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Even though it\u2019s\u00a0unclear what exactly the metaverse is<\/a>\u00a0and whether\u00a0it even exists<\/a>, colleges and universities have jumped onto the metaverse bandwagon. They have augmented in-person and remote video learning with features such as\u00a0gamified interactive virtual worlds<\/a>,\u00a0virtual reality<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0mixed reality<\/a>.<\/p>\n In one of the largest efforts thus far, 10 U.S. colleges and universities have teamed up with U.S. technology company Meta and Irish virtual reality platform Engage to\u00a0create 3D digital versions of their campuses, known as a metaversity<\/a>. Students will engage in learning wearing immersive virtual reality headsets.<\/p>\n In my recent\u00a0research<\/a>, I have examined\u00a0the metaverse<\/a>\u00a0and how it affects\u00a0organizations<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0societies<\/a>. I see six benefits that the metaverse offers to colleges.<\/p>\n Colleges are\u00a0facing budget constraints<\/a>\u00a0and lack access to resources necessary for learning. The metaverse can help them overcome such constraints.<\/p>\n For example, Nashville, Tennessee-based Fisk University hasn\u2019t purchased cadavers due to high costs and maintenance challenges. The university is\u00a0enhancing its pre-med program with virtual reality cadavers<\/a>, which are a more affordable alternative.<\/p>\n In the virtual reality lab, a human heart can be pulled out from a cadaver\u2019s chest cavity. It creates the sense that students can feel the weight of the heart in their hands and examine it. They can enlarge it. The class sees and touches the ventricle walls. Students can compare different hearts to understand the results of health decisions that humans made when they were alive. They\u00a0engage in discussion and agree on the correct diagnosis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fisk University is using virtual cadavers for its pre-med program. Fisk Univers<\/p><\/div>\n Virtual cadavers don\u2019t degrade and are easy to maintain. Additional features, such as\u00a0surgical procedures and comparative learning between humans and animals<\/a>, can be added over time.<\/p>\n Virtual training provides an effective means of visually demonstrating concepts with step-by-step instructions to illustrate tasks. They provide opportunities for learning by doing. Immersion in games can\u00a0increase engagement in learning activities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Atlanta\u2019s Morehouse College has piloted a metaversity that involves courses in world history, biology and chemistry. The college found that virtual reality classes\u00a0increased student satisfaction, engagement and achievement<\/a>\u00a0compared to traditional and online formats and increased students\u2019 academic performance. For instance, the virtual reality world history class\u00a0had a 10% increase in students\u2019 GPAs<\/a>\u00a0compared with the same class taught via Zoom and face-to-face the year before.<\/p>\n The internet performs well for sending emails, spreadsheets and PDFs from one device to another to be reviewed or modified independently and asynchronously. It wasn\u2019t\u00a0built for person-to-person type live and interactive experiences<\/a>, especially with many participants. Likewise, virtual spaces such as Zoom mostly allow a single conversation. In physical events, participants can move fluidly from one conversation to another.<\/p>\n Some universities are\u00a0using metaverse technologies to overcome limitations of the internet and video meeting tools<\/a>. Metaverse-related technologies bridge the gap between real-life and virtual interactions by allowing people to interact more naturally.<\/p>\n Professors and students at the\u00a0University of Chicago<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0University of Pennsylvania<\/a>\u00a0use virtual meeting space Gather, which mimics features of real-life interactions. Users create avatars and navigate a virtual map that represents the physical environment, such as a building. The proximity chat feature make users feel that they are running into other students and professors in the hall. Users see and hear video and audio feeds of participants close to them. When they move away, the sounds cannot be heard and the video disappears. Unlike on Zoom, users aren\u2019t forced to be in a single conversation. They can\u00a0move fluidly between conversations as speakers or listeners<\/a>.<\/p>\n New technology makes it possible to socialize in the metaverse in ways that resemble interactions in the real world. XH4D via Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n The University of Pennsylvania\u2019s computer and information science department used Gather to recreate Levine Hall, which is home to the department. The virtual building\u2019s layout\u00a0mimics classrooms, laboratories, elevators, stairwells and other features of Levine Hall<\/a>. The student-run hub of technological innovation, Weiss Tech House, has also been\u00a0recreated virtually<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Gather space accommodates 200 students and supports multiple conversations simultaneously. There are six virtual spaces that correspond the building\u2019s six floors. Small groups can\u00a0branch off into subgroups to work on tasks or engage in conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n In some situations, learning in real-world environments, such as those involving chemical experiments and flying airplanes, is risky. In such cases, special equipment, such as virtual reality headsets, software and special gloves for haptic responses,\u00a0can create immersive simulations of real environments<\/a>. Learners feel\u00a0as though the digital world is real<\/a>.<\/p>\n These technologies can create scenarios that are impossible or impractical to create in the real world.<\/p>\n In Fisk University\u2019s planned in-person history courses, students visit\u00a0historically significant locations<\/a>\u00a0wearing virtual reality headsets. They include the Montgomery Bus Boycott; the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama; the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee; and the National Mall in Washington.<\/p>\n In chemistry classes, virtual reality allows\u00a0visualization of how atoms are arranged in a protein<\/a>. This insight helps pharmaceutical drug research.<\/p>\n Big gaps exist in higher education between rural and urban areas.<\/p>\n In 2015,\u00a018% of men and 20% of women 25 and older<\/a>\u00a0living in rural areas of the U.S. had earned at least a bachelor\u2019s degree compared with 32% and 33%, respectively, in urban areas.<\/p>\n Metaverse technologies can close this gap by making educational resources accessible to remote students. South Dakota State University\u00a0expects that its metaversity<\/a>\u00a0will help reach the state\u2019s rural students.<\/p>\n Children and young adults are the dominant populations in well-known metaverses, which are in the gaming sector.<\/p>\n About half of Roblox players\u00a0are under 13<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a066% are under 16<\/a>. Likewise, two-thirds of Fortnite\u2019s players in 2021\u00a0were young adults<\/a>. Compared with older generations, this demographic is\u00a0more experience-driven<\/a>\u00a0and sees\u00a0interesting and exciting learning opportunities in the metaverse<\/a>.<\/p>\n Universities are using the metaverse to attract them. Southwestern Oregon Community College\u2019s leaders think that\u00a0its metaversity will increase enrollment<\/a>. This is because higher proportions of younger generations, such as Generation Z, grew up with\u00a0virtual reality technologies<\/a>.<\/p>\n Younger generations show a higher level of interest and involvement in the metaverse. In a\u00a0survey conducted in the U.S. in March 2022<\/a>, 64% of Gen Z respondents were interested in having a digital avatar and 56% were interested in attending a music event in the metaverse. The proportions were 28% and 25% for baby boomers.<\/p>\n Unique experience provided by metaverse technologies, such as virtual reality,\u00a0is thus appealing<\/a>\u00a0to younger generations and can become a key tool to attract them to universities.<\/p>\n1. Makes educational resources affordable<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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2. Enhances student performanc<\/strong>e<\/h4>\n
3. Makes virtual interactions more like real ones<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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4. Enables experimentation with hard-to-create phenomena<\/h4>\n
5. Increases accessibility for remote students<\/strong><\/h4>\n
6. Attracts a young demographic<\/strong><\/h4>\n