Abstract
Will digital instruction be the wave of teaching and learning in institutions of higher education? Will this new way of delivery continue to evolve into more collaborative and interactive assessments vs. traditional testing? Are we willing to be disrupted and challenged in academia? We (educators) know that education, especially institutions of higher learning, has been the great equalizer for many decades and continues to be an evolving landscape of creativity and visionary concepts, through virtual and augmented realities; thus, the metaverse emerges. Soon it will be as omnipresent as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook (now Meta). As technology advances to bring us new immersive and imaginary worlds, how we educate children and prepare teachers must also advance to meet these new opportunities. To leverage the potential of the metaverse as a 3D, global, interconnected, immersive, and real-time online space, we need new ways to connect the physical world with augmented and virtual reality (VR) experiences.
TopIntroduction
Higher education in the United States has been in trouble for at least a decade (Bouchrika, 2021). Spiraling tuition costs and student debts threaten to make college unaffordable to all but the wealthy, which comprise 1-3% of the population. In an attempt to cut spending and control tuition increases, American universities are relying more heavily on adjunct instructors who are underpaid, typically unqualified, teach a heavy course load, and often lack job security and health insurance (AFT, 2021). These factors contribute to a reduction in the quality of instruction, which penalizes the university student's academic experience in preparation for a future occupation and the university’s academic reputation.
Many schools are also increasing class sizes and moving courses online in order to lower costs. Current online learning is less popular than in-person instruction, and dissatisfaction has only increased during the pandemic due to the lack of course design and content (One Class, 2020). While faculty members are experts in their respective fields, many lack the knowledge and experience to effectively translate the in-person classroom experience into a digital environment. To create an effective digital learning experience for university students, faculty must be able to use existing instructional technologies to create engaging, learner-centric experiences to facilitate true learning.
On top of these problems, universities in the U.S. and other parts of the world are challenged by apprenticeship initiatives that question the relationship between the formal academic credentials a college gives and real-world success. These apprenticeships push task-oriented training that can be directly applied to a real-world job role, while universities emphasize a more holistic educational model that may not have as much direct application to a specific job. As higher education professionals, how do we bridge the gap between quality in-person instructional interventions and their digital equivalent? The answer may lie in the metaverse.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Virtualization: Profoundly transforming how people connect with each other in ways that supersede activities in the physical world. Virtualization and its impact are best understood in reference to three core concepts: 1) Digital transformation is not perpetual, 2) is critical to reaching today’s audiences, and 3) is critical to reaching today’s audiences (Media.Monks, 2022).
Immersive Technology: Any technology that extends reality or creates a new reality by leveraging the 360 spaces. Because Immersive Technology leverages the 360 space/sphere, users can look in any direction and see content. Some types of Immersive Technology extend reality by overlaying digital images on a user’s environment. Others create a new reality by completely shutting a user out from the rest of the world and immersing them in a digital environment such as 360, VR, AR, MR, and XR ( Barton, 2021 ).
Avatar: A graphical representation of a learner in an online, computer-based, or online environment. The avatar is used as an electronic alter ego which represents a learner’s presence and actions in an electronic environment (Technopedia, 2018 AU21: The in-text citation "Technopedia, 2018" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Higher Education: Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion of secondary education; This includes conventional universities post-secondary institutions such as poly-technique and vocation, colleges ( Chhabra & Kumar, 2020 ).
Augmented Reality: Is a technology that superimposes digital information over the user view using a device like a smartphone or smart tablet; Its goal is to enhance the user environment (3M Science for Life, 2022 AU20: The in-text citation "Life, 2022" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Virtual Reality: The computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors ( Merriam-webster, 2022 AU22: The citation "Merriam-webster, 2022" matches the reference "Merriam-Webster, 2022", but the capitalization is different. ).
Apprenticeship: A period during which a person is trained by a master tradesperson in a certain skill through real world experiences and on the job training ( Cambridge Dictionary, 2022 ).
Instructional Technology: The theory and practice of designing, using, implementing, and managing different technologies for the purpose of learning ( University of North Carolina Wilmington, (2022) . Instructional technology includes not just the technology itself but how to effectively provide instruction to learners using a technology medium.
Metaverse: A virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users; the all-encompassing space in which all digital experience sits; the observable digital universe made up of millions of digital galaxies; an exponentially growing virtual universe where people can create their own world how they see fit adapting experiences and knowledge from the physical world (XR Today, 2022 ).