education in the metaverse

REVIEW article

The metaverse in education: definition, framework, features, potential applications, challenges, and future research topics.

• College of Education, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China

The declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic forced humanity to rethink how we teach and learn. The metaverse, a 3D digital space mixed with the real world and the virtual world, has been heralded as a trend of future education with great potential. However, as an emerging item, rarely did the existing study discuss the metaverse from the perspective of education. In this paper, we first introduce the visions of the metaverse, including its origin, definitions, and shared features. Then, the metaverse in education is clearly defined, and a detailed framework of the metaverse in education is proposed, along with in-depth discussions of its features. In addition, four potential applications of the metaverse in education are described with reasons and cases: blended learning, language learning, competence-based education, and inclusive education. Moreover, challenges of the metaverse for educational purposes are also presented. Finally, a range of research topics related to the metaverse in education is proposed for future studies. We hope that, via this research paper, researchers with both computer science and educational technology backgrounds could have a clear vision of the metaverse in education and provide a stepping stone for future studies. We also expect more researchers interested in this topic can commence their studies inspired by this paper.

Introduction

With the COVID-19 pandemic declared in 2020, humanity was forced to live in a society being non-face-to-face with each other ( Koo, 2021 ; Kye et al., 2021 ; Kim et al., 2022 ; Lee et al., 2022 ). In particular, a range of activities in the physical world has transited into the virtual world. Telecommuting, online meetings, distance learning, online shopping, etc., have become a natural part of human life. As a result, the human need to expand the boundaries of the physical world has been accelerated, triggering the yearning for a more advanced virtual world ( Suzuki et al., 2020 ). Owing to the breakthrough of VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), AI (artificial intelligence), blockchain, etc., the metaverse, a 3D digital space with collapsed virtual and real boundaries, has provoked increasing attention. It has been recognized as the next generation of the Internet ( Hwang and Chien, 2022 ), which is about to dramatically change how we interact with the world.

2021 was known as the first year of the metaverse ( Zhang et al., 2022a ). As global metaverse research is flourishing, the metaverse has been touted as a future education trend, with great potential ( Choi and Kim, 2017 ; Dwivedi et al., 2022 ; Gartner, 2022 ; Guo and Gao, 2022 ; Hwang and Chien, 2022 ; Park and Jeong, 2022 ; Park and Kim, 2022 ; Rospigliosi, 2022 ; Shin, 2022 ; Tlili et al., 2022 ). The presence of the metaverse usually couples with multiple new technologies ( Kang, 2021 ). However, the previous literature rarely discussed the metaverse from the perspective of education but focused much on the metaverse-related technologies in education separately. As an emerging item, the majority of educational researchers might be unaware of what the metaverse is, its components, and its application in the educational field. Therefore, this research paper aims to review several representative articles to give a clear view of the metaverse in education, including its definition, framework, typical features, potential applications, challenges, and future research issues. The main contributions of this paper include the following points:

• The origin, definition, and typical features of the metaverse are discussed with the perspectives taken from state-of-the-art studies.

• A detailed framework of the metaverse in education is proposed, along with the discussion about features of metaverse-based learning compared with in-person classroom learning and screen-based remote learning.

• Potential applications, challenges, and future research topics of the metaverse in education are presented.

The remainder of this paper is arranged as follows: In section 2, we introduce the visions of the metaverse, including its origin, definitions, and shared features. In section 3, discussions are provided to define “the metaverse in education” and a framework of the metaverse in education is proposed; moreover, the features of metaverse-based learning are compared with in-person classroom learning and screen-based remote learning. In section 4, potential applications of the metaverse in education are described with reasons and cases. Section 5 mainly discusses the challenges of the metaverse for educational purposes. Finally, a variety of research topics related to the metaverse in education for future studies is proposed in Section 6. We hope that, via this paper, researchers with both computer science and educational technology backgrounds could have a clear picture of the metaverse in education and provide a stepping stone for future studies.

Origin, definition, and features of the metaverse

Origin of the metaverse.

