SLIS 761 Reflection

Final Thoughts

I have enjoyed working on our almost weekly blog assignments.  Now that I see how easy it can be and rewarding it is to accumulate blogs, I want to try something similar with my older students at school.  I love how Dr. Green set up the blog list and I can always go back to it to review my peers’ blogs.  I think my students would love this as well.  Perhaps, I could begin with blogging about books that we read aloud in library, books the students check out (like blurbs to inform others about the books they’ve been reading), and expand from there.

I’ve always wondered about digital bookmarking.  I know it would be beneficial to use with my students.  Often, I give them my library website and I’ve posted links to it for them to review.  Now, that I understand more about digital curation, I want to create resources for my students, but especially for my teachers.  I want to sit down, review standards, and find great resources for my teachers to use.  Emailing a link to a digital curation of Social Studies books, articles, videos, etc. would make life so much easier for many teachers.  One day, I hope to be able to offer things like this to the teachers in my building.

Hosting a website is important and it is also hard work.  I have a website that I dabbled with prior to this class.  My district left the typical website space with teacher web pages in substitution for a district app more responsive to mobile devices. When my teacher web page was deleted, I didn’t know the best way to get information to my students anymore.  I created a Weebly and then weekly, I would post the links I wanted my older students to visit.  This has been helpful, but I’ve learned so many new tricks from this class to make my website even better.  I want to post other digital curation projects to my website (for example-links to 3^rd grade Science topics or Kindergarten ELA concepts) and I want to expand beyond my students to offer resources to both the teachers in my building and the parents of our school children.

This class has helped me read wonderfully relevant articles, listen to timely podcasts, and explore some of the best resources I’ve seen.  I know technology changes daily and what may seem hip today will be an afterthought next year, so I want to try my best to remain current with my students and teachers.  This course has helped to point me in the right direction for this goal.

HoloLens

I’m a complete newbie to the VR and AR world, but I will share that I bought a set of VR goggles at the end of the school year last year with some of my library “tech” funds.  Sadly, I didn’t open the box until I started reading this week’s module.  A few downloaded apps later and I have now decided VR is pretty fun!  I know my students would enjoy using the goggles as well, but my only hiccup is figuring out the mobile device side of things.  I can offer my phone, but that creates a great fear that students may break or mess up my personal phone.  So, at this point I will most likely set the goggles back on the shelf until I am ready or willing to trust my older students. Another idea I have had is to simply set them up at a literacy night or open house for parents to use their cell phones with the goggles.  If I include directions and downloadable app suggestions, I think this would be fun for family engagement.  I also have a lot of work left to do in finding how to use the set of goggles I bought to enhance learning.

In one of our readings, it stated that “VR and AR are not gimmicks, and must be seen as valid additions to the toolkit that may be used by libraries to engage its audience,…” and I think this is a wonderful thought in today’s age of technology and resources (Massis, 2015).  With that thought, I am curious and want to learn how this technology would best benefit my students.  If I can figure out the set of goggles I purchased and also how I could regularly implement this technology, then I may be more inclined to possibly write a grant for something a bit pricier like the HoloLens in our module this week. 

HoloLens-wow!  I love the applications I saw in just the introductory video of the set.  The HoloLens is a mixed-reality device that allows users to see holograms as they investigate concepts and things within the universe through hologram technology.  It is a headset that allows a user to move through new learning without hassle or obstacles.  If students of any age could use this technology to learn how to change parts on a car, or investigate human body—the possibilities for hands-on learning seem endless!  It just seems like a wonderful way to learn and engage students. 

One of the features touted online is that the HoloLens2 offers “the most comfortable and immersive mixed reality experience available” and when I viewed the headset, I thought the design was a thousand times better than the set of VR goggles I purchased.  However, the HoloLens is also a hundred times more expensive than the pair I snagged!  Although expensive, it also seems to be a great tool to introduce users to concepts without wasting resources in some cases.  The set I purchased is front-heavy and bulky.  The HoloLens’ design is balanced.  This design is also “untethered” which allows all movement.  My pair is also, but I had to hold the strap to my head to walk around the library as I was trying out apps, so it wasn’t seamless as the HoloLens appears.  The HoloLens is approximately $3500 for the device, so I know I would need a grant in order to purchase something like this.  Another option would be to combine finances with other librarians in my small district and then share the technology.  Again, I have a lot more research to conduct before trying to implement this technology into my school library.

