Digital Humanities & Digital Scholarship: Immersive Experiences

Immersive experiences allow people to engage and interact with a different world, environment, or reality. This can combine the physical word and a computer-simulated world or pull pieces of digital environments into the real world. These experiences can be used for research, learning, creative, recreation, and consumer purposes. They can also be applied to other digital methods such as virtual exhibits and spatial analysis.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-simulated 3D experience – representing imaginary or real environments -- in which a person is immersed by using specific VR equipment. The level of sensory and physical interaction depends on the type of VR equipment and the design of the VR experience.

This is an excellent tool for visiting immersive experiences such as: virtual exhibits, historical scenes, landmarks, lost worlds, and scientific explorations. VR can also be impactful for understanding different perspectives, including themes of social justice.

CSUF Resources

• Pollak Library's Virtual Reality guide
• Pollak Library's Makerspace (VR equipment)
• CSUF I.T's Innovation Center (VR equipment)
• Consultations and course instruction available from the Digital Scholarship Librarian and Arts & Makerspace Librarian

virtual reality headset by Uzma Sagheer from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)

Augmented Reality (AR) is another type of computer-simulated experience that overlays digital objects – such as images, animation, text, and audio – onto the real world by using special equipment. Smartphone and tablet AR apps are the most common equipment, but there are special AR glasses and headsets too. Common examples of AR include the games Pokémon Go and Angry Birds, as well as SnapChat lenses and Instagram filters.

This is an excellent tool for creating virtual tours and educational content by by museums, archives, parks, and other cultural heritage organizations parks. It is also used by businesses to allow prospective customers to virtually try out new furniture in their home or virtually try on clothing.

CSUF Resources

• Pollak Library's Virtual Reality guide (Related Experiences section)
• CSUF I.T's Innovation Center (Mixed Reality requipment)
• Consultations, curriculum development, and classroom instruction available from the Digital Scholarship Librarian Colleen Robledo Greene.

Augmented Reality by Aether Io from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)

360 video is a type of video created by filming every single angle of a location at the same time. While watching 360 videos, you can pan around, moving right to left or top to bottom. This can be done on some computer web browsers, using a smart phone app, or with a VR headset.

The terms 360 video and augmented reality (AR) are often used interchangeably, in part because 360 video can be viewed on VR headsets. There are some distinct differences though.

• 360 videos usually capture real locations and life, using special video equipment. VR experiences are simulated environments.
• While 360 videos allow the viewer to interact by panning around the video, there is no further interaction available. VR experiences allow full interactivity with scenes and objects in the experience, such as choosing particular paths, using equipment, touching and moving objects, etc.
• 360 videos follow a guided linear progression established by the film director, like watching a regular scripted movie. VR experiences allow the visitor to make choices about the progression of the story, game, or activity.

360 video can be combined with other software to create more interactive immersive experiences by adding interactive elements like hot spots.

CSUF Resources

• Consultations from the Digital Scholarship Librarian Colleen Robledo Greene.

360 Video by Warunk Icon from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)