Metaverse is a compound word combined with “meta-” (beyond; transcending) and “verse” (the root of “universe,” cosmos; the whole world), which denotes a new virtual universe created beyond the real world. The term “metaverse” was first coined in the 1992 cyberpunk science fiction novel Snow Crash written by American novelist Neal Stephenson ( Stephenson, 1992 ; Joshua, 2017 ). In this novel, humans could freely access a 3D space that reflects the real world through digital agents (avatars) and interact with each other. Over the next three decades, the metaverse concept was more vividly depicted in science fiction movies, such as Ready Player One, Lucy, and The Matrix ( Zhao et al., 2022 ). At that time, the metaverse envisioned by films, could not come into being in reality. In this decade, the rapid progress of emerging technologies, such as wearable devices and three-dimensional (3D) photography, has helped people to get access to the virtual world. In March 2021, The sandbox game Roblox was listed in New York under the halo of “the first stock of the metaverse”; in October, Facebook proclaimed its rebrand scheme and changed its name to “Meta.” Since then, extensive efforts have gradually been carried out by countries across the world to make it a reality. This sleeping “lion” was truly awakened.

Definition and features of the metaverse

As a new term, researchers discussed the metaverse with broad insights. In 2007, the Acceleration Studies Foundation, a metaverse research organization, took the first step to put forward the metaverse roadmap and propose the metaverse is a fusion of both virtually-enhanced physical reality and physical-persisted virtual space ( Smart et al., 2007 ; Kye et al., 2021 ). In light of the two axes: ‘augmentation versus simulation’ and ‘intimate versus external’, four scenarios were categorized in the metaverse roadmap: augmented reality, lifelogging, virtual worlds, and mirror worlds. This was the early idea of the metaverse under limited technology. After that, differing metaverse descriptions have been reported with the advancement of virtual technologies. Mark Zuckerberg unveiled his schemes to build Facebook a “metaverse”: an embodied online world where people can present themself, work, play, and socialize with avatars, often in the form of headsets or glasses ( Bobrowski, 2021 ; Zuckerberg, 2021 ). Similarly, Roblox founder David Baszucki ( Jeon, 2021 ) defined the metaverse as a place that combines high-fidelity communication with a new way to tell stories borrowing from mobile gaming and the entertainment industry. Center for Journalism Studies of Tsinghua University (2021) reported that the metaverse is a created internet application and social form fused with the virtual and real world; it is shaped by integrating many types of new technologies: XR (extended reality) to provide a real and immersive experience, digital twins to map the real world, blockchain to construct credit system, economic system, and exchange system, etc.; it realizes the close connection of the social, economic, and identity systems in the virtual and real world, and allows the user to content production and edit in the metaverse. In this case, the definition of the metaverse seems not to reach a consensus, and there is no single, unified entity called the metaverse; rather, some applications conceive the metaverse with some of its possible features.

In the early 2000s, multiuser role-play game communities such as Second Life (released in 2003) and World of Warcraft (launched in 2004) began to draw the attention of millions. They were what are now being called antecedents of the metaverse; however, they were not hit the bull’s eye in the years since ( Wiederhold, 2022 ). In recent years, several online games or social networks continuing that trend have regained widespread popularity. The hottest mentioned one is Roblox, a sandbox game under the user-generated content (UGC) mode where users can create their own virtual world and enjoy real-time interaction with other players. At the same time, assets can be generated through game development and item sales to other players. As mentioned by David Baszucki ( Jeon, 2021 ), there are eight fundamentals of the metaverse: identity, social, immersive, low fiction, variety, anywhere, economy, and civility. In addition, ZEPETO is the most representative social network application from South Korea, with close to 200 million worldwide users in 2020 ( NAVER Z Corp, 2022 ). In ZEPETO, everyone can customize their unique avatars through selfies and dress-up, and use their virtual identities to interact with others remotely through body movements, voice calls, and taking snapshots; not only that, users are allowed to generate revenue by making and selling AR fashion items. It is reported that the world-famous female Kpop group Blackpink’s virtual fan signing event has been held at ZEPETO with surpassed 30 million users’ participation, and the avatar performance has exceeded 40 million views. Scholars indicated such digital games are prototypes of the metaverse with typical features ( Hwang and Chien, 2022 ; Prieto et al., 2022 ). In this respect, the metaverse is more than so-called digital games or social networks in a conventional meaning, and some peculiarities need to be taken into account. Accordingly, the shared features of the metaverse can be synthesized and summarized as follows:

