GLOKALde April 2024, ISSN 2148-7278 Volume: 10 Issue: 1, Article 6
THE USE OF IMMERSIVE AND INTERACTIVE FILMS TO AMPLIFY TRADITIONAL
PEDAGOGY AND ETHNOGRAPHY
ABSTRACT
The current use of film in undergraduate anthropology classes has been employed to enhance class lectures as well as to vary teaching methods. The goal of this study was to create a design for a set of immersive and interactional films to supplement active pedagogy. A primary research question was asking what is the value of mixing written ethnography with watching video in what is known as an “add-on” approach in a class on ethnography. The outcome was to amplify the existing pedagogy by creating media, particularly films, that enable students to apply fieldwork experiences through mediated immersive experiences in and beyond their classroom settings. Guided by explicit foundational learning theories and developed with special technical requirements such as 360-degree video cameras, we created a design for media that offers an experience that richly weaves into the course experience. Through active, kinesthetic learning, the media facilitated information processing from the learners' short to long-term memory. The results show that intentionally created media aligned with proper course design can produce immersive experiences for students, enabling them to produce thick descriptions of the social worlds they encounter. The study should be read concerning limitations related to the effects of VR technology on viewing content, which include the potential for creating a disorienting effect producing nausea and discomfort.