On 23-26 Nov, I will be in Berlin attending „Online Educa Berlin (OEB)“ -the annual global, cross-sector conference and exhibition on digital learning and training. Since 1995, the event has brought global education leaders to the forefront of developments in all kinds of learning technology.
The highlight of the conference is the -OEB Annual Debate. It is a highly spirited, provocative, yet good humoured parliamentary-style Plenary session on a relevant and topical theme, which allows for a lively exchange of views as it brings two opposing sides to the stage. This year’s motion is „This House Believes Education Should Move to the Metaverse“.
Will the metaverse enable more education for more people: an opportunity for greater democratisation in education, a fairer society, greater empowerment of peoples in hard-to-reach communities and societies, greater social mobilisation and more? Or will the metaverse cause more problems than it solves: perhaps leading to a more divided society for those who are ‚connected‘ and those who are not; will it lead to greater social problems adding fuel to the technological challenges that society is already grappling with?
Astrid Jaeger, OEB Event Director: “The metaverse has been described as the next evolution of the internet or Web 3.0. It offers an ‘extended reality,’ in which people can socialise, work and learn. Mark Zuckerberg, its most prominent champion, believes ‘the metaverse is the next chapter for the internet’. Do edtech professionals buy into this or do they see things differently?”
“Is it the future for education – a brave, new, digital world where every experience is an immersive learning opportunity and students’ grades are higher than ever before? Or is it a dangerous distraction from the essential discipline and structure of traditional education?”
At OEB 2022 the conference will debate the essential issues facing the future of education in the metaverse – its pros and its cons. At an important juncture in education, as the world recovers from pandemic and faces significant social and technological challenges, OEB will provide edtech professionals with the opportunity to help to shape the next phase of education and workplace learning.
The OEB Annual Debate: „This House Believes Education Should Move to the Metaverse“ will take place on Thursday Nov 24, 17:45-19:00.
Well, this time as CEO of The Metaverse Institute, I would be joining Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández, Co-Chair Education Committee of VRARA Association(Spain) to speak against the motion with Andy Fidel ✨, Spatial Network Evangelist & Immersive Experience Designer, Spatial Network(France) and Rene Schulte, Director of Global Innovation, Research & Incubation, Valorem Reply(Germany). The session would be chaired by Harold Elletson, Editor of The Elearning Africa Report.
As someone who has been a long-term champion for using metaverse for social good, it feels like a „Mission Impossible“ to argue against something I am really passionate about.
My master dissertation in 2006 was to use The Metaverse to Develop Interantional Strategies for Universities Worldwide. I could not be more familiar with the various applications of using metaverse to support learning and teaching. It is great to have the opportunity to see things from the other side and have a more balanced approach to any kind of new technology moving forward.
I think it would fun! If you are in Berlin and is interested in attending the conference. The full conference agenda for OEB 2022 is online along with OEB Conference ticketing and more information about the exhibition, which runs alongside the conference. This year over 2,000 L&D professionals, education experts, policy makers, educators, leaning technologists from across the world will be joining for topics including:
1. The power of content and curriculum development and (data-driven) instructional design
2. Interactive multimedia as powerful tools
3. Interaction in synchronous and asynchronous virtual classrooms
4. Virtual worlds teaching and training
5. AI and personalised, adaptive delivery
6. Credentials, certifications, badges and verification
7. Skills-based talent management
8. Technology integration
9. Managing and learning in complexity
Have you got any interesting case studies or points on how metaverse and web3 related technology can be used to support learning and teaching? Please do feel free to share your views in the comments. Thanks!
Quelle:
