866-266-7496 imex@psu.edu Home About Students Faculty Experience Catalogue Support Community Defining Immersive Experiences a field guide to 360º, AR and VR Immersive Experiences technology allows for faculty and students to engage with academic media and content in exciting, and sometimes intimidating, new ways. There is a universe of possibilities when it comes to this emerging technology and many ways that users can experience and interact with content made just for these platforms. But what are the different types of immersive experiences? How do they differ from each other and how might these different affordances shape your experience, whether you are consuming or creating the content? This resource breaks down the ways we currently are thinking about immersive experiences: as 360° Video, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). You may know some of these terms by other names – eXtended Reality (XR) is a term used by Educause and others to refer to immersive experiences. Mixed Reality is another term that is sometimes analogous to AR. As these technologies grow, evolve, and are accepted into the mainstream, the terminology we use to refer to them and explain their uses will evolve as well. Media Commons and Teaching and Learning with Technology will continue to unpack these terms and technology for the benefit of all of Penn State’s students and faculty. Source: Educause Plotting the connections between 360º video, AR and VR: 360º video captures the real world and can be supported by additional guidance, progressively pushing content towards full VR simulation. AR bases itself on – and adds additional information to – live experiences in the real world. What is Level of Guidance? What is Level of Integration? What is Level of Interactivity? 360º Video What is it? 360º video allows the viewer to momentarily enter another space in the real world. At its simplest, it is akin to standing in a spot the creator chose and watching a scene unfold in all directions. The author can direct the viewer’s experience by adding additional guidance like text prompts, cuts to new scenes, voiceover narration, audio queues and more. At its most sophisticated, a 360º video could employ question prompts and a logic tree to trigger a series of differing videos, mimicking a choose your own adventure story. What does it look like? What do I need to consume it? What should I have to create it? Augmented Reality What is it? Augmented Reality (AR) grafts an added layer of information over the real world. AR experiences vary, but all share the premise that the viewer will use some sort of in-between device to overlay material on the environment around them. Typically, a mobile phone or tablet with rear facing camera is called into service as a window into an AR-enhanced space. Applications of AR can include placing furniture inside one’s home, trapping digital monsters in a game scenario, measuring items simply by pointing at their edges and the like. What does it look like? What do I need to consume it? What should I have to create it? Virtual Reality What is it? Virtual Reality (VR) takes the viewer inside a wholly created world. This environment may draw directly from or be inspired by experiences in the real world, but does not, by definition, need to do so. A simple VR experience may only place the view inside a constructed space and let them observe. More advanced VR content allows the viewer to interact with and manipulate the environment around them, including some combination of moving objects, talking with simulated characters, building new items in 3D space and much more. What does it look like? What do I need to consume it? What should I have to create it? Looking for great content to engage your students? IMEX is hard at work developing a comprehensive Experience Catalogue, organized by discipline, that makes it is easy for faculty to find content that will be a perfect fit for their courses. Take a look at what we’ve found so far – and submit a suggestion for other materials that you want to see. Find Your Experience Copyright 2021 © The Pennsylvania State University Privacy Non-Discrimination Equal Opportunity Accessibility Legal