Page 40 - Campus Technology, June 2017

COMPLETE GUIDE TO VIRTUAL REALITY
“When we start working with VR, AR and mixed real- ity, how do we begin to share and develop the learning experiences facul- ty and students create?”
he takes just in the normal course of his research.
If we can equip faculty who do field research and students who study abroad with 360 video kits, we are opening up new possibilities for education, including the potential of
sharing interesting perspectives of our work.
Another point about 360 video is that it includes the person
running the camera as part of what is captured — they are no longer stuck “behind” the camera and now become part of the action. This has implications for instruction, of course.
There are many education values to explore with immersive media that are easily within our reach, especially given technology that is as simple and affordable as 360 video.
CT: What is the process of 360 video capture from the students’ point of view? What are the implications for student storytelling?
Bowen: At PSU we’ve had great success with kits: a 360 camera, tripod, an Android device and a VR headset. We also provide software tools like Adobe Premier for editing. Plus, we are providing workshops to learn the basics of 360 video.
The art of storytelling using 360 video is just beginning to develop. Especially because of the characteristic that the viewer can look in any direction, there just aren’t standard ways of thinking about direction and how you get the viewer’s attention on something specific at any one time. It could even happen that a piece that is critical to the story is happening behind the viewer.
But while these elements of direction aren’t well defined at this point, there are many things we can explore. In 360 video the story now exists in multiple perspectives, offering new ways to contrast different ideas and alternative points of view.
We’re hoping to make 360 video something students can do as part of their collaborative coursework, research or entrepreneurship. It’s a significant future growth area.
CT: What’s the future looking like for immersive media in higher education? Could you point to any important next steps?
Bowen: As we look forward, we realize that immersive media technology is advancing rapidly now. It seems like the possibilities are endless. But there are many pieces that we are
just beginning to understand, especially considering values for higher education and how we put all this into practice.
There are many things we still need to explore. One area that’s going to be very important is the creation of sharable learning objects. For example, we’ve learned how to share video over the years, and we are now starting to learn how to share 360 video. But when we start working with VR, AR and mixed reality, how do we begin to share and develop the learning experiences faculty and students create? And how do we do this sustainably?
And especially given AR and MR and the blending of environments, how do we approach new learning spaces — classrooms and labs — that facilitate and support faculty and students in the use of immersive media?
Finally, how can we network our immersive media experiences and creations so that we can begin to connect students, faculty, departments and universities in their collaborative and disciplinary work?
Interesting new explorations are at hand. This is all part of what we are looking at going forward with immersive media in higher education.
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CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY | June 2017