Doctoral Colloquium-Immersive Media in Remote Schooling: “I Was Surprised at How Engaged I Was”

With protracted school closures forcing young people to learn remotely, schools are in urgent need of innovative approaches that can keep students engaged in their education and support their learning. Immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree videos may increase motivation to learn and improve student focus, but little is known about their effectiveness in a remote schooling model. This doctoral colloquium paper describes work-in-progress using 360-videos and cardboard viewers in remote high school classes. Emergent themes from interviews and focus groups indicate students find 360-videos engaging through increasing focus, control, and interest, and useful for facilitating observational learning.