Collection of technologies

As the studies reported ( Center for Journalism Studies of Tsinghua University, 2021 ; Kang, 2021 ; Shen et al., 2021 ; Sparkes, 2021 ; Lv et al., 2022 ; Park and Kim, 2022 ; Prieto et al., 2022 ), the metaverse is not merely a new entity for VR or AR, but a collection of a set of emergent technologies like 5G, AI, VR, AR, digital twins, blockchain, holography, or IoT (Internet of Things). The technological framework might be built for specific realms such as entertainment, commerce, education, etc., and their components and functions can be different according to the needs.

Convergence of the virtual and real world

This is the basic feature of the metaverse. As the metaverse roadmap stated, the metaverse is a fusion of virtually-enhanced reality and physical-persisted virtual space ( Smart et al., 2007 ; Kye et al., 2021 ), that is, the metaverse includes both the items mapped or augmented from the real world and the creations produced in the virtual world. The gap between the virtual and the physical world will be narrowed or even eliminated in the metaverse, which enables the user’s experience in the metaverse more immersive, multi-sensory, and close to authentic.

Rapid and free access

With the support of high-speed networks such as 5G/6G, users can use smart wearable devices (e.g., headsets or glasses) to enter the metaverse world instantly without being constrained by either time or location ( Ayiter, 2019 ; Prieto et al., 2022 ). From this point of view, it realizes free and rapid access for users by switching between the real world and the virtual world remotely and seamlessly.

Digital identity

Instead of a static image, in the metaverse, each user could customize his/her unique digital identity in the form of an avatar ( Davis et al., 2009 ; Dionisio et al., 2013 ; Park and Kim, 2022 ). The construction of the digital identity is more user-defined and more advanced than before, for instance, it could edit the details of the avatar’s face ( Wei et al., 2004 ), body ( Kocur et al., 2020 ), and even facial expression ( Murphy, 2017 ). It is the surrogate identity of users in the virtual world which reflects the user’s persona and represents the ego in the real world. In addition, avatars can be manipulated and controlled by users with the help of real-time tracking technologies ( Saragih et al., 2011 ; Genay et al., 2021 ). In this case, the living 3D representation of users (i.e., digital identity) plays an important role in ownership, interactivity, embodiment, and socialization in the metaverse world.

Immersive and multisensory experience

In the metaverse, the vivid and colorful virtual scenes modeled by technologies can deliver users a deep feeling of immersion ( Shin, 2022 ; Zhao et al., 2022 ). With the aid of technologies such as sensors, VR, AR, or IoT, users are allowed to interact with the created virtual items or the items projected from the real world through moving, manipulating, or clicking, thereby greatly motivating users’ multiple senses ( Koo, 2021 ; Jovanović and Milosavljević, 2022 ; Park and Kim, 2022 ). Just as an “embodied Internet” proclaimed by Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse will enable people to have authentic, immersive, and multimodal experiences as if they are in the real world or even more than the real world ( Bourlakis et al., 2009 ; Nevelsteen, 2017 ; Jovanović and Milosavljević, 2022 ).

Decentralized and editable content

Compared to the former Internet mode where the content was limited to specific groups like the developers, the metaverse entitles every user rights to edit or create content with a virtual nature that involves changing its properties, position, or orientation. Just as conceived by Roblox or Facebook ( Jeon, 2021 ; Zuckerberg, 2021 ), users can create almost everything they can imagine. Additionally, players are also allowed to co-create or modify others’ shared content ( Taylor and Soneji, 2022 ). More significantly, users can own and run their own digital properties, and the security technologies, such as blockchain, can ensure their personal properties be safe and traceable ( Vergne, 2021 ; Min and Cai, 2022 ; Vidal-Tomás, 2022 ).

