Education and the metAVerse in 2023 | metAVerse
Joe Way, PhD, CTS
Whenever AV folks discuss the metaverse in education, they automatically picture a bunch of students sitting in a room wearing some form of goggles while waving their hands frantically in the air. That is usually quickly followed up with an “our faculty will never do that.” So, “the metaverse” is quickly discounted and rejected as a mainstream pedagogical option. For one-off’s, sure, but definitely not for mainstream teaching and learning, right?
The metaverse is a concept that refers to a virtual world that is shared by multiple users and is often accessed through the internet or virtual reality technology, but doesn’t necessarily have to be accessed through VR headsets. In fact, there are many great 2D metaverses out there. Technically, Minecraft is the single largest metaverse in existence: no glasses necessary.
It is, of course, difficult to predict with certainty what the future of the metaverse itself will look like in 2023. There are many potential developments that could shape the future of the metaverse, including advances in virtual reality and augmented reality technology, the increasing prevalence of 5G networks, and the growth of blockchain-based gaming, e-commerce, social media, and other community-centric online industries. It is likely that the metaverse will continue to evolve and become more immersive and interactive, with users able to engage in a wide range of activities such as socializing, gaming, education, and work within virtual environments. It is also possible that the metaverse will become more integrated with our everyday lives, with virtual and physical worlds becoming increasingly interconnected. Heck, we already practically live 24/7 on our cell phones: that is our #1 gateway into the virtual/blended world. Ultimately, the future of the metaverse will depend on the technological, social, and economic trends that shape its development. One thing is for certain, the R&D is not slowing down. Even CES in Las Vegas next week has an entire central hall dedicated just to the advancements in the metaverse and blockchain technologies.
In education, the metaverse has the potential to truly revolutionize education by providing new platforms for learners to engage with course content and to interact with other students and teachers. The low-hanging fruit is virtual classrooms where students can attend lectures, participate in discussions, and complete assignments from anywhere in the world. Just think “Zoom on steroids.” We already found the pandemic could break down geographic barriers. Many schools are going all-in on hybrid offerings and online classes, so why not create a virtual environment for students and faculty to meet in? Immersive learning experiences can simulate real-world scenarios that allow students to practice skills in a safe and controlled environment. We already see students learning about history by exploring virtual recreations of historical sites, or practice medical procedures in virtual simulations. The step from an augmented reality situation to a fully virtualized “real-life” space isn’t too far off.
Collaborative and personalized learning probably have the greatest benefits, and ones we need to take into account. The metaverse could facilitate collaborative learning by allowing students to work together on projects and assignments in real-time, regardless of their location. This could be especially useful for students who are participating in online or hybrid learning programs. Personalized learning experiences allow for faculty to adapt to the needs and abilities of individual students. AI-powered tutors could provide personalized feedback and guidance to help students progress at their own pace, while transcription and/or real-time language translation allow diverse cultures to collaborate and learn simultaneously.
What does this mean for us as classroom technologists? Obviously, there are several requirements that need to be met in order for the metaverse to become a reality. High-quality hardware and software to both create and engage in immersive and interactive virtual experiences is the major roadblock, especially for economically-challenged areas. The price is coming down for virtual reality headsets, haptic feedback devices, and other specialized hardware, but it still can be cost-prohibitive en masse. The more mainstream companies like Meta (Facebook), Google, Dell, and Microsoft continue to invest, however, the cost will go down and become further consumerized. Likewise, fast and reliable internet connectivity is a must in order to support the large amounts of data that will be transmitted between users and the virtual environment. This will likely require the widespread adoption of high-speed internet technologies such as 5G and fiber (and mainstream 6G coming earlier than expected?!?!). It would be nice to see this become a priority in the next major infrastructure bill, but we shouldn’t get our hopes up. While institutions can invest to make their campuses fast and reliable, that does not help a student who may be needing to attend and access remotely.
Then there’s the boring stuff we still need to work through. In order for the metaverse to be a shared and interoperable platform, it will be important to establish standards and protocols for how virtual experiences are created and shared. This could include guidelines for content creation, data privacy, and other issues. While the AV industry still likes its ecosystems, most of the IT world has been moving to open source. In order to support these environments on our campuses and in home offices, AV will need to make the transition as well. At some point, there will be no other choice. Adoption of the metaverse in education will require a legal and regulatory framework that addresses issues such as intellectual property, liability, privacy, and student protections. This will be especially important as the metaverse becomes more integrated with the real world and begins to impact people’s lives in new ways. While most people would gladly trade privacy for convenience, cybersecurity practices will see greater importance.
The potential growth of the metaverse in 2023 extends well beyond the needed technology advancements and pedagogical changes. Every day we are becoming more integrated into a hybrid-dependent life. It is just happening so fast and seamlessly with each and every firmware and cell phone upgrade, that it becomes practically unnoticeable. We are already starting to see the metaverse being used to create virtual work environments that allow people to collaborate and communicate with each other from anywhere in the world due to more flexible and distributed work arrangements. The metaverse is already being used by artists and entertainers as a new platform for entertainment experiences, such as virtual concerts, sporting events, and interactive games, both physically in the venues and at home, creating new levels of immersion and interactivity. Last, we will likely see a move to more virtualized social media environments and ways to connect. Facebook didn’t change its name to Meta without cause. That was likely a first step in a larger plan. Again, by year’s end, we’ll likely be living in this new medium, but likely without seeing how we got there… remember, one update at a time… little by little.
In the end, the metaverse in 2023 has the potential to change the way we live and interact with each other, and could provide new opportunities for our students, faculty, and society in general to connect, learn, and create in ways that were previously unimaginable.
