Integrating 360° Videos in an Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory

Technology Report Cite This: J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

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Integrating 360° Videos in an Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Course Alvita Ardisara†,‡,§ and Fun Man Fung*,‡,§ †

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Food Science and Technology Programme, c/o Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, 117543, Singapore ‡ Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, 117543, Singapore § Institute for Application of Learning Sciences and Education Technology (ALSET) University Hall, Lee Kong Chian Wing UHL #05-01D, 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119077, Singapore S Supporting Information *

ABSTRACT: With 360° cameras becoming increasingly available at affordable costs, 360° videos have been gaining momentum online as an exciting visual medium that engages viewers in an immersive 360° panoramic view. In this report, we share insights of our experience in using 360° cameras to capture several laboratory techniques in an undergraduate organic chemistry course and raise pertinent issues regarding the 360° videos. In summary, we found that 360° videos add value in terms of its large field of view, but pose some potential problems in terms of disorientation and lack of focus.

KEYWORDS: Laboratory Instruction, Internet/Web-Based Learning, Synthesis, Demonstrations, High School/Introductory Chemistry, First-Year Undergraduate/General, Second-Year Undergraduate, General Public, Organic Chemistry, Safety/Hazards

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view. Following the novelty and excitement that arises, 360° videos may thereby generate higher viewer engagement and focus.5 While there have been instances where educators utilize 360° videos for virtual excursions and corporate training, these efforts have yet to be documented in literature.6−10 Few literature reports, apart from a virtual field trip using 360° images by Benton et al. and technological report by Kavanagh et al., have been published on the use of 360° camera in education.6,11 Through this preliminary study, we therefore aimed to investigate how 360° videos may add value to the existing ecosystem of lab videos. We also intended to describe several issues pertaining to the use of 360° videos in a chemistry laboratory educational setting. From our pilot experiments, we proposed some suggestions for the recording of 360° videos.

n recent years, videos have become one of the most common and readily accepted forms of educational material.1 Educational videos demonstrating the use of laboratory equipment or experimental procedures have also become increasingly used as supplementary resources for laboratory education.2−4 360° Media

360° media are simply 360° panoramic images/videos, which can be viewed and navigated via a specialized viewer app (Figure 1) or online platforms such as YouTube and Facebook that support 360° video viewing. There are two ways to view and navigate 360° media: (1) the viewer holds up his/her phone in the air and moves it laterally and vertically, or (2) the viewer swipes on his/her phone akin to navigating on Google Street to view different parts of the 360° media. With 360° media gaining popularity, it has been of interest to observe how such novel technology can be applied in various fields of pedagogy. 360° videos may value-add to the laboratory video ecosystem via its high field of view. For instance, compared to conventional (non-360°) cameras, the wide field of view of 360° cameras may ease one’s video-making processes. This is because one does not need to constantly move or wear the camera during recording, which may otherwise inconvenience the cameraman and/or demonstrator. 360° videos are also more immersive than conventional videos due to the spherical field of © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

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PILOT EXPERIMENT

Integrating 360° Videos in Chemistry Laboratory Education

360° videos were produced by recording several laboratory techniques using a 360° camera (Ricoh Theta S), which was Received: February 25, 2018 Revised: July 20, 2018

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DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00143 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

Journal of Chemical Education

Technology Report

Figure 1. 360° image in its raw panoramic form (a) and 360° image as viewed on a viewer app (b).

Figure 2. Method of recording 360° videos: mounting the Ricoh Theta S on a tripod stand (a), instructor recording a demonstration using the mounted Ricoh Theta S (b), and using the tripod stand as a rig to hold the Ricoh Theta S during recording (c).

Figure 3. View of the glovebox using a conventional non-360° camera (a) and view of the glovebox using Ricoh Theta S (b). The latter provides more flexibility in viewing the contents inside the glovebox.

