The Metaverse in Education: The Future of Immersive Teaching & Learning

Abstract

Abstract

       The metaverse connects social media to virtual reality and augmented technologies. Their collaboration unleashes creativity and promises transformation ranging from industrial sector to distance/online education. New style of meta-education and metaverse-powered online distance education have emerged to provide formal and informal blended learning experiences in a virtual 3D online campus. Online learning in the metaverse is to break the last frontier of social connection and informal learning. Physical presence in the classroom will be a privileged educational experience. Telepresence of gestures and feelings, avatar body language and the precision of facial expressions will help make participation equally effective. In addition, social mixed reality in the metaverse enables blended active pedagogies that fosters profound and lasting knowledge. More importantly, it can become a democratizing factor in education, enabling world-wide participation around the world without geographic constraints. This academic paper presents six aspects of the metaverse applied to education: (1) the meaning and definition of the metaverse, (2) technologies empowering the metaverse, (3) concepts of the metaverse for education, (4) concepts of the metaverse for education, (5) potentials of the metaverse in education, and (6) its future in education. These aspects of the metaverse and its applications are essential for educators to deliver forefront teaching and learning.

 Keywords:   Metaverse, digital technology, education, immersive teaching and learning