I chose to use the 360 videos with my 8th grade science class. I wanted my students to learn and reflect on how some animals are endangered or are heading towards extinction because of changing environments and the impact other animals and humans have on them. I let my students choose from any of the Discovery: racing extinction videos they wanted to watch and I encouraged them to watch 2-3 videos.
After they viewed the 360 videos we talked about what they learned and noticed. Students related what they say and heard to what other students were sharing based on the different videos they watched. My students watched the videos on their smartphones which they are not usually allowed to use in the classroom per school policy. They were immediately excited to be able to have their phones out but, were even more excited when they opened the videos and were able to move around unique animal habitats. Students that do not normally engage with one another were sharing phones and showing each other videos. My students were happy and very engaged because of the resource being used.
After discussing the content I wanted them to learn, we discussed the tool that they had just used. I asked them what they thought and how they liked it. They felt that it was more engaging than just watching a video and that they learned more because they were paying closer attention. One student said that she did lose focus when the lion walked out of view and she couldn’t find it but, she could re-watch the video to hear that part again. The students agreed that they might need to watch the video more than once to get all of the information but, that they wouldn’t really mind watching it multiple times because it is interactive. There were not any issues the students really needed to troubleshoot during this activity. After our discussion I let them go back and watch other discovery videos of their choice which included cultural videos that took them to other countries, pandas playing, and roller coasters.
Overall I think these videos are a valuable teaching resource because they allow students to interact with content and provides them with an experience rather than a story which will help them remember and understand what they are learning. I plan to use a 360 video about the inside of a cell with my 7th grade science class to help them visualize the content they have been reading about