12th Learning at City Conference - Opportunities to transform the future of higher education: Immersive Web Video for Learning Engagement - Post Covid

The study investigates the efficacy of immersive web video as a tool to inspire and engage learners. Two web video learning interfaces facilitate augmented immersion. The first is a 360˚ camera in the centre of a teaching space, where online participants control the orientation of their view. The second is a 45˚multicam that places the teacher in conversation mode, creating a dynamic learning space.These web video learning interfaces attempt to address issues of engagement online and back in the classroom. Trial video recording show the interfaces at work with students. Qualitative data from the first feedback surveys are available for the session.
The interfaces work with software such as Zoom and Teams. The context for creating the two video interfaces was forced by the pandemic. Yet the shift from classroom to online teaching put students into the formal grid layout of Zoom and Teams, not the most engaging, immersive environment. From these constraints emerge our learning interfaces. They challenge the assumptions of what online learning has become. Engagement is key to the learning experience as highlighted by Moore’s Transactional Distance Theory (1997). The two interfaces take the best of distance learning software - the visual and audio communications with the video server facilities and add immersive experiences in the classroom. Our interfaces facilitate emotional dialog. They enable inspirational events that promote autonomous learning. Initial evidence suggests the two web video learning interfaces become an interactive community that build a sense of belonging.