The term ‘metaverse’ has been a really hyped word that was initially coined by Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, formerly known as Facebook, who put his main focus on developing a more digitized future. Currently, this word is widely in use in everyday life and has found its own relevance in all sectors, namely travel, entertainment, business, IT companies, and even interpersonal relationships. Amongst all this, the education sector is not debarred, and it also has found its point of linkage with the metaverse that helps in providing a positive impact on the pedagogical and cognitive practices and also serves to give a better learning experience.
The term ‘meta’ means beyond and ‘verse’ indicates the universe. This new-age concept helps in creating a computer-built reality system that is in parlance with the real world wherein people are allowed to interact with the digital environment and objects present therein. This reduces the gap between the virtual and the real world as it all gets overlapped with the help of technology. Users are free to have their own identities that are customizable and could be transferable across other platforms as it is a completely centralized system. People are still not entirely aware or well versed in its working, but the scope that it provides is immense. This is the pivotal reason that it has found such perfect relevance in the education industry, as it creates an environment that is conducive to both teaching and learning.
Due to the pandemic, students have not been able to attend classes physically and are forced to learn through online classes. However, it has been accepted by various educators that platforms such as Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet are not quite favorable for students as they lack the factor of collaboration and competitiveness. This is where the concept of the Metaverse fits in perfectly. The students are allowed to indulge in a more immersive learning system that would help them interact and also empower the students with the required learning content. When compared to online classes, introducing Metaverse into the teaching and learning process would sincerely serve as the best alternative to physical classes.
Students are required to not only attend classes but also perform experiments and research, and even take part in group projects. The duty of ensuring that all these tasks are duly performed by the students for their knowledge is upon the teachers and the educators. In such situations, they are able to take care of it better, as all these activities are being performed in real-time and the students can interact with the teachers and vice versa if the need arises. This paves the way for greater creativity and innovativeness in the students as they are required to arrive at the solutions based on their own deductions in a virtual space.
The shackles of contemporary teaching and learning systems could be shattered by the introduction of Metaverse in all educational spaces. The experiences that it provides to the children are quite extensive and beyond imagination, which helps the student have the information engraved in their minds. For example, students in a science class are learning about the solar system and the universe. Using the technology of Metaverse, the students can travel through time and space on a virtual spaceship and reach the outer realm of the Earth to learn about astronomy. The same applies to history classes as well. The students can travel back in time, experience archaeological remains and major historical sites with their own eyes, and also see the greatest historical events happen right in front of them. Also considering a laboratory class, the students would not be bound to use the tools that are physically present and available but they could have access to any and every laboratory tool and product that is required for their experiment. Metaverse can also replicate and duplicate objects for better learning within the digital space. Working on complex engineering tasks has also been made easier through powered simulation, which runs in a safe digital environment. This not only helps in shaping the minds of the students at any level but also provides them with a holistic and wholesome learning experience that will be fun, enjoyable, and insightful as well.
For educators also, the usage of Metaverse has been beneficial as they can readily deliver periodically longer or even shorter lectures to a large group of students which otherwise would not have been possible in real or physical classrooms. The lecturers could be transformed into animated teachers as well and this helps the teacher not only save their own time but also devote that same amount of time to offer a student personalized guidance in cases when it is required. Therefore, it does not become a routine task for teachers and they can actually enjoy the task that they are doing.
The prominent reason that Metaverse is changing the gameplay when it comes to education is that firstly, it is bridging the gap between the experiences of physical and online classrooms. Metaverse is removing the redundancy that online education has currently brought in and is being unprejudiced while allowing realistic objects and depictions into the scenario. Secondly, it is elevating the level of communication and negating the idea of isolation and loneliness that online classes may serve. Metaverse is allowing the students to participate, collaborate, and socialize, which would not only foster their learning experience but would also improve their cognitive development as well. Physical distances between the teacher and the student should not be the reason for their stunted growth as the new technology now is aiming to allow the participants to interact freely in the virtual world. Thirdly, it crucially supports the concept of immersive learning. The technology of the Metaverse is supported by two main spheres of the invention that is Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). These technologies can be used to their maximum capacity only when enjoyed with headsets, glasses, and other gears that provide for a wholesome journey. This nature of learning is known as immersive learning as it not only focuses on expediting knowledge but also converts it into reality and increases engagement. Finally, it provides the benefit of gamified learning. Gamification makes learning fun, and effortless and just like the real game, it provides for real-time feedback, thus improving the scope of problem-solving. The learning environment resembles a real-life situation and this makes the overall learning experience come to life.
The mode of education has been evolving. Libraries have always been a constant source of gaining knowledge through physical copies of books. With the advent of computers, learning has shifted to PowerPoint presentations, pdfs, and various other sources. However, this new age concept of Metaverse is set to change the lives of not only educators and students but the whole world as the way education was perceived would be completely changed for the good. Forms of learning would not be classic anymore as it would be a more vivacious and engaging experience for everyone involved in the process. It would be immensely exciting to see the kinds of advancements that technology can bring to us in the future.
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