We have been talking about the metaverse for years now, that is to say a connected virtual reality in which all kinds of interactions will be possible. But the announcements of several large companies, such as Meta (Facebook), gave it a real spotlight among the general public.
Concretely, in the metaverse, anyone, using technological devices such as virtual helmets or a simple telephone, can be represented by an avatar and interact with other people, but also with elements present in the connected environment. As AFP explains, in the metaverse, it will be possible to: « dance in a nightclub with friends in the form of an avatar, climb the summit of Everest through a virtual reality helmet, or yet to have a meeting between colleagues in an identically digitally reconstructed office… » With this universe, the boundaries between virtual and reality will be thinner than ever, which raises fears of abuse.
Despite everything, many companies intend to exploit these new possibilities. Land is already for sale in the metaverse, concerts have already been staged as well as… university campuses. Around the world, several platforms are being created to allow the world of education to take advantage of the metaverse. This Tuesday, in France, the company Kwark Education presented its first virtual campus which will be able to accommodate students from September 2022. Still in the experimental phase, this project has already conquered French grandes écoles, such as ESC Pau, indicates Le Figaro.
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What advantages?
On the same principle as the courses in distanciel, the courses in the metaverse would allow the students to interact between them and to follow conferences given in any university of the world. And this, 24 hours a day. The advantage of the metaverse compared to traditional virtual courses is, according to Kwark Education, to have a more immersive side. « The architecture proposed in our campus on the metaverse makes it possible to arouse a positive emotion and to create a state of well-being, serenity, or to boost creativity depending on the environments and the colors chosen », explains CEO Alban Miconnet at the Figaro.
With the metaverse, experience could be at the heart of learning. One could indeed imagine that students are experimenting with concrete things on the ground, reproduced identically in the metaverse. Concretely, instead of taking the plane to go to the laboratory of a foreign country, they could have direct access to it in the metaverse. This « new world » would make more accessible quality educational devices present throughout the world. It should be noted that augmented reality is already used by many universities, in certain courses, to offer an immersive experience to students.
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What disadvantages?
If the experts are delighted with the possibilities offered by the metaverse, they also fear abuses. Nir Eisikovits, professor of philosophy and director at the Applied Ethics Center at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, points out 5 challenges to overcome, in an article published by The Conversation.
1. Guarantee academic freedom. Will private platforms allow all discussions, including on topics that could harm them?
2. Allow focus. « How can designers ensure that the metaverse will not make already serious challenges to concentration in the classroom worse? » asks the professor; « There are times when, as incredible as an instructor can be, the technological devices and what they offer are just too tempting for the students, even during lessons. » The metaverse is likely to reinforce this when we know that a young person can go shopping in the metaverse and this, while he is already supposed to follow the courses.
3. What about non-verbal communication? With avatars, what is conveyed through facial expressions or body language may get lost. « This is important because much of the learning in college courses, especially in the discussion-heavy courses typical of humanities courses, depends on lively and spontaneous communication. This spontaneous communication often involves the ability to convey and to receive non-verbal cues. »
4. Create a real community. The experience of the superior is not limited to courses. There is also everything that happens next. « How to create a real community between students and teachers or between the students themselves without a real physical presence? »
5. Make courses accessible. If the metaverse will make access to courses more accessible for some people, this will not be the case for everyone. “Will these technologies provide a compelling educational experience at a lower cost, or will they simply usher in a new digital divide – a two-tier system made up of elites who can pay for physical schooling and those who must settle for the quid pro quo Or, to complicate matters, what if so-called « metaversities » became part of a three-tier system, with traditional schools for the wealthy, metaverse virtual reality education for the middle classes, and two-dimensional distance learning – like the one being used now – for those who can’t afford to buy anything else? »
And these challenges only concern the educational aspect of the metaverse, so we are not talking here about data security problems or the consequences on the mental health of individuals who would be immersed in it in too high a dose. Despite everything, the educational world has reason to be interested in these new possibilities. The proof, the Metaverse College, the first school in the world dedicated to metaverse professions, will soon open in Paris.
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