(Figure 3). In addition, the use of 360° cameras would be advantageous in situations where there are no additional personnel who are available to record the laboratory demonstrations. This new filming method is independent of an additional camera operator and can be performed solely by the lab instructor. In our Schlenk line video, we were able to simultaneously capture the demonstrator’s action of turning of the Schlenk line knob and the resulting flow nitrogen gas, which resulted in the bubbling of oil (Figure 4a). In another laboratory technique video, we could capture the careless removal of a Keck clip resulting in the clip catapulting across the fume hood (Figure 4b). These additional visual details further highlight the valueadding attributes that 360° videos have in situations that involve complex apparatus. For instance, during the operation of the Schlenk line and the glovebox, their individual parts/ components cannot be easily seen from one angle only. Besides the more extensive scope of view, we believe that 360° videos provide a novel and fresh view of the laboratory apparatus layout, which may help to capture viewers’ interest and increase their appreciation for laboratory classes. According to King-

mounted over a tripod stand during the recordings (Figure 2). After recording, the videos were subsequently annotated using a video editor (Camtasia 9) and injected with 360° spatial metadata, which took about 3 h in total (see Supporting Information). The edited videos were then periodically published in public viewing platforms that support 360° viewing (YouTube, Facebook, and Veer.TV). Benefits of 360° Videos

Generally, we found that the 360° camera was compact, lightweight, and easily operable. Compared to the use of conventional cameras, one typically does not need to worry if a part of demonstration is out of the scope of view in the camera frame. With the 360° panoramic field of view, we were able to capture laboratory procedures without continually moving the camera around. This wide field of view would be advantageous particularly when filming videos in a laboratory environment that is confined and cluttered, e.g., at a personal fume hood. The advantage of the 360° field of view is evident especially when a complete and unobstructed view of the apparatus used in the fume hood is desired. An example of this is the glovebox, where the gloves might obstruct the view of the apparatus used inside B

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00143 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

Journal of Chemical Education

Technology Report

Figure 4. Schlenk line video demonstrating opening of a nitrogen knob [(a) top image], bubbling of oil bubble from nitrogen [(a) bottom image], Keck clip being removed from the chromatography column [(b) top image], and demonstrator retrieving the Keck clip after it catapulted across the fume hood [(b) bottom image].

Thompson, 360° videos could possibly provide unparalleled novelty and engagement that can help to incite such excitement in students, which can in turn engage them to learn and understand the laboratory experiments better.9

instructional material in a way such that when students explore the video, the impact of losing focus is not as prominent. Another possible solution is to zoom out the video to a fish-eye view, such that video details can be observed more easily.

Drawbacks of 360° Videos

Tips on Recording 360° Videos

One problem we encountered was low video resolution. However, this technical inadequacy could be suppressed by using a higher resolution, albeit costlier, 360° camera, such as GoPro Fusion, Ricoh Theta V., or Samsung Gear 360. Other pertinent problems include simulation sickness induced by the shaky movements produced when viewing and navigating around the 360° videos. Simulation sickness occurs because there is a discrepancy between what is seen (i.e., fast moving images) and the actual motion experienced by the body.12 Simulation sickness can be aggravated when videos are recorded with a moving, rather than static, 360° camera, due to the vigorous movements in viewpoint involved. Fortunately, this discomfort can be reduced by mounting the 360° camera at a fixed position. Difficulty in viewing and navigation can be caused by the way the viewing device is held. For instance, the YouTube mobile app makes viewing of 360° videos such that slight tilting would change the orientation of the video. This problem would be resolved by holding the mobile device with both hands or placing the device on a flat surface during viewing. Another potential problem is the loss of focus in 360° videos: difficulty in finding the right angle of the video at the right time. Improving on this loss of focus is admittedly challenging and requires further work. Kavanagh et al. reported a remedy by creating a time delay to provide buffer time for the viewer to reorientate themselves at pivotal time points in the video, e.g., when a demonstrator is conducting a critical step in an experimental procedure.6 In our trials, we added annotations to indicate the point of focus to mitigate this loss of focus. A possible workaround would be to decrease the pace of the

With reference to the points discussed previously, we have summarized several general suggestions on recording better 360° lab demonstration videos: • First, decide whether a full 360° view is required to demonstrate the technique. Several techniques that may benefit from a 360° field of view include the Schlenk line, glove box, and the Grignard reaction, where setup is often large and elaborate, i.e., requiring many large equipment items that are placed far apart from one another. • If close-up details, e.g., a small apparatus like the Keck clip, are crucial to the demonstration, select a high-resolution camera for recording. A low-resolution camera would be more acceptable otherwise, although the viewer might be dissatisfied with the lower video quality. • Ideally, choose a camera with a good audio recording capability. If the audio recording capability is poor, minimize scripted speech in the recorded video. Alternatively, record a separate audio as a voiceover and mix the voiceover during postproduction. • To avoid simulation sickness, attempt to record static, rather than moving/hand-held videos, by mounting the camera onto a tripod stand and placing them on a stable, flat surface. • Check with the mobile app that is monitoring the recording to preview that the camera is positioned properly (i.e., all salient objects are captured by the camera’s 360° view). C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00143 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

