Metaverse to foster learning in higher education

Abstract

This research refers to the new information and communication technologies that have emerged in recent years and that are being used in education as a pedagogical resource. Thus, Metaverse have been applied in universities obtaining great benefits such as improving interaction and communication between students and teachers through personalized avatars regardless of the physical limitations of the real world, developing skills and abilities that encourage learning and immersion, leaving aside the traditionalist learning. The use of Metaverse in education aims to make the student the protagonist of his or her own learning and, in addition, seeks to improve collaborative learning to encourage active participation among students through the interaction of avatars within the Metaverse. As a practical alternative and an emerging trend, the tool “AltspaceVR” is proposed for higher education. The sample of this study consisted of 159 graduates between the ages of 18 and 35 who were pursuing their doctoral, bachelor’s, master’s or other studies, and 7 experts working as teachers in Spanish universities, including a doctor in educational methodologies who has been named “Professor of the Year” on several occasions. Among the main conclusions of the study we have obtained that students consider that the implementation of Metaverse in higher education will promote learning and immersion, allowing the development of pedagogical activities in a more innovative and interactive way thanks to its graphical interface. On the other hand, from the results of the survey we conclude that the teacher lacks knowledge to make adequate use of Metaverse as a pedagogical resource, using only two-dimensional and mainly verbal platforms that only generate a traditionalist and non-interactive learning.