In light of the above discussion of the metaverse, we, therefore, conceptualize the metaverse as a 3D digital space mixed with the real and virtual worlds, which runs off a lot of limitations (e.g., time, location) of the physical world. It allows users to engage in a variety of activities (e.g., working, learning, training, socialization, transaction) through avatars and interact with the other players and the virtual objects, as well as provides opportunities for users to edit the contents. Users can also enjoy richer, more immersive, and more embodied experiences than ever.

Definition, framework, and features of the metaverse in education

Definition of the metaverse in education.

As indicated by scholars, education is one of the most significant applications of the metaverse with great potential in the coming future. We believe that the presence of the metaverse can be served as a new educational environment ( Suzuki et al., 2020 ; Prieto et al., 2022 ; Rospigliosi, 2022 ); therefore, the metaverse in education can be regarded as an educational environment enhanced by metaverse-related technologies which fuse with the elements of the virtual and the real educational environment. It enables learners to use wearable devices to enter the educational setting without being limited by time and locations and allows them to use digital identities to have real-time interactions with different forms of items (e.g., avatars, intelligent NPCs, or virtual learning resources). As a result, they can feel present as if they are in a real-world educational setting. From this standpoint, it can be seen that applying the metaverse in education can unlock a variety of fantastic learning experiences for learners.

The framework of the metaverse in education

In previous literature, Kang (2021) proposed a metaverse framework with potential core stacks, including hardware, compute, networking, virtual platforms, interchange tools and standards, payments service, content, service, and assets, as well as introduced its reasons in brief. However, there are no further explanations for the implementation of the metaverse in detail. Park and Kim (2022) divided the metaverse into three essential components (i.e., hardware, software, and contents) and three approaches (i.e., user interaction, implementation, and application) for the metaverse in a general meaning. Some other scarce proposed work of the metaverse in education is from Hwang and Chien (2022) . They discussed the roles (i.e., intelligent tutors, intelligent tutees, and intelligent peers) in providing educational services and potential applications of metaverse for educational settings from the perspective of AI. However, the metaverse is not developed by single technologies, such as AI, but integrated with massive technologies. Caring for the few studies that have discussed the metaverse for educational purposes, hence, according to the viewpoints collected from the research papers, we propose a framework for the metaverse in education. As depicted in Figure 1 , we shall describe the framework of the metaverse in education and dive into its key components in this section.

Figure 1 . The framework of the metaverse in education.

At the first sight, the metaverse arises precisely due to the maturity of technologies ( Kang, 2021 ; Yang et al., 2022 ), that is, the realization of the metaverse in education relies much on up-to-date technologies. Hence, a range of technologies can become the infrastructure of the metaverse in education, which is responsible for providing grand support for the components both in the real world and the metaverse world. Here is a discussion of each component of the technological infrastructure of the metaverse in education.

High-speed communication and networks

As indicated by scholars (e.g., Kang, 2021 ; Yang et al., 2022 ; Zhang et al., 2022a ), wireless communication and high-speed networks, such as 5G or 6G, are the basic requirements for the implementation and work of the metaverse world. With the support of high-speed networks, the metaverse can keep fluency, steadiness, and low latency for data transmission, scene presentation, immediate feedback, and user connection. On another hand, high-speed networks provide learners great opportunities to switch from the physical world to the metaverse educational environments remotely and seamlessly.

Computing technologies

Owing to a space gathered by multi-players, the metaverse requires computing technologies (e.g., edge computing, cloud computing, distributed computing) to process, compute, store, transmit, and interchange data and information between the virtual world and the real world, and among users (e.g., Kang, 2021 ; Zhao et al., 2022 ). In this case, these technologies can help learners to store, utilize, and share learning data (e.g., learner information, learning records, learning resources) more accurately, efficiently, and synchronically.

Analytical technologies

With the rapid development of analytical technologies, related technologies such as AI, big data, and text mining have been deemed useful tools in the educational field (e.g., Park and Jeong, 2022 ; Yang et al., 2022 ). As indicated by Hwang and Chien (2022) , AI in the metaverse can play an important role in providing intelligent NPC tutors, intelligent NPC tutees, and intelligent NPC peers to support the educational services of arbitration, simulation, and decision-making. Therefore, integrating analytical technologies in the metaverse can help to measure, trace, collect, and analyze the learning data of learners (e.g., learners’ behaviors, emotions, preferences, and performances). Further, in light of these data, the metaverse can not only help teachers to assess learners in a comprehensive way but also provide learners with personalized resources and services.

Modeling and rendering technologies

The metaverse aims to create a kind of 3D digital space mixed with the virtual and real world, which includes various simulated or mirrored scenes, avatars, NPCs, etc. At present, there are several modeling and simulation solutions to create virtual items like Sketch Up, Unity, and Blender ( Tlili et al., 2022 ). The global trend of VR or AR research has also made it possible to construct photorealistic 3D content ( Wu et al., 2013 ; Parmaxi, 2020 ); however, Park and Kim (2022) believed that the metaverse is much more than VR or AR, but a concept closer to XR. Other scholars (e.g., Lv et al., 2022 ) mentioned technologies like digital twins, holography, and MR (mixed reality) can also be used to model and render the metaverse world. In this sense, modeling and rendering technologies are indispensable to constructing a vivid and colorful educational space with rich details and high fidelity. In addition, they provide great possibilities for some scenes and items in education, which can not be presented in the physical world, to be visualized in the metaverse world.

Interaction technologies

Embodied and multimodal interaction is a unique feature of the metaverse compared with the conventional Internet. Interaction technologies like VR, XR, sensors, real-time tracking, IoT, and BCI (brain-computer interface) are necessary for users’ manipulations, navigations, collaborations, and sensory feedback (e.g., vision, audition, and kinesthesia) in the metaverse (e.g., Davis et al., 2009 ; Genay et al., 2021 ; Prieto et al., 2022 ). With the support of interaction technologies, learners can mobilize their bodies to take part in various exploratory learning activities, collaboration, and socialization, to stimulate different sensory organs and get real-time feedback. To some extent, the metaverse can provide learners with authentic and embodied learning experiences.

Authentication technologies

Some scholars (e.g., Berg et al., 2019 ; Vergne, 2021 ; Thomason, 2022 ; Yang et al., 2022 ) stated the most representative authentication technology in the metaverse is blockchain, which can provide transparent, open, decentralized, and reliable services and protect users’ privacy to keep the metaverse world to have a sustainable ecosystem. In this sense, blockchain can not only be used to make learners’ data and works in the metaverse unforgeable and traceable, but also avoid some negative issues, such as fraud or plagiarism.

It should be noted that the technological infrastructure of the metaverse in education and its components are based on the current status of technologies, and it is expected that with the evolution of technology, its components will continue to expand in the years to come. As shown in Figure 1 , except for the technological infrastructure, there are still other important components in the real world and the metaverse world need to be taken into account for realizing the metaverse in education.

Smart wearable device

Smart wearable devices include headsets or head-mounted displays (HMD), smart glasses, etc., which can be divided into non-see-through, optical-see-through, and video-see-through (e.g., Kang, 2021 ; Zuckerberg, 2021 ; Taylor and Soneji, 2022 ). As stated by Park and Kim (2022) , the smart wearable device is a basic hardware component that links the real world and the virtual world. Hence, the smart wearable device can help learners to teleport themselves from the real world into the metaverse and switch between the real and virtual worlds without restrictions.

In the metaverse, the avatar is the digital representation of the player character (i.e., teachers and learners). The support of real-time tracking technology, recognition technology, or simulated technology has made great improvements in the realism of avatars. Both learners and teachers can customize their avatars, with some features (e.g., dressing style, gender, skin color) similar to or different from themselves. For example, Zhao et al. (2022) mentioned details such as facial expressions and gestures of avatar learners can be captured and lively displayed by scanning users’ physical appearances. Avatars can also be manipulated and shared with the same actions by users with sensors, controllers, or real-time tracking ( Genay et al., 2021 ). Namely, avatars can help learners to express themselves in a new joyful, and completely immersive way, as well as provide them with a sense of being and embodiment to them when they experience the metaverse.