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(5) Habig, J. Is 360 Video Worth It?. https://www.thinkwithgoogle. com/advertising-channels/video/360-video-advertising/ (accessed Jul 2018). (6) Kavanagh, S.; Luxton-Reilly, A.; Wüensche, B.; Plimmer, B. Creating 360° Educational Video. In Proceedings of the 28th Australian Conference on Computer-Human InteractionOzCHI ’16; 2016; pp 34− 39. (7) Geisel, N. 360 Cameras and VR in the Classroom: 2 Interviews. https://medium.com/@SenorG/360-cameras-and-vr-in-theclassroom-2-interviews-c1580c410af4 (accessed Jul 2018). (8) Burns, M. 360 Video Education Spotlight: White House Virtual Field Trip. https://classtechtips.com/2017/01/17/360-videoeducation-spotlight-white-house-virtual-field-trip/ (accessed Jul 2018). (9) King-Thompson, J. The benefits of 360° Videos & Virtual Reality in Education. https://blend.media/blog/benefits-of-360-videosvirtual-reality-in-education (accessed Jul 2018). (10) Bowyer, N. VR, AR AND 360° VideoApplications for Learning. https://leolearning.com/2017/02/vr-ar-and-360-videoapplications-for-learning/ (accessed Jul 2018). (11) Benton, P.; del Rosario, M.; Shen, Y.-L. Using Immersive 360 Degree Images to Enhance Active Involvement and Comprehension in the Learning Process. Proc. Soc. Inf. Technol. Teach. Educ. Int. Conf. 2002, 1508−1509. (12) Kennedy, R. S.; Lane, N. E.; Berbaum, K. S.; Lilienthal, M. G. Simulator Sickness Questionnaire: An Enhanced Method for Quantifying Simulator Sickness. Int. J. Aviat. Psychol. 1993, 3, 203−220.

CONCLUSION 360° videos capture a wide panoramic view that is unparalleled compared to conventional non-360° cameras. In the context of laboratory education, we found that 360° videos are potentially useful in situations where experimental setups are elaborate and otherwise not easy to capture in full by non-360° cameras. In our trials, we identified disorientation and loss of focus as some issues related to the use of 360° videos. In the future, feedback surveys can be administered to evaluate if the suggested measures reduce viewing discomfort. Further studies can be done to ascertain the effectiveness of the proposed remedies used to prevent loss of focus. More effort can be put into research on the extent of benefits provided by 360° videos. For instance, educational benefits brought by 360° videos can be evaluated by comparing laboratory performances of different student groups exposed to 360° videos and non-360° videos of the same topic.

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ASSOCIATED CONTENT

* Supporting Information S

The Supporting Information is available on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00143.

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Description of editing the 360° videos using Camtasia software, 360° camera specifications and prices, and links to 360° videos produced by the authors (PDF)

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author

*E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID

Fun Man Fung: 0000-0003-4106-3174 Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank the NUS Department of Chemistry (#ChemNUS) and the Faculty of Science Dean’s Office for the support in #UROPS and #TEBLE. We acknowledge the support of the joint innovative projects in a higher education grant (2017-03-T/USPC-NUS) from Université Sorbonne Paris Cité and the National University of Singapore (USPC-NUS). We thank the NUS Centre for Instructional Technology. The authors appreciate the assistance from Hafiz Anuar, Sam Koh, Christoph Zimmermann and Max Tan.

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REFERENCES

(1) Smith, W.; Rafeek, R.; Marchan, S.; Paryag, A. The Use of VideoClips as a Teaching Aide. Eur. J. Dent. Educ. 2012, 16, 91−96. (2) Seery, M. K. Flipped Learning in Higher Education Chemistry: Emerging Trends and Potential Directions. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2015, 16, 758−768. (3) Nadelson, L. S.; Scaggs, J.; Sheffield, C.; McDougal, O. M. Integration of Video-Based Demonstrations to Prepare Students for the Organic Chemistry Laboratory. J. Sci. Educ. Technol. 2015, 24, 476− 483. (4) Teo, T. W.; Tan, K. C. D.; Yan, Y. K.; Teo, Y. C.; Yeo, L. W. How Flip Teaching Supports Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Learning. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2014, 15, 550−567. D

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00143 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX