Remember all the hype around the metaverse in education?
Just two years ago it seemed that a 3D virtual kingdom for education was imminent: facebook had changed its name to Meta, to signal its giant bet in the virtual reality space, and had launched television ads showing classes taking place in new immersive worlds; several college campuses began building replicas of their physical campuses in virtual reality spaces, partly with money from Meta; and Think tanks were publishing reports on how to best leverage virtual reality spaces for education.. (EdSurge receives philanthropic support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is co-owned by Meta's CEO. Learn more about EdSurge's ethics and policies here and its supporters here.)
That rumor has all but faded away, especially when it comes to the idea of creating shared virtual spaces like those envisioned by the science fiction author who coined the term metaverse.
So what happened to the early education experiments in the metaverse and what do space watchers think will be next?
To find out, we consulted two experts for this week's EdSurge podcast: the same people we had as guests two years ago at the height of the metaverse craze. Those guests are Greg Heiberger, associate dean for academic and student success at South Dakota State University, and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, professor of psychology at Temple University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
“I'm actually fine with a lot of the rumors going elsewhere because I think it helps us focus not on the shiny object… but on what we really care about,” says Heiberger, whose university was one of those financed by Meta to make a campus in virtual reality.
But he admits there are downsides too.
“What's heartbreaking is that there was money, there was money flowing from Meta into education directly… and that spigot has been turned off quite a bit, and I think that's difficult,” he says.
Hirsh-Pasek points out that there have been important advances in virtual reality even if they are not receiving as much attention. For example, she praised the recent launch of the Apple Vision Pro product, which she says solves a major technology challenge by allowing users to choose to see a view of the outside world even while wearing the headphones. While testing the device, she said she felt really immersed in a demonstration that allowed users to appear to walk among dinosaurs. “But you'd basically be watching an Imax movie,” she said of the device's strengths. “And in terms of education, we need more. We need interactivity. And it must be social.” Her conclusion for now is that the device “is designed for entertainment,” but her “dream” is that more social aspects can be added later.
Both experts still see important applications for virtual reality in education and for a concept like the metaverse to eventually emerge and provide more experiential learning for students. And they are asking technology companies to seek input from educators and education researchers as they continue to develop the hardware that will make those virtual worlds possible.
Hear their experiences and predictions in this week's episode. Listen Apple Podcasts, Cloudy, Spotify, Seamstress or wherever you listen to podcasts, or use the player on this page.
