Blog 5: Virtual and Augmented Reality
Virtual and Augmented reality technology has made incredible advances in the last few years. It is no longer technology that is only available in expensive gaming systems. It can now be used and utilized on any smartphone and in a variety of ways. Today's librarians need to educated themselves on this technology and find ways to incorporate it into their space.
As a high school librarian there are a few ways that it could be helpful to focus on the VR and AR technology. One way would be to get students familiar and interested in how the technology works through gaming. Pokemon Go is a game that has been around for the last few years that incorporates AR in a fun way. This summer, a similar game launched called Harry Potter Wizards Unite. This game was made by the same group that developed Pokemon Go in conjunction with Warner Brothers Games and other developers. In this game you are a wizard and you are fighting to keep magic a secret from the wider (muggle) world. Where in Pokemon Go the objective is to collect Pokemon and then you can fight them in the gyms, in Wizards Unite, you are collecting magical objects that have escaped as part of a mysterious event called the Calamity. You also participate in wizard battles in fortresses. You can also brew potions, grow ingredients, dine in inns to gain energy, etc.
The great thing about Wizards Unite, from a library perspective, is the built in literary connection to books and reading. Of course the main connection is to the Harry Potter books themselves, but in the displays that library could do for Wizards Unite and the Harry Potter books, there could easily be other fantasy/magic books displayed.
While it doesn't seem that Wizards Unite works around schools (from my experimenting this summer, no objects pop up around school), the library could still get involved in the fun in a variety of ways, and part of the fun with the game is to get out and moving around.
Once students get excited about AR, then a librarian could start working with students, even in a makerspace, with different VR/AR tools. A great place to start would be Google's Expeditions. This is a great place to go to find many placed that students can already explore many field trips and places to explore using the technology. To utilize this the library will need to purchase the cardboard viewers and the students will need to download the app on their phone. When students become more interested they can begin to experiment more with the program and what it can do. While the cardboard viewers are $10 a piece, this a relatively low cost upfront for an interactive and educational experience for students.
What starts as fun and games with Pokemon Go and Wizards Unite, can move into educational exploration in a makerspace with Google Expedition.
https://edu.google.com/products/vr-ar/expeditions/?modal_active=none
As a high school librarian there are a few ways that it could be helpful to focus on the VR and AR technology. One way would be to get students familiar and interested in how the technology works through gaming. Pokemon Go is a game that has been around for the last few years that incorporates AR in a fun way. This summer, a similar game launched called Harry Potter Wizards Unite. This game was made by the same group that developed Pokemon Go in conjunction with Warner Brothers Games and other developers. In this game you are a wizard and you are fighting to keep magic a secret from the wider (muggle) world. Where in Pokemon Go the objective is to collect Pokemon and then you can fight them in the gyms, in Wizards Unite, you are collecting magical objects that have escaped as part of a mysterious event called the Calamity. You also participate in wizard battles in fortresses. You can also brew potions, grow ingredients, dine in inns to gain energy, etc.
The great thing about Wizards Unite, from a library perspective, is the built in literary connection to books and reading. Of course the main connection is to the Harry Potter books themselves, but in the displays that library could do for Wizards Unite and the Harry Potter books, there could easily be other fantasy/magic books displayed.
While it doesn't seem that Wizards Unite works around schools (from my experimenting this summer, no objects pop up around school), the library could still get involved in the fun in a variety of ways, and part of the fun with the game is to get out and moving around.
Once students get excited about AR, then a librarian could start working with students, even in a makerspace, with different VR/AR tools. A great place to start would be Google's Expeditions. This is a great place to go to find many placed that students can already explore many field trips and places to explore using the technology. To utilize this the library will need to purchase the cardboard viewers and the students will need to download the app on their phone. When students become more interested they can begin to experiment more with the program and what it can do. While the cardboard viewers are $10 a piece, this a relatively low cost upfront for an interactive and educational experience for students.
What starts as fun and games with Pokemon Go and Wizards Unite, can move into educational exploration in a makerspace with Google Expedition.
https://edu.google.com/products/vr-ar/expeditions/?modal_active=none
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