Producing 360-Degree Videos to Design Immersive Experiences for Your Learners

It can be challenging to set up active learning experiences, where students learn by "doing" something — as recommended by the QM Higher Education Rubric (Specific Review Standard 5.2) — in any course. One learning environment that provides an immersive and engaging learning experience is that of virtual reality (VR). While computer-generated VR environments can be expensive to create and update, a type of VR that instructors can make without extensive technology expertise or investment is immersive 360 videos, also referred to as virtual field trips. 

As Radianti et al. (2020) explain, virtual reality immerses users in audio/visual environments so that they feel present. With immersive 360 video, learners can control the video to thoroughly explore their environment without altering it (Blair et al., 2021). A study by Petersen et al. (2020) found that providing a narrated immersive 360-degree video increased learner self-efficacy, interest and knowledge of the topic area, confirming previous studies.

Learning With Immersive 360 Videos

Learners have several options for using immersive 360 videos. One is to use a VR headset to have a fully immersive audiovisual experience. If using a VR headset is not a good option, either due to cost or if the learner has vertigo, learners can use their phone by placing it within a holder such as Google Cardboard. A third option is to use a “magic window,” where the learner views the content on their computer screen and controls their point of view via their mouse. When comparing the immersive and desktop experiences, Zhao et al. (2022) found that learners who participated in the immersive experience reported “higher ratings of spatial presence, enjoyment, and satisfaction than students who experienced the same content through a desktop computer.” However, Zhao et al. also noted that participating in the experience with their desktop required less time and effort for learners to become familiar with the interface, and these learners performed similarly or better on exams than those using the immersive experience.

Creating Immersive 360 Videos

You can create immersive 360 videos by using a few pieces of equipment and a few key production skills. 

Equipment

To start, you will need a camera capable of taking 360-degree videos, such as the Insta360, Richo Theta, or GoPro Max. These cameras work for taking videos because they have a front and a back lens to simultaneously combine both views into a nearly seamless, immersive 360 video. Also necessary is a camera stand with a narrow but stable base to keep the camera from moving without being in the picture the way a regular tripod would be. An optional piece of equipment that can be helpful is a wireless microphone, such as the RØDE wireless microphone, which enables you to eliminate the background noise that would be captured with the camera’s built-in microphone. Some cameras offer a bracket for purchase that hides the microphone receiver within the camera’s blind spot.

Production Tips

Here are a few production tips to help you develop easy-to-use multimedia artifacts (adapted from Argyriou, et al., 2020):

• When placing the camera, consider where the viewer is located within the scene. You will want to position the camera where the learner would be located and ensure the camera lens is at the appropriate eye level. This point of view is important as this is what the learner will see.
• Situate people or items that you do not want to be part of the learner’s view outside of the room or behind other objects that you do want to be included in the video.
• Keep the camera still while recording because moving it can cause the learner to become disoriented or experience motion sickness. (An exception to this is when the viewer is seated in a moving vehicle, and they have been told in advance that motion will be taking place.) Instead, focus the learner on what you would like them to see either by instructing them to look at a specific area or by using graphics to direct the activity.
• To “zoom in” on an area, overlay a photo of it on the final video rather than moving the camera closer to the area, again, to avoid the learner becoming disoriented or motion sick.
• To move from one location to another, create a video transition as you would in a 2D video. 
• Aim for the highest-quality, most life-like video possible. VR headsets are increasingly capable of playing high-resolution videos, and research has shown that higher resolution helps minimize the motion sickness some users experience. 

Editing Tips

The software that comes with the camera is sufficient for basic editing. But to add graphics and images, you may need a more advanced tool like Adobe Premiere Pro or Davinci Resolve. Once your video is ready, it needs to be uploaded to/hosted on a site that can play it properly. YouTube is one such site. To further support meeting QM Specific Review Standard (SRS) 8.6 (“Multimedia in the course is easy to use”), YouTube provides the ability to embed a 2D “magic window” within the LMS and a link to a version that can be viewed with a VR headset. To make this content more accessible, as guided by SRS 8.5 (“ Video and audio content in the course is accessible”), you will want to ensure you are providing captions and a transcript that includes both what you are saying and a description of what you are showing.

Immerse to Engage

Consider utilizing an immersive 360 video to help transport your learners to an environment other than where they typically participate in learning activities. A potential use case includes a virtual field trip to an environment that would otherwise be difficult for a class to reach such as a canyon, glacier or another sensitive natural environment. Another instance where a virtual field trip helps to make the experience possible is an exploration of a cultural heritage site or museum. Immersive videos can also orient learners to an industrial site, medical environment, or another occupational environment. Remember, 360 video can be immersive in the sense that your learners are brought into an environment where they are stationary and experiencing people around them moving and performing actions for them to observe.