861524355&sv_lat=40.7516408190264&sv_h=248.91626617798312&sv_p=-1.0772634033808401&sv_pid=M-rJDVGpU5iim_SoiRJN7g&sv_z=1.0000000000000002

For another great video tutorial on how to use Google Expeditions in a classroom setting, check out this online resource posted in YouTube by Google: https://youtu.be/3MQ9yG_QfDA

  

 I don't know if any research has ever been conducted on the statistical percentage of librarians that were bullied during their adolescent and teenage years, but I would be willing to bet that if such research does exist it would show a fairly high percentage. After all, even the stereotype of a librarian as a bookish, prudish woman in a tight bun and a constant frown of disapproval on her face is enough to make any reasonable person wonder how such an individual made it through high school alive. I graduated high school in 1996 and was the frequent target of a "queen bee" mean girl who seemed to live for moments where she could bring me close to tears. But I count my lucky stars that the internet was still in it's infancy during those high school years and cyberbullying wasn't as much of a thing.

These days, bullying has evolved as the internet has expanded and allowed users access to resources. In the Red Frame article we were assigned to read for this week I was surprised to see that the analysis of numerous studies on traditional bullying and cyberbully showed such huge discrepancies on the prevalence and underlying factors associated with bullying behavior, down to whether or not cyberbullying should even be considered a separate type of aggression or whether it should be lumped in with traditional forms bullying. I agreed with the statement made early in the paper on section 2 that states: 

"However, a number of nuances have been drawn in order to articulate what repetition, intent, and power imbalance represent when it comes to cyberbullying, such as: the potential for anonymity in online communications; the detachment that results from not seeing the target’s reaction to a message; the permanent nature of online messages (i.e. self-repeating); the wider audience of bystanders to cyberbullying; and the variable nature of the power imbalance in online communications." (Cassidy, Brown, & Jackson, 2011; Cassidy, Faucher, & Jackson, 2013; Dooley, Pyżalski, & Cross, 2009; Grigg, 2010; Kowalski, Morgan, & Limber, 2012; Menesini, 2012; Smith & Slonje, 2010; Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009).

 I agree with this statement and the proposal that this is an important topic that needs to be addressed frequently with students starting at a young age, especially considering the increasing rate of suicide amongst ever younger children, much of which has been linked to cyberbullying. I also agree with the sentiment that cyberbullying should be classified as a different type of aggression with different qualifiers to meet the definition of a qualifying occurrence due to the permanence of content posted online, and the (much) larger potential audience within social media as opposed to in person, physical aggression. 

In terms of how I plan to address this topic with my own students when we go back in August, I have used the Common Sense media website resources, including their pre-assembled lesson plans -in past years and will likely do so again. When I completed my digital curation assignment on this project I also discovered Google's "Be Internet Awesome" resources and was impressed by those, particularly some of the interactive games.

In all, I think it is important to unify as one: one class, one school, one district and one community as a whole, to condemn bullying in all forms and help students understand the important distinction between life as it is portrayed online in formats such as social media, and the often harsher and less perfect version of life that is reality.