5 Challenges of Doing College in the Metaverse
More colleges are becoming “metaversities,” taking their physical campuses into a virtual online world
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More and more colleges are becoming “,” taking their physical campuses into a virtual online world, often called the “metaverse.” One initiative has working with Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and virtual reality company VictoryXR to create 3D online replicas – sometimes called “” – of their campuses that are updated live as people and items move through the real-world spaces.
Some classes are . And VictoryXR says that by 2023, it plans to , which allow for a group setting with live instructors and real-time class interactions.
One metaversity builder, New Mexico State University, says it wants to offer degrees in which students can take all their classes in virtual reality, .
There are many , such as 3D visual learning, more realistic interactivity and easier access for faraway students. But there are also potential problems. My recent has focused on aspects of the metaverse and risks such as . I see five challenges:
1. Significant costs and time
The metaverse . For instance, building a cadaver laboratory costs and maintenance. A virtual cadaver lab has made scientific .
However, licenses for virtual reality content, construction of digital twin campuses, virtual reality headsets and other investment expenses do .
A metaverse course license can cost universities . VictoryXR also charges a per student to access its metaverse.
Additional costs are incurred for virtual reality headsets. While Meta is providing a for metaversities launched by Meta and VictoryXR, that’s only a few of what may be needed. The low-end 128GB version of the Meta Quest 2 . Managing and maintaining a large number of headsets, , involves additional operational costs and time.
Colleges also need to spend significant time and resources to . Even more time will be required to deliver metaverse courses, many of which will need .
Most educators don’t have the , which can involve merging videos, still images and audio with text and interactivity elements into an .
2. Data privacy, security and safety concerns
Business models of companies developing metaverse technologies . For instance, people who want to use Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headsets must have Facebook accounts.
The headsets can collect highly personal and sensitive data . Meta has that advertisers might have to it.
Meta is also working on a high-end virtual reality headset called , with more advanced capabilities. Sensors in the device will allow a virtual avatar to maintain eye contact and make facial expressions that mirror the user’s eye movements and face. That data information and target them with personalized advertising.
Professors and students may not freely participate in class discussions if they know that all their moves, their speech and even their facial expressions are .
The virtual environment and its equipment can also collect a wide range of user data, such as , and even signals of emotions.
Cyberattacks in the metaverse could even cause physical harm. Metaverse interfaces , so they effectively trick the user’s brain into believing the user is in a different environment. can influence the activities of immersed users, even inducing them to , such as to the top of a staircase.
The metaverse can also . For instance, Roblox has launched to bring 3D, interactive, virtual environments into physical and online classrooms. Roblox says it has , but no protections are perfect, and its metaverse involves user-generated content and a chat feature, which could be or people or other .
3. Lack of rural access to advanced infrastructure
Many metaverse applications such as . They require high-speed data networks to handle all of the across the virtual and physical space.
Many users, especially in rural areas, . For instance, 97% of the population living in urban areas in the U.S. has in tribal lands.
4. Adapting challenges to a new environment
Building and launching a metaversity requires drastic changes in a school’s approach to and learning.
For instance, metaverse but active participants in virtual reality games and other activities.
The combination of advanced technologies such as can create personalized learning experiences that are not in real time but still experienced through the metaverse. Automatic systems that tailor the content and pace of learning to the ability and interest of the student can make learning in the metaverse , with fewer set rules.
Those differences require significant , such as quizzes and tests. Traditional measures such as individualized and unstructured learning experiences offered by the metaverse.
5. Amplifying biases
Gender, racial and ideological biases are common in textbooks of and , which influence how students understand certain events and topics. In some cases, those biases prevent the achievement of justice and other goals, such as .
Biases’ effects can be even more powerful in rich media environments. are at views than textbooks. has the potential to be .
To maximize the benefits of the metaverse for teaching and learning, universities – and their students – will have to wrestle with protecting users’ privacy, training teachers and the level of national investment in broadband networks.
This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .
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