Augmented Reality in Schools

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Augmented Reality (AR) is a great way to enhance learning.  As defined by Goerner (2016) “augmented reality superimposes an image, video, or other digital overlay onto a view of the real world in real time.”  Implementing AR into your library or classroom can be a great way to help students gain knowledge about things they have never experienced in the real world.  Goerner continues to share that AR “encourages interaction, creates rich experiences, and helps students understand the real world, all while improving teaching materials and specializing content.”

If you are looking for a way to implement augmented reality in your schools for all age groups, then Quiver is one app to try.  Quiver works with a simple app and coloring pages, most of which can be downloaded for free. Students simply color a page with crayons or colored pencils (dark markers may not work), then scan the picture using the Quiver app to bring the images to life in 3D augmented reality.

Quiver currently has four different app options; Quiver, Quiver Education, Quiver Fashion, and Quiver Masks.  The apps are available via iOS and Android. All of the Quiver apps are free, except the Education version. The Education version has a one time purchase price of $7.99 for the app.  Quiver Education contains content for various subjects from science, social studies, math, and language arts. Students can interact with augmented reality images to answer questions, manipulate images, and visit landmarks.  Look at the videos below to see the possibilities of using Quiver with your students.

Resources

Goerner, P. (2016). Augmented reality. What's next?. School Library Journal, 62(9), 19-20.

QuiverVision http://www.quivervision.com/

Big Bullies - Cyberbullying in Schools

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Bullying has become a major topic of discussion with guidance counselors and teachers in K-12 school systems.  Cyberbullying should be part of this same line of discussion. Cyberbullying has been defined as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices,” according to the Cyberbullying Research Center (Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W., 2018).  Although cyberbullying and traditional bullying produce similar negative effects upon the victim, cyberbullying can essentially create a more devastating impact.  

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Since cyberbullies can come from anywhere in the world, the bully may not even know their victim or they may hide their identity from the victim.  The abuse can be widespread and viewed by people in an entire school, community, or around the world. Victims of cyberbullying report (Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M., 2015), “depression, poor self-esteem, concentration problems, anxiety, stress, academic problems, school avoidance, suicidal ideation, and a range of psychosomatic problems such as headaches, and sleep disturbances.” 

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Surprisingly, the number of reported cases of cyberbullying in the K-12 system is more likely to involve female students as the bully and the victim, while boys of the same age group are more likely to be involved in physically bullying there classmates.  According to studies (Faucher et al., 2015), “in K-12, we see male students significantly more likely to be involved in face-to-face bullying and female students somewhat more likely to be involved in cyberbullying as both targets and perpetrators.” It is also surprising how many students don’t report cyberbullying for fear of added restrictions to their use of technology.  This is why cyberbullying education and awareness needs to include in K-12 schools.

As librarians, we can work closely with guidance counselors and teachers to address the topics of bullying and cyberbullying.  We can work with students to develop their digital citizenship and safety. Acting out or discussing scenarios about cyberbullying, watching videos, and conducting research allows students to gain knowledge and empathy.  Below are resources for teaching students and providing information for parents about bullying and cyberbullying.

https://www.brainpop.com/technology/communications/cyberbullying/

https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship

https://cyberbullying.org/

https://www.cyberwise.org/

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL541435ABB4B52F14

https://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/what-you-can-do/index.html

Resources:

Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts, impacts, and solutions of bullying in k-12, higher education, and the workplace. Journal Of Education And Training Studies, 3(6), 111-125.

Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2018). Cyberbullying Identification, Prevention, and Response. Cyberbullying Research Center (cyberbullying.org).