Non-player character (NPC)

In the metaverse-based learning environment, there are several special AI-driven roles in the metaverse: intelligent NPC teachers, intelligent NPC learners, and intelligent NPC peers ( Huang et al., 2021 ; Jovanović and Milosavljević, 2022 ). As indicated by Hwang and Chien (2022) , these intelligent agents can play an essential role in supporting arbitration, simulation, and decision-making for educational purposes. It implies that in the metaverse world, learners can get tutoring, seek help, have discussions, or practice skills with NPCs; meanwhile, teachers can also ask for help or simulate teaching with intelligent NPC learners at any time. In this sense, the provision of those intelligent agents can greatly meet personalized needs and enhance interaction for both learners and teachers.

Learning scene

In the metaverse, various realistic learning scenes can be simulated and created by modeling and rendering technologies such as digital twins, VR, AR, XR, etc. ( Davis et al., 2009 ; Duan et al., 2021 ; Lv et al., 2022 ; Shin, 2022 ). The scenes can be reproduced like real-world classroom layouts in 3D form or constructed as partially or fully virtual scenes according to the learning contents, especially for that can not be easily seen in the real world, such as universe, marine, forest, historical site, etc. ( Wu et al., 2013 ; Choi and Kim, 2017 ; Prieto et al., 2022 ). In addition, the construction of the learning scenes focuses more on the details like texture, color, ornament, etc. ( Zhao et al., 2022 ). For example, Seoul National University (SNU) Bundang Hospital used an XR technology platform to simulate a virtual conference ( Koo, 2021 ). Ko et al. (2022) constructed a virtual classroom with a real classroom layout in the metaverse platform Gathertown.

Learning resource

Owing to the modeling and rendering technologies, the resources can be visualized in the metaverse, especially for the invisible or abstract concepts, items, or events in the physical world ( Dunleavy et al., 2008 ; Wu et al., 2013 ). In addition, rest on the interaction technologies such as VR, AR, XR, or sensors, the learning resources can be presented by multimodal means and allow learners to motivate their bodies partly or fully to interact with them, providing them with real-time feedback and rich sensory experiences ( Chen et al., 2011 ; Myburgh, 2022 ; Taylor and Soneji, 2022 ). For example, Yen et al. (2013) introduced AR to visualize the lunar system in teaching astronomy, which allows learners to actively participate in the interaction with the virtual lunar. Moreover, due to the decentralized technologies, the metaverse should allow learners to edit, create and share learning resources ( Zhao et al., 2022 ). For example, the sandbox platform Roblox allows players to create works of a virtual nature, and the works can also be co-created and shared with other players ( Jeon, 2021 ). The virtual social platform ZEPPTO allows users to make AR fashion items, and users can get digital currencies by selling them to other users ( NAVER Z Corp, 2022 ).

Learning logging

As the proposed metaverse roadmap stated ( Smart et al., 2007 ), lifelogging, an essential scenario in the metaverse, is the capture, storage, and distribution of daily experiences and information for objects and people. From this point of view, through storage, databases, or tracing technologies, learners’ real-time status information can be presented and shared, meanwhile, learners’ historical information (e.g., footprints, data, assignments, and virtual works) can be recorded and stored in the metaverse. It helps both learners and teachers to review or observe the learning process and conduct some meaningful events (e.g., analyzing behavior or interactive patterns) based on personal experiences ( Prieto et al., 2022 ).

Learning analysis

In the metaverse, technologies like computing, databases, or AI play an important role in providing and analyzing huge amounts of data ( Yang et al., 2022 ). The learning analysis module aims to utilize massive data to analyze and display learners’ learning performances and achievements by unit or in all. More significantly, it can make assessing learners’ performance easier, and provide teachers with reliable proof to conduct personalized services for learners. For example, Classting AI is an online class community application that can help to analyze learners’ learning achievements and provide visual and personalized analysis reports ( Kye et al., 2021 ).

Learning authentication

The metaverse is a more open, shared, and decentralized digital space than traditional virtual spaces ( Hwang and Chien, 2022 ; Yang et al., 2022 ). It implies in the metaverse, the storage of learners’ information should be managed and secured as other applications placed nowadays on the cloud with highly secure standards to avoid users’ privacy being violated (e.g., use user authentication and authorization to specify the provided content). In addition, users’ virtual works or digital creations are allowed to be shared with other people, which are expected to be traced and secured. Technologies such as blockchain or NFT (non-fungible token) enable learners’ creations or works to be authenticated and traced which aims to keep the metaverse world safe, persistent, and sustainable ( Berg et al., 2019 ; Vidal-Tomás, 2022 ).

