METAVERSE - THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION ?
BY : SREEJIT CHAKRABARTY comprehensive student experience from lessons to clubs and campus life , all virtually . The Kenya-KAIST campus aims to use the latest technologies to create a metaverse digital campus experience , where university students can study , socialize and attend virtual events , all from the comfort of their own homes .
The present landscape of education is rapidly changing , and we ’ ve seen firsthand how technology can change the learning experience with the growth of virtual schooling due to the pandemic . It ’ s evident the future of education will be highly digitalized , and the metaverse will have a crucial role to play in this .
Today , I will attempt to explore how the metaverse will change traditional education forever . We ’ ll take a deep dive into a student ' s journey and how digital schooling will likely be implemented in the future .
What is the Metaverse ?
The metaverse is the next evolution of the internet ( Web3 or Web 3.0 ). The whole premise of the metaverse is to create a digital world where people use extended reality to interact , socialize , work and learn within this world . Companies like Meta and Microsoft aim to ensure this world is always accessible - teachers around the world will be able to collaborate globally in real-time . The metaverse will allow us to create and deliver immersive , inclusive pedagogical solutions that vastly improve students ’ learning experience .
Benefits of using the metaverse for education :
The metaverse is predicted to change the future of education , as it allows for every experience to be a learning opportunity . Teachers will be able to fully engage students in immersive interactive learning experiences , allowing the students to see for themselves how concepts work , events unfolded , and more than just relying on a traditional form of information consumption and creation .
This is already happening in the UK , where Bradfield College created completely virtual reality classrooms for their History , Science , and Geography students . These fullyimmersive , interactive experiences allowed students to learn like never before , and students ' engagement and grades skyrocketed .
In South Korea , a study found that over 96 % of Seoul citizens believed that the existing student learning gap was significantly widened by the pandemic and the pedagogical shortfalls of rapidly adjusting to online learning . This study also found that students struggled to connect with passive learning experiences that Zoom classes presented and found it challenging to communicate with this indirect learning style .
Virtual reality , augmented reality , 5G , and the metaverse offers the tools necessary to create diverse , direct , interactive learning experiences , even in distance learning settings . South Korea aims to build its first virtual university campus by September 2023 . The campus will provide a
Here in Dubai , at the GEMS Dubai American Academy ’ s Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence , we have taken it a step further . We are working on a complete Digital Twin of our High-Tech Lab , the world ’ s first Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence , with Students consuming Information within the metaverse and using tools like Co-spaces , Varwin , Unity , Unreal Engine , and even social VR platforms like Mozilla Hubs , to create their own Virtual 3D experiences .
GEMS DAA students will access the numerous Hardware and Software technologies housed in the lab , including Social Robots , Robotic Arms , Humanoids , and Self Driving Autonomous cars , from the comfort of their home , thanks to advanced Simulation and real-time sensor Data relay over the Metaverse powered by 5G to drastically reduce any bandwidth or latency issues . Harnessing the power of Extended Reality Headsets , such as ; the HoloLens from Microsoft , the Facebook Oculus , and HTC Vive , pairing them with their tablets and laptops , gives unlimited opportunities to dive deep and immerse in their learning journeys . Being extremely powerful , these are skillsets that would highly be in demand in a few years .
The metaverse will allow teachers to present real-world concepts through augmented reality interactions that can be tailored to all learning types . This results in a holistic learning experience that will enable students to understand the content that can ’ t be achieved with traditional learning methods .
Even down to exams and assessments ,
30 Term 3 Apr - Jun 2022
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