Continuing to Build-up Students Into Creators

The ultimate goal of our Fall 2025 launch was to keep students out of the "passenger seat" of technology. We did not want them to simply consume content; we wanted them to be active creators of the spatial frontier. To support this, we distributed 20 iPhone 16 Pros and several Insta360 cameras, effectively transforming our downtown community and local parks into a living lab for content creation and skill building.

Jim Harmon led the initial instructional phase, teaching students about the nuances of lighting and manual controls on the iPhones. Following this, students headed out to capture their own footage. In local parks, they experimented with spatial video by following birds, filming squirrels, and even taking cameras down slides to test motion and stability. Our students explored the historic area around the school, specifically "Art Alley", a downtown alley known for its vibrant murals and unique lighting, to capture spatial photography.

We utilized three distinct methods for capturing content during this phase:

• iPhone 16 Pros: These were the most accessible tools for capturing spatial video on the go.
• Vision Pros: Students used the headsets' built-in cameras to capture high-fidelity spatial video, which provided a remarkably realistic "being there" sensation when played back.
• Insta360 Cameras: These were used to capture fully immersive 360-degree video. Unlike standard spatial video, these cameras captured the entire environment—sky, ground, and everything in between—allowing a viewer in the headset to look completely around themselves.

The highlight of the process was the moment students returned to the classroom to view their work. By airdropping their captures into the Vision Pros, they were able to see their own photography and videography rendered in 3D for the first time. Witnessing a bird in the park or a mural from the alley come to life with spatial depth confirmed that our students had successfully moved into the role of creators. This shift allowed them to not only learn technical skills like lighting and stabilization but also to engage in deep problem-solving as they navigated the challenges of a brand-new medium.

 #visionproadventures