Designing and implementing 360 videos in higher education. A case study in the area of food science and technology

Among the latest generation of digital technologies, immersive environments, including 360 videos, are generating increasing interest in education for the positive impact they may have on students both in terms of engagement and knowledge transfer. However, the educational potential of 360 video is still under scrutiny. The Supporting Educators’ Pedagogical Activities with 360 video (SEPA360) is an Erasmus+ project (2019-2022) (www.sepa360.eu), aimed at deepening the opportunities of 360 video in higher education, and investigating how it supports students' learning processes through real-life video scenarios. The partnership also developed Vivista, an educational software to enrich 360 videos, allowing lecturers to embed interaction points such as hotspots, hyperlinks, texts, images or videos, multiple choice questions, area highlights and other interactive media. This paper presents a case study based on the design and development of an interactive 360 video, enriched with Vivista, for the threeyear degree course in Food Science and Technology at the University of Florence. The paper starts with a discussion of the educational challenges characterising the teaching activity in this area. Then, it focuses on the design phase which is essential for succeeding in the preparation of the interactive videocontents, making videos more effective and engaging, and stimulating the student's sense of discovery.