The metaverse is the new catchphrase in the tech world. It will empower the eLearning sector. With the incorporation of VR and AR technologies into eLearning apps, we can move one step closer to the design of the metaverse.
How Will The Metaverse Reshape The eLearning Industry?
Physical learning has always monopolized the learning environment for students and teachers worldwide. After the pandemic, digital learning sparked and reached the majority of institutions, transforming the traditional learning model to a more technology-driven learning format.
With Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have established their strong base and are ready to transform the physical world into virtual space. When we talk about AR and VR technologies and apps, the update of Facebook to Meta is making a stir in the technology industry. A fundamental question occurs: what is the metaverse?
What Is The Metaverse?
Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement of the metaverse to the world created a desire for every tech person to understand more about the term. The metaverse is a virtual social sphere where users can create their own avatars, personalize them, and perform activities that they do in real life.
Facebook is transforming itself into Meta because they are ready to create a virtual social sphere focusing entirely on digital interactions. Not only Facebook, but also companies like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Epic Games are preparing technologies and apps to promote Virtual Reality. Since the metaverse is not a two-year project, the companies are still to develop stable and mature technologies that apps can use. However, we already have a few technologies assisting the ideas behind the metaverse.
Technologies Empowering The Metaverse
Meta has invested ten billion dollars in wearable VR and AR technologies, revealing their importance to the metaverse.
- Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality is a computer-generated environment where users feel that they are in the real world even though they are interacting in the virtual world. The video gaming industry has one of the more remarkable examples of VR, where players wear VR headsets and glasses to let themselves enter the virtual gaming world. Gamers can hit, run, and feel all the activities depicted in the storyline. - Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality creates images and objects in a natural environment, where the objects interact with the world. Pokémon GO is an excellent example of an Augmented Reality game where pokémons interact with the real world, and so do the players playing the game. 3D holographic technology is also an example of AR, where a 3D layer is created with the process of image recognition and detection. As a result, it can provide a better video experience, live streaming, and assist eLearning platforms with 3D visualization.
Along with the VR and AR technologies and apps, the metaverse combines certain benefits opening new opportunities for the public.
Benefits Of The Metaverse
The metaverse has several benefits for the public because it focuses on bringing Virtual Reality close to actual experience.
1. A World Without Limitations
For people, the digital sphere of the meta world is similar to the world they encounter on a daily basis. In video games, players experience building, driving, shooting, enacting stories, and living game actors‘ lives. Games like GTA 5 provide a real-time simulation for the players, but players cannot feel or touch the environment in the game. With the metaverse, players will feel the 3D virtual world, where they can wander and perform several activities.
2. Solving Remote Work Challenges
In the pandemic, the majority of the people working in the IT sector worked from home, but this lacked real-life interactions for employers and employees. With the metaverse apps, managers can interact with their employees like in the real world, while staying in a virtual world. Similarly, doctors can interact with their patients virtually.
3. New Opportunities For Businesses And Marketers
Meta is developing a better version of social media platforms, which will also open up opportunities for businesses and marketers. Businesses can provide real-time interaction for customers to try different clothes and accessories on their avatars, bringing Virtual Reality closer to real life.
How The Metaverse Can Benefit eLearning
We have seen how the metaverse can benefit businesses and marketers. It is no doubt true that the metaverse will also benefit the eLearning industry.
1. Better eLearning And Play World
A student enjoys learning more with his smartphone than a book in modern times. Metaverse apps can create a virtual space for students where they can walk, write notes, and communicate with other students, transforming the eLearning industry. They can also play games in a virtual world that closely resembles reality. In addition, with the proposed apps, students can also change clothes, hairstyles, and expressions, among the various options available.
2. Better Illustrations By Teachers For Students
Instructors widely use video-calling apps, but they cannot offer a proper illustration of real-life objects through them. With technologies like AR, instructors can show such illustrations effectively to their students. For example, if a teacher wants to demonstrate the parts of a car, they can use holographic apps to reflect a 3D image. Students will have a better understanding of scientific and mathematical experiments.
3. Better Parent And Teacher Interactions
The metaverse can assist parents with their child’s performance in institutions like schools. Parents can attend the students‘ classes and be assured of the quality of education offered in the institution. With Virtual Reality apps, parents can also interact with teachers from remote places and review the quality of the games their children play. Similarly, parents can also arrange regular meetings with teachers and plan better eLearning for their children.
4. Better Learning Resources With 3D Visualizations
Using the metaverse, the resources providing understanding will be better, with 3D visualizations. Books can be VR-supported, and students can dive deep into the books, hear the text, and visualize diagrams in a 3D format. For historical subjects, the VR can show animated videos to the students for better learning. Examinations can be more interactive if combined with the metaverse applications. For example, examination questions can be interactive, and students can be provided with certain case studies which are virtual but will feel close to reality. In this manner, the metaverse can shape learning resources, bringing them close to reality, and making a better eLearning industry.
Conclusion
eLearning apps are taking the mode of learning from offline to online models. With the incorporation of VR and AR technologies into these apps, we can move one step closer to the design of the metaverse. It will take nearly a decade to transform the eLearning industry into a metaverse.
Quelle:
Foto: aurielaki/Shutterstock
https://elearningindustry.com/will-the-metaverse-benefit-the-elearning-industry
