The Metaverse Isn’t Just Another Zoom Class
During the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions had to get creative and find ways to continue to teach despite the quarantine protocols around the world. However, without proper preparation, most fell to what was already there, making it easier to transfer teaching over to virtual packets or Zoom classes. But just because something is already there, doesn’t mean that it is the best option available.
Ask any teacher or student from that time and you will get a variety of experiences: difficulties with technology, a hard time changing teaching methods, and even harder times trying to learn completely from a screen. However, if this time taught anything, it is that the education system is long overdue for an overhaul in the way that we integrate technology.
For many, the idea of the Metaverse as an educational tool may seem like Zoom class 2.0. Making an avatar, and being able to move around, how much of a difference could it possibly make? A huge one. Millions of people around the world, students and teachers or instructors alike, would be able to utilise a revolutionary new technology to take education into the present, and the future as well.
Here are just a few of the ways that education can make use of the Metaverse:
Interpersonal Interactions
The pandemic left so many people stranded at home and craving human contact. One of the biggest drawbacks in a video-based platform for this is that it removes the way that we interact with each other in space. An avatar can hug their friend, a teacher can move around a room, using 3D models to demonstrate, a class can mingle and move to new partners for discussions or activities. The addition of just the space and an avatar make the experience much more dynamic and life-like.
New Methods
We’ve already discussed how the Metaverse can help with outdated textbooks and materials, but it isn’t just the material that is outdated. Most teachers are used to the standard classroom environment, and not many vary up their style as new generations of students come in. Now, we have students who crave immersion in order to keep their interest and truly learn something. We are already using technology and simulations for truck drivers and pilot training, so how can we bring that same to the rest of the educational institutions?
There are already so many plans for how the Metaverse can be used to enhance experiences, that it is hard to capture them all in a succinct way. So, here are a few specific examples instead:
- Students studying forensics can walk through a virtual crime scene and practice the skills they need on the job
- Art students can walk through galleries around the world, or choose to create their own exhibits that their peers and teachers can walk through and discuss
- Medical students can walk through the body, following a virus as it interacts with the immune system, pulling out various pieces of the body to inspect closer and learn more
- Science students can do things that, up to now, have only been able to be performed in labs or under very strict guidelines due to danger: what does it look like to truly split an atom?
- Or a History class can walk through the streets of a virtual Pompeii as the volcano disrupts and discover what archeologists have believed and discovered to have happened
Resources and Help
Many schools and districts lack the personnel that are comfortable and trained to use this new technology. However, the Metaverse can provide 24/7 access to experts from around the world who are just waiting to help, and not just by pointing and clicking remotely on your screen. They can help walk instructors through each step, monitoring and adjusting to get the instructor more comfortable using the tools available to them. This, in turn, will create interdistrict resources that can then be training others to use them as well.
Real-Time Feedback
So many students struggled during the pandemic because teachers were relegated to meeting with the whole class, leaving those that needed extra help or guidance to fall between the cracks. While some were able to schedule smaller sessions, the sheer volume of students (a US high school teacher may have 150+ students each year) made it difficult to go through and catch everything via email or personalised instruction. The Metaverse, however, could allow a teacher to walk around a classroom, much like they do in real life, separating students into small groups, monitoring individual questions or progress, and being able to assist right away. This immediate ability to provide feedback is one of the most vital pieces that makes the Metaverse much, much more than just another Zoom class.
Through each of these ways, and more, there are implications for all types of students and all manner of classes. Whether training your staff on the latest software system, hosting a class for a medical billing and coding certificate, or even just an art event where people from around the world can learn from a well-known artist, there are millions of ways that the Metaverse can be right for education.
Read more about the Metaverse and Education:
The Metahunter Academy Provides Education for All
The Solution to Outdated Education: the Metaverse
Virtual Education Recruitment Through the Metaverse
The Metaverse is Prime Opportunity for Education and Universities
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