A project exploring the use of 360-degree video for teacher professional development and TPD at scale in the Global South working with international partners and including pilots and field studies, conceptual development, and co-construction of practical guidance and advice.
Overview
The aim of this project is to provide international leadership in the use of 360-degree video for teacher professional development and teacher training with a focus on use at scale and in low- and medium-income countries. 360-degree video offers a range of useful and unique affordances yet there is a paucity of research, theorisation and guidance about its use for professional development in the Global South and in particular for in-service teacher education. Our project is responding to this need with an ongoing programme of pilots and field studies, conceptual development of the concept of TPD at scale, and the sharing of case studies, advise and guidance co-constructed with teachers, teacher educators and other stakeholders.
We seek to build a network of stakeholders interested in the use of 360-degree video and welcome contact from educators interested in learning more or experimenting in their context. We are presently working with the National Institute of Advanced Studies to engage teachers, teacher educators and NGOs working in schools and district teacher training colleges around Bangalore, India. We are also exploring potentials for use in online and distance teaching in South Africa.
One key deliverable of the project will be a guide to using 360-degree video for TPD that we plan to launch with an event around December 2025. We have also now begun a cycle of conference workshops and would be open to invitations to run online workshops and talk further with interested potential future partners.
This project is situated within a broader programme with a vision for improving the quality of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) through harnessing emerging technologies at scale and of scale in low and medium resource contexts. This projects' contribution to this builds on prior academic research output (e.g. Cross, Wolfenden & Adinolfi, 2022a; Cross, Wolfenden & Adinolfi, 2022b) and seeks to understand more about the science of educational scaling and the role of ‘scale-capable’ emerging technologies for TPD. The process, practice and negotiation of scaling is central to harnessing the affordances of many emerging technologies associated with improved teacher agency, equitable and inclusive education, reflective classroom practice and increased professional development opportunities and supporting TPD as a social activity embedded in and connected across geographical spaces and operational hierarchies.
The role of IET
This project is supported by The Open University's Open Societal Challenges programme. IET is the lead unit working collaboratively with colleagues is WELS. This involves the management and co-ordination of the project, production of original high-quality research outputs and impactful advise and practitioner guidance. 360-degree video is an emerging educational technology and this links well to key area of expertise including open and distance teaching, professional development, immersive virtual reality and learning design.
Research programmes
Funders
- The Open University