by:Jeanne Aimerie on: November 27, 2024Today, it's more essential than ever to diversify teaching methods to keep learners engaged and avoid boring them with overly theoretical content. Luckily, technological advancements are here to help!
In just a few years, 360° video has transformed from a simple gimmick into a powerful educational tool. It grabs students' attention and enriches their learning experience in a unique and entertaining way.
In this article, you’ll learn more about this immersive technology and discover how beneficial it can be for teachers and learners alike. Fasten your virtual seatbelts—let’s dive in!
What Is 360° Video? 🤔
A 360° video is an immersive video format that captures the entire environment around the camera in every direction. Unlike traditional videos, viewers can interact by moving the angle of view to explore the scene from every perspective. It feels like "being there," letting them observe every detail based on their own curiosity.
Creating a 360° video requires specialized cameras equipped with multiple lenses to capture the entire scene. The footage is then stitched together using software to create an immersive experience. On the playback side, platforms like YouTube or Nudgis—UbiCast’s secure video platform—support 360° videos. This makes them accessible for teachers and students, who can explore the content using a mouse or, for total immersion, with a VR headset.
The standout feature of 360° videos is their intuitive interaction. With a simple screen manipulation or a tilt of their VR headset, students can explore the scene as if freely moving through the space. This interactivity fosters active engagement by letting them explore on their own rather than passively consuming information.
The Benefits of 360° Video for Teachers 🧑🏫
While this technology primarily benefits learners, 360° video offers several distinct advantages for teachers as well 👇
1. Bring Courses to Life
360° videos diversify teaching methods, enriching the learning experience. Unlike traditional materials that may lack interactivity, 360° video invites learners to virtually explore a space, fostering a more autonomous and personalised learning process. Incorporating immersive content into lessons sparks students’ curiosity and makes classes more engaging.
2. Easily Simulate Scenarios
Setting up real-life exercises can be costly or unsafe (e.g., practicing surgical procedures in medical training). In such cases, 360° video becomes the perfect solution, allowing teachers to simulate real-world scenarios safely and affordably.
3. Save Time on Lesson Prep
Teachers can use ready-made 360° videos to illustrate their lessons instead of creating everything from scratch. This reduces preparation time and allows them to focus more on guiding students, leading discussions, and providing feedback.
4. Strengthen Teacher-Student Relationships
By integrating innovative tools, teachers meet students' expectations for modernity and innovation. This responsiveness can enhance the teacher-student relationship, making educators appear approachable and forward-thinking—an aspect that directly impacts student motivation.
5. Assess Engagement and Understanding More Effectively
Immersive experiences require students to interact and pay attention, making it easier for teachers to gauge their engagement. Additionally, by following up with questions or interactive quizzes, educators can better assess comprehension of the concepts introduced during the immersive experience.
6. Develop Innovative Teaching Skills
Using immersive technologies helps teachers develop new digital and pedagogical skills. In today’s education landscape, where ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) skills are increasingly vital, this adaptability is a major asset.
The Benefits of 360° Video for Students 🧑🎓
For students, the advantages are just as significant—and they’ve been confirmed by numerous studies, highlighting the growing interest in this topic within the education field 👇
Research Highlights 🔎
Studies by Harrington et al. (2018), Hodgson et al. (2019), and Violante et al. (2019) reveal that 360° video enhances learning by increasing engagement, attention, and satisfaction. Harrington et al. note that 360° videos are perceived as more immersive and entertaining. Hodgson et al. highlight higher satisfaction and better opportunities for skill practice. Violante et al. demonstrate improved creativity, concentration, and interest, leading to optimal learning outcomes.
1. Improved Engagement
360° video immerses students in the heart of the action, creating an environment that captures their attention. This immersion encourages greater interaction with the content, making students more active and engaged participants in their learning journey.2. Better Understanding of Complex Concepts
In subjects like science or history, abstract concepts or distant locations can be challenging to grasp. With 360° video, students can visualise these concepts in realistic settings. For instance, an immersive historical reenactment or scientific simulation can make complex topics more comprehensible.3. Adapting to Different Learning Styles
Every student has a unique learning style: some are visual, others auditory, or kinesthetic. 360° video accommodates this diversity by offering a multisensory experience. Visual learners benefit from immersive imagery, auditory learners can listen to real-time explanations, and kinesthetic learners can physically interact with the environment (e.g., by using a VR headset), enhancing their comprehension and engagement.4. Enhanced Memory Retention
Immersive learning creates impactful experiences that are easier to remember than traditional lessons. Experiences lived through immersion often leave lasting impressions in students' memories.When recalling a 360° video, students can retrieve visual and emotional details, enabling them to better retain and understand information. This enhanced memory retention is particularly beneficial for subjects requiring long-term knowledge retention, such as science or history.
5. Offer Practical Learning Opportunities
For technical or scientific fields, practical scenarios are essential but not always feasible due to safety, cost, or accessibility concerns. 360° video allows safe simulations of risky or inaccessible environments. For example, medical students can follow a surgical procedure in an immersive setting without risk, gaining hands-on training while overcoming logistical barriers.6. Foster Cross-Disciplinary Skills
360° video can also help develop non-academic skills such as decision-making, problem-solving, and teamwork. For instance, in an immersive crisis simulation or collaborative work scenario, students must analyse, respond, and make quick decisions, promoting comprehensive learning and transferable skills.7. Make Learning Fun and Motivating
The immersive and interactive nature of 360° video adds a playful dimension to learning, transforming lessons into enjoyable and motivating experiences. This "gamification" of learning can particularly benefit students who need extra stimulation or who tire of traditional teaching approaches.By sparking students' curiosity and interest, 360° video becomes a tool that makes learning appealing, improving attendance and participation.
Different Types of 360° Videos 🎮
- Demonstration Videos: 360° videos can be used for technical demonstrations. In engineering or applied sciences courses, an immersive video showcasing a machine in operation or the manufacturing process of a product can help students grasp complex concepts that are difficult to explain with words or static images.
- Immersive Practical Exercises: 360° videos enable the simulation of practical situations in a safe environment. For example, in science, a 360° video can guide students through a complex lab experiment or surgical procedure. This approach is also highly relevant for professional training programs where real-life scenarios are essential.
- Virtual Tours: Virtual tours allow students to explore places that are difficult to access in real life due to geographical or financial constraints. Imagine a geography class discovering Hawaii's volcanoes or an art class wandering through the Louvre—these visual experiences can make learning much more stimulating and relevant.
Conclusion 🪄
360° video is a true revolution in education, bringing an immersive and interactive dimension that enriches students' experiences. Whether improving memory retention, adapting to various learning styles, or fostering practical skills, it offers a range of benefits that make it a valuable tool for teachers and educational designers.
And the best part? This is just the beginning! With increasingly accessible creation tools and widely compatible distribution platforms, any teacher can now incorporate 360° video into their curriculum with ease. So, why not take the leap and experiment with 360° video in your lessons?
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