Exploring the Potential of Metaverse for Higher Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56294/mr202340

Keywords:

Metaverse, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Higher Education, Immersive Learning, Personalized Learning

Abstract

Introduction: the Metaverse, a virtual space where users can engage with each other in a variety of experiences, has gained significant attention in recent years. With the advent of advanced technologies like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), the possibilities of the Metaverse have expanded to create new opportunities for learning and education.

Objective: this research article aims to explore the potential of the Metaverse for higher education, including its opportunities, challenges, and implications.

Methods: the article provides a comprehensive overview of the Metaverse, its history, and its key components. It then examines the potential of the Metaverse for higher education by reviewing relevant literature and analyzing the benefits that it can offer. These benefits include increased accessibility, flexibility, and interactivity, as well as the potential for immersive and personalized learning experiences.

Results: the article also identifies the challenges and limitations of the Metaverse, such as technical limitations, privacy and security concerns, and the need for digital literacy skills. It further discusses the implications of using the Metaverse for higher education, including its impact on teaching and learning, curriculum design, and student engagement.

Conclusions: finally, the article proposes some recommendations for educators and institutions interested in exploring the use of the Metaverse for higher education. These recommendations include developing a clear understanding of the educational goals, selecting appropriate technologies and platforms, and providing training and support for both educators and students.

References

1. Mystakidis S. Metaverse. Encyclopedia, 2 (1), 486–497 2022.

2. Kye B, Han N, Kim E, Park Y, Jo S. Educational applications of metaverse: possibilities and limitations. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions 2021;18.

3. Huggett J. Virtually real or really virtual: Towards a heritage metaverse. Studies in Digital Heritage 2020;4:1–15.

4. Sun J, Gan W, Chao H-C, Yu PS. Metaverse: Survey, applications, security, and opportunities. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:221007990 2022.

5. Lin H, Wan S, Gan W, Chen J, Chao H-C. Metaverse in education: Vision, opportunities, and challenges. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:221114951 2022.

6. Haque MdA, Sonal D, Haque S, Rahman M, Kumar K. Learning management system empowered by machine learning, 2022, p. 020085. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0074278.

7. Haque MA, Haque S, Zeba S, Kumar K, Ahmad S, Rahman M, et al. Sustainable and efficient E-learning internet of things system through blockchain technology. E-Learning and Digital Media 2023;0(0):1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530231156711.

8. Sun J, Gan W, Chen Z, Li J, Yu PS. Big data meets metaverse: A survey. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:221016282 2022.

9. Chen Z, Wu J, Gan W, Qi Z. Metaverse security and privacy: An overview. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:221114948 2022.

10. Ball M. The Metaverse: What It Is, Where to Find It, Who Will Build It, and Fortnite. MatthewBall. vc, September 15 2021.

11. Hutson J, Olsen T. Exploring the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Role-Playing in Debating Repatriation of Artworks in Active Learning Art History Classes 2023.

12. Wang X, Wang J, Wu C, Xu S, Ma W. Engineering Brain: Metaverse for future engineering. AI in Civil Engineering 2022;1:2.

13. Bibri SE. The social shaping of the metaverse as an alternative to the imaginaries of data-driven smart Cities: A study in science, technology, and society. Smart Cities 2022;5:832–74.

14. Fernandes F, Werner C. A Systematic Literature Review of the Metaverse for Software Engineering Education: Overview, Challenges and Opportunities. PRESENCE: Washington, WA, USA 2022.

15. Lee L-H, Braud T, Zhou P, Wang L, Xu D, Lin Z, et al. All one needs to know about metaverse: A complete survey on technological singularity, virtual ecosystem, and research agenda. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:211005352 2021.

16. Gadekallu TR, Huynh-The T, Wang W, Yenduri G, Ranaweera P, Pham Q-V, et al. Blockchain for the metaverse: A review. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:220309738 2022.

17. Huang Y, Li YJ, Cai Z. Security and Privacy in Metaverse: A Comprehensive Survey. Big Data Mining and Analytics 2023;6:234–47.

18. Queiroz MM, Fosso Wamba S, Pereira SCF, Chiappetta Jabbour CJ. The metaverse as a breakthrough for operations and supply chain management: Implications and call for action. International Journal of Operations & Production Management 2023.

19. Calderon-Monge E, Ribeiro-Soriano D. The role of digitalization in business and management: a systematic literature review. Review of Managerial Science 2023:1–43.

20. Inceoglu MM, Ciloglugil B. Use of Metaverse in education. Computational Science and Its Applications–ICCSA 2022 Workshops: Malaga, Spain, July 4–7, 2022, Proceedings, Part I, Springer; 2022, p. 171–84.

21. Contreras GS, González AH, Fernández MIS, Martínez CB, Cepa J, Escobar Z. The importance of the application of the metaverse in education. Modern Applied Science 2022;16:1–34.

22. Almarzouqi A, Aburayya A, Salloum SA. Prediction of user’s intention to use metaverse system in medical education: A hybrid SEM-ML learning approach. IEEE Access 2022;10:43421–34.

23. Hwang G-J, Chien S-Y. Definition, roles, and potential research issues of the metaverse in education: An artificial intelligence perspective. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence 2022;3:100082.

24. Tlili A, Huang R, Shehata B, Liu D, Zhao J, Metwally AHS, et al. Is Metaverse in education a blessing or a curse: a combined content and bibliometric analysis. Smart Learning Environments 2022;9:1–31.

25. Ning H, Wang H, Lin Y, Wang W, Dhelim S, Farha F, et al. A Survey on Metaverse: the State-of-the-art, Technologies, Applications, and Challenges. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:211109673 2021.

26. Rosenberg L. Regulation of the Metaverse: A Roadmap: The risks and regulatory solutions for largescale consumer platforms. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Virtual and Augmented Reality Simulations, 2022, p. 21–6.

27. Kaddoura S, Chandrasekaran G, Elena Popescu D, Duraisamy JH. A systematic literature review on spam content detection and classification. PeerJ Comput. Sci. 8, e830 (2022) n.d.

28. Lee H, Hwang Y. Technology-enhanced education through VR-making and metaverse-linking to foster teacher readiness and sustainable learning. Sustainability 2022;14:4786.

29. Bibri SE, Allam Z. The Metaverse as a virtual form of data-driven smart urbanism: On post-pandemic governance through the prism of the logic of surveillance capitalism. Smart Cities 2022;5.

30. Johnson J. Metaverse-statistics & facts. Statista, Last Modified 2022;23:2022.

31. Yao X, Ma N, Zhang J, Wang K, Yang E, Faccio M. Enhancing wisdom manufacturing as industrial metaverse for industry and society 5.0. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 2022:1–21.

32. Cheng X, Zhang S, Fu S, Liu W, Guan C, Mou J, et al. Exploring the metaverse in the digital economy: an overview and research framework. Journal of Electronic Business & Digital Economics 2022.

33. Park J. A Design Intervention to Reduce Online Incivility 2022.

34. Goldberg M, Schär F. Metaverse governance: An empirical analysis of voting within Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Journal of Business Research 2023;160:113764.

Downloads

Published

2023-08-12

How to Cite

1.
Prakash A, Haque A, Islam F, Sonal D. Exploring the Potential of Metaverse for Higher Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications. Metaverse Basic and Applied Research [Internet]. 2023 Aug. 12 [cited 2024 Dec. 1];2:40. Available from: https://mr.ageditor.ar/index.php/mr/article/view/34