Reading Well(s)

 Learning does not take place in isolation. It is a cumulative experience or circumstances and input. Knowledge adds to knowledge until a sort of tower of expertise is build in one area while other areas are not towers but small piles until new knowledge heightens it.  This blog was created for SLIS 761: Information Technology in the School Library Program. Simultaneously, I was taking two other library science courses. It was the second semester of my degree. I started this degree at the age of 45. I had never taken an online course. I stayed home to raise and homeschool my kids from 2009-2018. I did not even have a cell phone in 2009. Starting grad school was daunting. Technology and its uses literally exploded from the time my first was born in 2002 to when I started grad school in 2021. I felt my resumé had a giant hole in it.  Why share this background? My life of being a stay-at-home-mom made me feel like technology had raced ahead while my children grew and I was still at the st

This week I explored AR and VR in the classroom. Normally, I move toward the elementary end of the education spectrum. Today I am going higher, in my mind AP Chem or AP Biology. The reason? AR and VR are cool but to really make them cost effective and useful for meaningful learning (rather than just cool experiences) I think applying it to older learners is the way to go. I will add to my reasons that I think AR and VR require maintenance and some time spent learning as a staff. Getting buy- in might be easier if I work with subject matter teachers. I know these are generalizations, I am certain there are elementary school teachers who will feel slighted here but as I think AR VR have the greatest benefit at the older grades. .  Let me introduce you to one augmented reality tool for science classes: Labster . Labster creates problems for a scientist to solve and then provides the lab equipment in a 3D format online to test and retest. Labster works best on desktops and laptops, not on