Activity – Use H5P to Create VR

H5P is an open source elearning game-changer. Previously, interactive lessons were only possible with expensive and proprietary software, “freemium” online platforms that come and go like the wind, or advanced HTML and Javascript programming knowledge.

Now, H5P allows anyone to create advanced and instructionally sound interactive online lessons from within the web browser. Lessons can be downloaded, shared, adapted, and deployed on any device.

H5P offers a wide variety of formats: interactive videos, memory games, quizzes, drag-and-drops, timelines and more! See all the examples at H5P.org. These activities can be created directly on H5P.org (just create a free account), though the official line is that H5P.org is “just for testing” content creation (H5P prefers that you pay H5P.com for content hosting, or that you use your own platform to host the software).

H5P content created at H5P.org can be linked from other sites, or embedded within a webpage using iframes. There are also H5P plugins for WordPress, Drupal, and Moodle (in several Learning Management Systems you can use them as graded assignments!).

One of H5P’s formats is the Virtual Tour (360). This format allows creation of simple virtual reality experiences using 360 photos. Resulting Tours cannot be used with virtual reality goggles, but they work wonderfully on a desktop computer or in full-screen when using a tablet.

Demo

Try out an H5P virtual tour. Explore this Roman Theater:

Using H5P to Create Content

H5P.org is intended for trying out H5P content and will not store your work permanently. H5P.com is a paid option for your work, or since H5P is open source, you may also be able to install it on your own server or Learning Management System.

Creating a virtual tour is simple. Follow this H5P Virtual Tour tutorial to get started. You will need 360 photos – you can use these Creative Commons-licensed photos from Flickr. Just be sure to use the work according to the license terms and provide appropriate attribution. (How do I attribute?)

We’ll talk more about finding and creating 360 media later.