{"id":11916,"date":"2017-03-29T07:12:12","date_gmt":"2017-03-29T11:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=11916"},"modified":"2019-08-07T09:52:59","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T13:52:59","slug":"ways-students-can-create-vr-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/ways-students-can-create-vr-content\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking at ways students can create VR content"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Help students become creators of this engaging new technology<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?s=tool+tutorials&amp;submit=Search#.WL2LpLGZOHo\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-11917\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tool_tutorial.jpg\" alt=\"ways students can create VR content\" width=\"150\" height=\"149\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tool_tutorial.jpg 150w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tool_tutorial-32x32.jpg 32w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tool_tutorial-50x50.jpg 50w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tool_tutorial-64x64.jpg 64w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tool_tutorial-96x96.jpg 96w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tool_tutorial-128x128.jpg 128w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>With the astronomical rise in popularity of virtual reality in education, it&#8217;s important to make available tools for students to create virtual reality content as well as consuming it. So while you get ready to send your students off on Expeditions to amazing new worlds and experiences, have ways for them to make their own waiting when they return.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at a couple\u00a0ways students can create VR content.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>What&#8217;s VR?<\/h2>\n<p>VR stands for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Virtual_reality\">virtual reality<\/a>: immersive multimedia content that attempts to replace conventional reality. The most well-known example is Google Expeditions. To view an Expedition,\u00a0you put your phone inside a cardboard &#8220;viewer&#8221; (nearly identical to the old <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/View-Master\">View-masters<\/a>), then play a\u00a0360-degree video. The cardboard viewer shows the video <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stereoscope\">stereoscope-style<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BSNG7CdjyWI\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:525px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BSNG7CdjyWI\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <\/p>\n<div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BSNG7CdjyWI\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by UVM Tarrant Institute (@innovativeeducation)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Inside the Expedition, students experience\u00a0high-resolution 360-degree videos that showcase places they likely have never had a chance to visit\u00a0first-hand. Check out this footage, below from inside an underwater Expedition:<\/p>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\">\n<div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_30300\"  width=\"525\" height=\"295\"  data-origwidth=\"525\" data-origheight=\"295\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8yPjqgFZWJ4?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=1&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=1&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" data-epautoplay=\"1\" ><img decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\"  alt=\"Google Expeditions Tutorial\"  src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/8yPjqgFZWJ4\/maxresdefault.jpg\"  \/><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Why is VR important?<\/h2>\n<p>Virtual reality is super interesting right now for a couple of reasons.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>It&#8217;s a great way to present compelling content about different locations and experiences. Watching and hearing a place can be much more engaging for students than simply reading about it.<\/li>\n<li>VR also provides students with unprecedented access to places on the planet they not just haven&#8217;t visited, but in some cases may have never thought of visiting. It increases the realm of what students believe is possible for them personally.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>But possibly the most compelling reason is that there are some early indications that <a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/can-virtual-reality-teach-empathy\/\">VR may increase students&#8217; empathy<\/a>. Again it comes down to media: it&#8217;s one thing to read on a page: &#8220;The children in the camp were starving&#8221;, and another thing entirely to see and hear one particular hungry child.<\/p>\n<p>Virtual reality materials largely consist of embracing the idea of 360-degree media creation, either with a photo or video. \u00a0Let&#8217;s look at two\u00a0ways students can get started.*<\/p>\n<h2>Creating 360-degree videos<\/h2>\n<p>With 360-degree cameras! We&#8217;ve been experimenting with 360-degree cameras and have had a lot of success with the <a href=\"https:\/\/theta360.com\/en\/about\/theta\/s.html\">Theta Ricoh S<\/a>. The Ricoh S mounts on a conventional tripod, and can store nearly 20 minutes of video. It also has an app that provides a convenient UI for viewing videos and photos.<\/p>\n<p>You can\u00a0transfer\u00a0videos you&#8217;ve shot on the Ricoh S to a smartphone or tablet. Then open them in the app. Once you&#8217;ve set the video to stereoscope:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12159\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/arizona_stereopticon.jpg\" alt=\"ways for students to create virtual reality content\" width=\"750\" height=\"563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/arizona_stereopticon.jpg 750w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/arizona_stereopticon-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/arizona_stereopticon-619x465.jpg 619w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Pop the device into a Cardboard-style viewer and away you go!<\/p>\n<p>Erica Zimmer, tech integration specialist in Rutland VT, <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/18neUQBIHeV9LPDN0bpH6KI9wCRjE6sj8DS-pVBTw7ns\/edit\">created this incredibly helpful\u00a0guide <\/a>to getting your photos and video off the Ricoh camera.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/18neUQBIHeV9LPDN0bpH6KI9wCRjE6sj8DS-pVBTw7ns\/edit\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12160\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/erica.jpg\" alt=\"ways students can create virtual reality content\" width=\"747\" height=\"557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/erica.jpg 747w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/erica-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/erica-619x462.jpg 619w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Creating 360-degree photos<\/h2>\n<h3>With Thinglink:<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thinglink.com\">Thinglink.com<\/a> offers you the ability to create 360-degree photos without having to stitch them together yourself: their VR tool allows you to upload\u00a0any panoramic photo, and their VR tool will stitch it for you. Then you&#8217;re free to\u00a0augment your photo with multimedia content.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s one I made earlier! Oldtown Sacramento, augmented with\u00a0audio and video stories relating to its history.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/mediacard\/810219973929598978\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Once you have the 360-photo, you can slip your phone or tablet into a Cardboard-style viewer for a more immersive experience.<\/p>\n<p>Two cautions about Thinglink&#8217;s VR tool: it&#8217;s currently only available with the Teacher plan (read: costs $) and the tool itself is very particular about the size of your panoramic photo. It must be\u00a0aspect ratio 2:1 and maximum resolution 5376 x 2688 pixels. The measurements are super-exacting, and you can&#8217;t be off by even a single pixel.<\/p>\n<h3>Or with Google Street View&#8217;s &#8220;photospheres&#8221;:<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iste.org\/explore\/articleDetail?articleid=683\">ISTE created this\u00a0tutorial<\/a> for using the Google Street View app to create &#8220;photospheres&#8221;, their terms for 360-degree photos.<\/p>\n<p>Basically, the app allows students to choose a location in the world, zoom there, then they move their phones around (following the app&#8217;s prompts) to take a variety of photos of the location. The app then stitches them all together into one 360-degree panorama. Pop the phone back in a Cardboard viewer and voil\u00e0: instant virtual reality!<\/p>\n<p>Shiny? Yes. Immersive? Kind of.<\/p>\n<p>For us, Thinglink has the edge in photo production because students can add links to video and audio to the image. They can create their own video, audio, still or written reflections to the image as well.<\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Have you created virtual reality materials with your students?<\/h2>\n<p>*There are more in-depth ways for students to create virtual reality materials &#8212; namely by involving the Unity game engine and doing a little coding &#8212; but if you&#8217;re looking for quick and easy ways to\u00a0start your students on the VR creation road, these should do the trick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Standard 3-part story-driven post: 1) what it is, 2) what it looks like in a school, 3) how to do it in your school<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[641,17,520,640],"class_list":["post-11916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-360-degree-camera","tag-augmented-reality","tag-google-expeditions","tag-virtual-reality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11916"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12163,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11916\/revisions\/12163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}