VR Technology and Metaverse Learning: Advantages and Disadvantages

Immersive technologies are going a long way forward, and VR training no longer seems like something special. More and more businesses, industries, and medicine are turning to VR developers to create safe simulators and training packages to enhance employees' skills. Today we will talk about a new level of training - training in the Metaverse.

Digitalization of education

let’s consider the sphere of education that digitalization has already started. For instance, Interactive whiteboards are installed in schools. Children get new experiences and a better understanding of subjects using 3D printers. They try themselves in different professions with workshops from experts in different fields and excursions where every child can prove himself.

There are several reasons why today's schools are increasingly turning their attention to the introduction of immersive technology, as well as the development of Metaverses:

• Reduction in the price of technical equipment in classrooms. The saturation of the virtual reality market with various devices leads to a decrease in the overall cost of peripherals, making them more affordable.

  
  

• Rapid growth in the number of VR solutions and software. To date, more than a thousand applications and VR solutions have been created, and this figure is actively growing due to the struggle of companies for their customers.

  
  

• Global investment in VR is more than 2.5 billion a year. This figure is constantly increasing, and its growth forecasts positive trends for the next 5 years.

  
  

• An increase in the number of large VR development companies. The VR periphery and software development giants, such as Oculus, HTC, and Sony, have firmly established themselves in the European market, raising the potential widespread adoption of VR technology.

  
  

• The pandemic has enabled immersive technologies to enter new areas: heavy and light industry, banking, tourism, advertising, and sales. Working with people is the main priority in these areas, which have been hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  
  

Virtual learning is based on immersive technology - a virtual extension of reality that gives a better understanding of the reality around us. Creating a virtual learning environment allows you to immerse a child in real-time in previous events they could not see.

Thus, we come to why the Metaverse can take learning to a new level.

Advantages of using Metaverses in the educational process

The primary and distinctive advantage of the Metaverse, like The Sandbox, is that classes can be held in it even if the teacher and students are far apart. On the one hand, it resembles online learning, but the pandemic has shown that prolonged contact through a smartphone or computer screen cannot give the same range of emotions as immersion in virtual reality.

The Metaverse is malleable, and it can be used like a classroom. Students will be in the classroom while remaining in a comfortable environment, and interaction will take place through designed digital avatars. These avatars can be personalized and customizable, so students and teachers can show their imagination and individuality.

In addition, the Metaverse is excellent for integrating different databases, making getting and doing homework accessible. Like an electronic class journal - all the information is in front of you. The teacher can generate homework right on the platform, send it out to all students, and monitor the progress.

The Metaverse is always in real-time, which means that all materials and data uploaded to it will not disappear and will be available. This makes it easier to store. All completed student works can be uploaded at any time to grade, send homework to be corrected, etc. A big difference from the usual VR simulation is that users of the Metaverse can generate their content. This will expand hands-on learning opportunities in physics, chemistry, and biology without harming your health.

In addition, the question of the Metaverse in education perfectly solves the issue of international education. Agree that both children and parents are anxious and worried when they decide to study at foreign universities, Stanford or Harvard, but moving to the host country is not required in the Metaverse.

Disadvantages of the learning process in Metaverse

Indeed, it may seem that everything is shaping up as well as possible and that Metaverses should be introduced into education as soon as possible. It's not all that simple. Along with the apparent advantages of the Metaverses, there are also serious disadvantages, which are also essential to mention.

First, it is essential to remember the situation that arose during the pandemic. Families were not ready for the abrupt and forced transition to online education. Of course, any change is painful; our parents experienced the transition from black and white television to color television while we spent a long time getting used to smartphones, which replaced push-button cell phones. On the other hand, our children are slowly getting used to online learning.

Sure, online saves a huge amount of time for everyone, but at the same time, we are entirely deprived of live communication. No online conference can give us the feeling that a face-to-face meeting does.

So now, developers of VR technology and Metaverses are learning and improving their projects' development, and it is all aimed at the virtual value above the real. I believe that one day, the transition to the digital age will compensate us for what will be lost as the world gradually goes online, and the education of the next generation will reach a new level.

Yes, the Metaverse is frightening in its vastness and infinite possibilities, but the Metaverse is a significant step in developing technology and society. New technologies open up truly interesting horizons: we work more, we learn more, which allows us to throw away old boundaries and go further.

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