Metaverse and Learning

Approximate reading time: 5m 58s

The metaverse (Metaverce) is in an early stage of development, but nevertheless some real higher education institutions are already there. In this article we present some real applications of Metaverse in the field of education and training, as well as some futuristic use cases.

What is the metaverse?

Just as the term "cyberspace" is associated with the concept of an online, interconnected digital world, separate and distinct from the real world, the metaverse is also a digital construct. However, the metaverse is a "hybrid" digital paradigm in which digital objects are used to represent real people, personalities, places, concepts, and situations.

At a very basic level, avid gamers are already using a version of the Metaverse, as they explore their 3D gaming environment using avatars and holographic images of their faces (their gaming identities/characters). Expanding this use case into the field of learning and development (L&D) is not that difficult.

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How will the metaverse affect learning and development?

L&D is about opening the mind to new thoughts and ideas. When combined, the metaverse and learning enable people to expand the limits of their physical constraints and immerse themselves in new learning models.

Without the Metaverse, we would be limited to learning only what we can imagine. The Metaverse can help combine what is currently practiced - the physical classroom, digital self-study and virtual learning - into one platform. Then learners in the Metaverse can experience the real in the digital world, leading to bridging the gap between virtual and real experience.

Thanks to advances in technologies that make this possible, such as 5G, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and 3D, we can escape beyond the realm of dragons and goblins. It is now possible to escape into a virtual universe (Metaverse) and gain a better, more immersive and interactive understanding of real people, places and events. From science and the arts to medicine and history - the metaverse takes learning to a whole new level.

A great early example of how Metaverse can affect future L&D is the Indian Museum of Art and Photography (MAP). Without the "metaverse experience," students and art lovers who wanted to learn more about the great masters and their masterpieces relied on traditional approaches to gain that knowledge.

What will drive the use of the metaverse in L&D?

One of the main drivers of Metaverse-based learning is likely to be virtual learning. There is ample evidence indicating that learning through virtual reality is one of the most impactful ways of learning in today’s learning environment. The world is already a global workplace, where employees cross geographical boundaries (virtually) several times a day to communicate with colleagues. Therefore, Metaverse-based learning and development opportunities will define how employers will typically train the global workforce.

Another factor is the popularity of hybrid workplaces after the pandemic. Now that the hybrid workforce is more common than before, when learners and trainers are not located in one place, virtual learning becomes more important. Although time and distance separate employees, learning through Meta will help make real, interactive, practical, and direct learning more accessible to all participants.

Another driver is trainers' need to provide higher-quality training. In their effort to keep remote employees engaged and motivated to learn, HR teams will use Metaverse to deliver more real-life-like training. And as major technology companies embed Metaverse into their products, this will further encourage training-focused organizations to adopt it.

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What are the benefits of Metaverse in the field of learning and development?

By bringing virtual, simulated experiences closer to real-life ones, combining and harnessing the power of Metaverse in training holds huge potential for human resources development.

It gives learners more realistic experiences compared with current VR or AR training.
It offers a safe and more cost-effective alternative for learners to practice and fail while learning.
For learners, the Metaverse will act as a meeting place for people, processes and situations - beyond geographical and time zones. Interactions in the Metaverse will help bridge these differences.
The intertwining of learning and play will help learners accept e-learning with Metaverse more easily than with VR- or AR-based training.
Higher-quality visualization, more immersive content and better interactivity in Metaverse will encourage employees to take advantage of on-demand learning and learning in the flow of work (LIFOW).
Studies prove that VR-based learning works four times faster, with learners being 275% more confident in applying the learning. With Metaverse and its related  training environments, the benefits for human resources development are unlimited. Almost every aspect of L&D will benefit from Metaverse - from delivering instructions to testing and assessment, to feedback and other forms of interaction between learners and trainers.

Where is the e-learning industry?

In comparative terms, today’s Metaverse is still in an exploratory stage of what its e-learning capabilities will look like over the next few years. It is probably at a similar level to where email was for the internet - compared with today’s IM and SMS capabilities. However, major technology companies have already launched tools and products such as Microsoft Mesh that provide real business applications and are ready to transform the e-learning industry.

In the near and short term, we expect organizations to take a "wait, observe and learn" approach to Metaverse-based e-learning. Some business schools have already launched 100% digital campuses. There will be trial and error as companies develop their own responses to Metaverse-based learner expectations. Ultimately, over the next few years, as learning technologies such as Facebook's Oculus and its Horizon Workrooms mature, Metaverse-based e-learning will become mainstream.

Which e-learning strategies will become a core element of the metaverse?

Although other e-learning strategies that are yet to develop may also come to the forefront, here are some of the ones that will immediately become core in Metaverse:

Realistic immersive training : VR/AR: Learners will move from video, audio and static PPT-based e-learning to more immersive content based on AR/VR and virtual reality.
Gamification: The challenge of "engagement" for hybrid learners will be better overcome through Metaverse-based game content. Gamified VR and gamified microlearning will be a core element.
Simulations: Higher-quality digital technologies and virtualization will lead L&D teams to use simulated content that is more life-like to a greater extent.
Interactive learning strategies (SBL/IVBL): Developers will use next-generation learning strategies, including scenario-based learning, interactive videos and mobile game apps.
Social learning: Social media platforms have already established themselves as an effective e-learning method. Expect the metaverse to highlight and transform social learning by integrating more immersive content and greater interactivity into learning platforms.

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Training through Metaverse will be seen in learning centers, learning and performance support tools, and personalized learning paths. These approaches will establish continuous learning and development as a core strategy for all learning-oriented organizations.

Example of training in the metaverse

As Metaverse is in its early stages of development, the real world is still adapting to it. However, consider an onboarding program operating in a hybrid model with distributed teams around the world.

Here is what combining Metaverse and learning could look like:

Scenario 1

Newly hired employees are required to log in to the Metaverse platform.
They create their own avatars or holograms.
The onboarding program is divided into a daily schedule, with each day offering its own experiences connected to an in-person onboarding meeting.
The platform has the ability to interact with colleagues in real time, in a virtual environment that represents an image of the office and its various departments.
Everyone can go to a room that consists of various resources they can go through as part of self-study aspects.
They can go to break rooms and socialize, chat, and have discussions - all in a virtual environment with the option to come and go.
They can use their phones to scan image codes and QR codes to enter virtual office tours. 
They can carry out group activities and practice scenarios they may encounter in real work, and in this process receive feedback from managers.

Other real-life applications of learning and development methods that combine the metaverse can include virtual project meetings so that geographically dispersed teams can participate through their avatars. Other opportunities also arise in certification and upskilling.

Or we have another scenario 2:

Imagine a rectangular training room surrounded by whiteboards, presentation screens and movable chairs. Suddenly a timeline is projected in the middle of the floor. Employees get up from their chairs to stand in the present, ready to go back and enter 1980 - a year in which they will encounter a new reality. Everything around them is from that year. Who is that young, charming, driven person they see in the metaverse? Well, that is the organization’s CEO when he was 22! Employees explore, ask questions, reflect and learn!

Final thoughts 
It would be very useful for staff training teams to closely monitor the development of e-learning using the Metaverse. Incorporating cutting-edge technologies such as AR and VR to simulate real-life training scenarios in Metaverse provides compelling business reasons for adoption. And although Metaverse-based e-learning is still in its early stage of development, organizations focused on employee development should begin assessing its use now, especially for remote and hybrid employees.

Meanwhile, if you have any specific questions, contact us or leave a comment below.

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