On Friday, April 26th, as part of UNC Worldview’s conference “Creating a Global Media Center”, a workshop for School Library Media Coordinators, 27 participants got hands-on with augmented and virtual reality. During the two hour event hosted and put on by CCEE staff, Library and Media Coordinators had the chance to try out the HTC Vive, Oculus Go, Google Cardboard headsets as well as Augmented Reality tools including the Merge Cube and Quiver coloring packs.
Ranging from tools that cost less than $10 to those that cost several hundred dollars (HTC Vive), the educators had the chance to explore a wide range of experiences and explore what AR and VR experiences fit their needs and those of their district. Many of the educators shared tips on ways they used popular tools like Google Expeditions in their own schools and some educators even brought headsets they had acquired, but hadn’t known how to use formerly.
The Oculus Go was a group favorite because of the high quality experience and its lower price point. Favorite apps included the Oculus Go’s “Anne Frank House” as well as the Google Earth VR app on HTC Vive. Who wouldn’t want to fly from place to place and walk around famous and not so famous locations in the safety of your classroom/library? A fun event for all and a great opportunity for us at the CCEE to hear directly from educators about their VR and AR experiences and what support they would want and need in their implementation.
