For many, it is time to go back to school. Students are returning to academic life in droves. But how has education changed in the past five years—and how will it continue to change in the next five? Certainly, the pandemic shook things up, but there is another huge force at work that could completely transform how we teach at all levels: technology.
One new report suggests digital technologies have completely transformed education in the past two decades, but the metaverse has taken it to a new level. Still in the early stages of adoption, when many refer to a metaverse, they are referring to a simulated digital environment that uses AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) technologies to create an immersive online experience.
According to data by AltIndex.com, the global metaverse education market is expected to grow tenfold and reach a value of $25 billion by the end of a decade. That is a pretty sizeable prediction when you think about it. In fact, it is a growth rate of 46%.
Nearly one-third of that value will come from the United States. The U.S. market is expected to reach a value of $8.3 billion in 2030, up from roughly $1 billion in 2024. However, don’t count other markets out. The total value of metaverse classrooms in China will skyrocket by 960% and hit $3 billion in the next six years. Japan and Germany follow with a massive 900% growth and $1.2 billion and $1 billion market values, respectively.
Here on the blog, we have talked about the benefits of the metaverse in multiple different industries. We have talked about how the digital twin and the metaverse could potentially solve some of the biggest challenges we face in our businesses today—but education poses new and interesting possibilities.
How It Works in the Classroom
There are a lot of opportunities for the metaverse in education, specifically. For example, it can provide personalized education at all levels: grade, middle, and high school, of course, but also in college and trade schools. It can give institutions the ability to provide education to people who can’t access it locally, while also providing a more immersive experience.
The benefits of this type of learning are myriad. Simple, immense (pun intended). Academic studies have found metaverse education can improve learning outcomes, heightening student engagement and attention span, while also driving motivation and knowledge retention.
Rabindra Ratan, associate professor of media and information and director of the SPARTIE Lab, Michigan State University, prefers to hold class under the ocean or at the beach or on a space station or at the Pantheon.
He told me this in a 2023 interview on The Peggy Smedley Show, saying “When I’m sitting in a regular classroom, I lose 80% of the back row students, about 40% of the way through the class, they just multitask, they get tired, they get bored, they jump on their computer, check their email, go on to play a game of chess, or whatever. And their attention span diminishes. I don’t mind if they fidget and multitask, but if it’s taking them away from the thought process involved in the class, that’s bad. But in my VR class, I tell them, okay, fidget, do some 3D drawing.”
He shares an example of how on Halloween one student drew a beautiful spider in three dimensions and she cloned it, and all the students were taking her clone spider and cloning it themselves and decorating the room, all while having a conversation. He explains it was a really nice way of having them learn the tools and feel connected to him and each other, while also learning the material in the class.
The bottomline is this method of education still has room to blossom with the right educators and technology infusion. And I see considerable growth in the coming year. Before 2024 ends, already it is projected that more than 28 million people will be educated in metaverse classrooms, roughly five million more than two years ago. But again, there are still a lot of factors at play for it to go up, sideways, or even spiral without the right mix of inspired educators, institutions, innovators, and technology.
The more research I do on where the future is headed, there appears to be different shades of the metaverse taking shape. Don’t get bogged down in terminology just yet. I might suggest you join my Substack group, where I give you some additional insights. As for now, just hunker down and gear up for a new way of learning.
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