THE METAVERSE : FUTURE OF EDUCATION

The concept of the Metaverse has been around for decades but with recent advancements in technology it is gaining more popularity that have made it more feasible and closer to reality than ever before. With the rise of AI, virtual and augmented reality, blockchain technology, and other emerging technologies, the Metaverse is poised to become a central part of our lives in the future. It has an immense potential to radically change how we work, interact, educate, share information and entertain through stimulating a sense of co-presence. Its ability to bridge the gap between the physical world and the digital world is also one of its key features.?

According to a study by Ipsos and the World Economic Forum conducted in 2022, the sector in which the world’s population expects the Metaverse to have the most significant impact is virtual education and training (66%), rather than any other field.?A?PwC study with VR also concluded that??learners?in VR courses can be trained up to four times faster?and they are?4x more focused than their e-learning peers.?The Metaverse places increased emphasis on these learning objectives, mainly engagement and productivity, to achieve them more efficiently, effectively, and with broader participation in an immersive environment. One would reasonably expect a new trend within the learning industry to provide a comprehensive experience while creating a more inclusive and democratic learning environment that prioritizes the individual learner's needs. This change should also employ the most effective learning methods, combining visual, auditory, and textual resources. It is noteworthy that the Metaverse has immense potential to transform, empower, and revolutionize the learning industry in different ways like:

• Bring teachers and students together remotely in shared spaces, enhance vocational training, and create new opportunities for lifelong learning.
• Online classes and events conducted on platforms like Zoom and Teams will be replaced by virtual interactive 3D classrooms.?
• Animated digital learning will give way to gamified learning in customized environments, featuring live examples.?
• VR and AR experiences with digital twins will replace conventional smart class experiences.?
• The Metaverse will enhance community gatherings and provide user-driven experiences to all learners, scholars and professors.
• Learning contents and process will be consolidated into one digital space for better iterative learning.

MEXT METAVERSE SOLUTIONS

Mext Metaverse helps to achieve these learning objectives with better engagement and productivity within students and learners by providing the opportunity to experience the immense capabilities of immersive environments.

• Gamified learning in customized environments –?Create engaging customized space for your students to learn by living in live examples such as explore the inside of blood vessels, speak to Galileo, travel through ages to learn an art or visit a popular monument that no longer exists. This will also boost real time skill development like in virtual labs where learners could practice surgeries and treatments as many times as they want.
• Learning-centered features –?Mext also provides an extensive experimental learning scope within the Metaverse. These features that are particularly focused on active-learning capabilities will make students more excited to participate and engage in training modules. This will also help to track, monitor, and assess their improvement, understanding and progress in specific courses.
• Interactivity tools -?The improved accessibility and interactivity tools in Metaverse environments will encourage learners to engage and learn more with this truly immersive toolkit of resources, that is accessible anytime from anywhere, which will no longer be bound by strict timelines or curriculum.?
• Virtual educational events –?Mext also provides this great opportunity to host alluring events, webinars or career fairs in the metaverse in a more engaging and immersive way.
• No more isolation -?Learners no longer feel isolated during online lectures as they would be surrounded by their classmates and friends as avatars in the metaverse. Mext ensures that all users get the opportunity to represent themselves as an avatar in order to get the feeling of being present as if in a physical space.

CONCLUSION

The capability of the educational sector to become more flexible to adapt to advanced future-oriented technologies has always been impressive.?The opportunities offered by?new and innovative technologies like Metaverse?in education are promising and?are expected to organize and operate the classes in a way that has been never imagined before.?The Metaverse environment will significantly contribute to guided and unguided learning processes, educational simulations, social learning environments, and remote learning thanks to its engaging, interesting, and amusing characteristics.?Thus,?a new generation of students with extensive understanding, knowledge and skills in operation, applications and use cases of the current technologies can be groomed.