Check out this resource I found for the HoloLens in regards to application to the classroom.  Some of the ideas of using this device in the classroom include virtual field trips, storying in immersive formats (i.e. comic books), and game-based learning.  One of the tools which stood out to me was the virtual frog dissection.  This was a moment in high school where I felt as if I could throw up and I relied on my lab partner to pull us through.  If I had had virtual access, I think my stomach could have handled the process a bit easier.  Lots of great teaching ideas (more for high school)!

Overall, I’m impressed that there are devices out there and within reach that we could introduce our students to so many concepts!  This module has inspired me to do more research to determine possible benefits for my students and library!

Resources:

Massis, B. (2015). Using virtual and augmented reality in the library. New Library World, Vol. 116, 11-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/NLW-08-2015-0054

Makerspaces and littleBits!

In this week’s module, as I searched for a meaningful blog regarding maker spaces, I was drawn to Colleen Graves’ blog with her introductory questions.  She posed the following questions and although I’m learning/creating a makerspace in my school library, I found myself quickly clicking on her linked questions to read the answers.  Here are the frequently asked questions she addresses on her blog.

·       What is a Makerspace?

o   Graves answers this question with a list of several bulleted points.  Makerspaces are places where people create, not consume.  Makerspaces are places where you can learn and grow together.

o   I never really knew what a makerspace was until I entered the MLIS program.  My school library did not have a designated space for students/staff to explore and create.  I quickly jumped on board and started making a space for the people in my school building to create.  I have several STEM manipulatives, arts and crafts materials, Makey-Makey kits, puppets with a theater, and the list is growing.  I want to offer a creative space to my students especially.

·       What is a Maker Librarian?

o   Graves shared tweets entered into a contest she posted on Twitter.  She asked on social media, what a maker librarian was and offered a tee shirt as a prize.  She had several entries.  One entry said a maker librarian is learning, doing, risking failure, etc.

o   I’m not sure if I can call myself a Maker Librarian YET, but I want to do more with my space in the future.

·        How can I truly run a library AND a makerspace? (I am dying to know this answer.  I honestly feel like I need a library assistant to check books in, check books out, teach a lesson, and offer the maker space to my students.)

o   My burning question was answered and my stress has decreased.  Basically, Graves shares that your library is still your library; the makerspace is simply an extension of the library.  You can have both.  Perhaps, in my own school library, I should focus on offering my maker space more in my flexible afternoon scheduling instead of during my morning classes.  The main thing is to offer a space for learning, reading, and creating to our students!

·        What kind of activities can we do?

o   Anything!  In looking at Graves’ suggestions, there aren’t any prescriptive elements in her answer.  Simply, do what you have the tools to do or offer.  Let your patrons/students use their imagination (along with any tools and materials you have available for use).

Why did this particular blog stand out to me?  I saw in the graphic on the home page, a Makey-Makey kit.  My school purchased 15 Makey-Makey kits and they are housed in the library.  They are in my system ready for checkout, but most of the teachers are nervous about using them solo.  I have partnered with a handful of teachers thus far to create fun projects.  As I moved through the site, I found that Graves has created several Makey-Makey lessons and has helped write a book with Makey-Makey experiments.  Graves’ Collaborative Makey Makey Sensory Maze (check out the video!) blew my mind!

Although intrigued by her Makey-Makey resources, I really enjoyed learning about littleBits.  In a resource created by Graves (littleBits for Librarians), I found a new learning tool I never knew about.  LittleBits are electronic bits that snap together using magnets and allow users to create and learn while having fun.  I read the document created by Graves and everything sounded wonderful.  It included that students and adults were fascinated by littleBits and could play and tinker all day.  There were tips from several reputable librarians with pictures showing the littleBits in action.  However, I didn’t fully understand how they worked because I’ve never tinkered with them in real life.  If you haven’t seen this technology, watch this quick video above!  LittleBits are amazing!  I think students and teachers would have a great time using them to make, create, or learn a bit about science and engineering.

This week’s module has pushed me to reflect more on the tools and materials I have offered my school library in my maker space.  While I have wonderful resources, I think I need to take a step back and figure out how to offer more time with the materials in this space.  I’ve been challenged and inspired this week by the reading, exploring others’ maker spaces, and finding Colleen Graves’ Create + Collaborate Innovate blog.

Resources:

Graves, C. (2019).. Create + Collaborate Innovate. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://colleengraves.org/

littleBits Electronics. (2013, April 2). What is littleBits?  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPHj2H1C8JE