Features of the metaverse in education

Based on the proposed framework of the metaverse in education, it can be seen that learning in the metaverse world will not feel the same as in the conventional classroom or screen-based video-conferencing platforms. A comparison of in-person learning, screen-based remote learning, and metaverse-based learning is presented in Table 1 . It can be noticed that metaverse-based learning is more than a combination of in-person learning and screen-based remote learning, and it is likely to compensate for the limitations of both. Accordingly, each feature and its significance are interpreted as follows:

Table 1 . Comparisons of in-person classroom learning, screen-based remote learning, and metaverse-based learning.

The time and location for learners to participate in class

Conventionally, teachers and learners meet each other in the physical classroom at a fixed time in accordance with the class schedule and school timetable, or it is available only for learners to attend classes when a teacher opens a meeting on the video-conferencing platform ( Lee et al., 2022 ). That is to say, there are limitations of either time or location in classroom learning and screen-based remote learning. As for the metaverse, by utilizing high-speed networks or computing technologies, people can not be constrained by time and location. On one hand, the metaverse can be a near-ubiquitous educational space ( Dionisio et al., 2013 ; Prieto et al., 2022 ); that is to say, it is always accessible for learners and teachers to enter educational settings through smart wearable devices ( Koo, 2021 ; Kye et al., 2021 ). Consider a teacher, who is invited to attend a conference out of town and cannot come back to school in class time, he/she can ask their students to use wearable devices to attend classes in the metaverse world, no matter how far apart they actually are. To some extent, dropping the commute will mean less time wasted and more time doing things that matter. On the other hand, technologies such as the high-speed network can help them switch to the real world and the metaverse world fluently and seamlessly, as well as bridge the gap between learning in formal and informal settings ( Wu et al., 2013 ). From this viewpoint, the metaverse allows teachers to innovate the implementation mode of learning: synchronous and asynchronous learning. For example, learners can use avatars to enter the metaverse space and learn by interacting with intelligent NPCs teachers in the metaverse in a predefined way. Therefore, the flexible way of engagement can bring convenience and freedom to teachers and learners. More importantly, it can provide great opportunities for the persistent implementation of education in the post-pandemic era.

Learner identity

Whether in the physical classroom or the video-conferencing platform, learners attend classes by their real identities. As for the metaverse, learners can represent themselves in a totally different way. They use their digital identities (i.e., avatars) in customized, realistic, and dynamic forms to attend classes. Avatars are the digital representation of real-world player characters in the metaverse world. When they experience the metaverse, learners can get a sense of being by manipulating and controlling their avatars in a new joyful, and completely immersive way ( Park and Kim, 2022 ; Prieto et al., 2022 ).

The people learners interact with

It is known that learners interact with real teachers and peers in the physical classroom or the video-conferencing platform. Especially on video-conferencing platforms, it is hard for learners to gather and interact with peers and teachers face-to-face through the screen, which leads to some challenges, such as indifference, emotional deficiency, and desocialization ( Palvia et al., 2018 ; Almahasees et al., 2021 ; Bork-Hüffer et al., 2021 ; Koo, 2021 ). Whereas in the metaverse, there are two forms of teachers and peers that learners can interact with: one is avatar teachers and peers, and another is intelligent NPC teachers and peers. On one hand, through interaction with teachers and peers in the form of avatars or intelligent NPCs, learners can get more emotional support and real-time feedback instead of just looking at a grid of faces or boring slides on video-conferencing platforms. On the other hand, intelligent NPC teachers and peers can help to implement learning activities and give personalized support during class or after class. Social constructivism has emphasized that an individual’s knowledge is constructed through social interactions ( Pande and Bharathi, 2020 ); hence, it could be a reason for using the metaverse in education for the cognitive and social development of learners.

Conventionally, there are real learning scenes in the in-person classroom and screen-based real learning scenes in the video-conferencing learning platforms. In the COVID-19 era, the construction of learning scenes, such as general scenes (e.g., real classroom) or special scenes (e.g., laboratory), have faced grand challenges ( Koo, 2021 ; Kye et al., 2021 ). On the contrary, in the metaverse, various learning scenes can be reconstructed virtually based on the real learning environment or simulated in a fully virtual way ( Prieto et al., 2022 ). Take a history lesson on the topic of ancient Rome for instance, it is impossible for people back to ancient Rome in the real world; however, in the metaverse world, the sites of ancient Rome can be reconstructed and represented by technologies. In this sense, it enables learners to experience the learning process in visualized and immersive learning scenes as if they are right there in the real world. Scholars have indicated that when participants attend learning tasks in a simulated and vivid scene, their sense of presence and immersion can be enhanced significantly ( Smolentsev et al., 2017 ; Weech et al., 2019 ; Maneuvrier et al., 2020 ).

Traditional learning resources generally exist in relatively static forms, such as printed textbooks, printed papers, electronic books, shared courseware, pictures, videos, or other materials ( Wu et al., 2013 ). Learners are less likely to interact with those learning resources. In metaverse-based education, the learning resources are visualized and decentralized which enables learners to interact ( Suzuki et al., 2020 ; Myburgh, 2022 ). Take a lesson on the topic of the earth, for example, there may be a lecture about the earth with a printed textbook and a demonstration using physical objects of a terrestrial globe and a map in the traditional teaching session; while with the help of AR, the learning resources can be entirely different than before: a 3D spinning earth modeled and augmented by technologies. Learners can observe the virtual earth at 360° by zooming in, zooming out, and rotating it. Hence, in the metaverse, some abstract content can be turned into more concrete by modeling and rendering, thereby enhancing learners’ in-depth understanding. It is also possible for learners to interact with learning resources to facilitate their participation and experience, as well as participate in the process of creating or editing learning resources along with their peers and teachers, which may compensate for certain shortcomings associated with traditional resources.

Learning activity

Learning in a physical classroom is primarily based on lectures from teachers and it allows learners to participate in a series of learning activities and collaborate with their peers; however, it is difficult to initiate the above activities in the pandemic era ( Almahasees et al., 2021 ; Ko et al., 2022 ). Due to some limitations of video-conferencing platforms, screen-based remote learning is mainly lecture-based, but it has little opportunity to initiate some complex learning activities, such as collaboration; as a result, learning in such platforms tends to be passive ( Almahasees et al., 2021 ; Li and Yee, 2022 ). When it comes to the metaverse, at first glance, the learning activities seem to be contextualized in these vivid and colorful learning scenes, which can greatly enhance their cognitive representation by interacting with virtual objects in 3D perspectives ( Dionisio et al., 2013 ; Myburgh, 2022 ). As a result of continuous free access and rapid engagement, a further peculiarity of learning activity in the metaverse is that learners can easily collaborate with peers in real-time in virtual forms, such as meetups, conferences, idea sharing, group discussions, presentation panels, or debates, provide learners with more emotional support from peers instead of just staring at a grid of screen ( Suzuki et al., 2020 ; Koo, 2021 ; Kye et al., 2021 ; Jovanović and Milosavljević, 2022 ; Myburgh, 2022 ; Thomason, 2022 ). Alternatively, they can schedule appointments to collaborate with partners remotely outside of class. In addition, the digital space with some game-like attributes (e.g., avatar, NPC, or digital items) can be configured to initiate activities more like inquiry-based or problem-solving tasks ( Nevelsteen, 2017 ). Further, the metaverse can offer a decentralized and editable creation space, it can facilitate creative learning activities where learners are able to create virtual works ( Choi and Kim, 2017 ; Ayiter, 2019 ); meanwhile, it also implies learners can revise and withdraw their actions during the learning procedure aligning with the philosophy of learning from mistakes ( Prieto et al., 2022 ).

Learning interaction

In the physical classroom, learners interact primarily via face-to-face communication, while on video-conferencing platforms, their interactions tend to be based on video and audio communication ( Kye et al., 2021 ; Li and Yee, 2022 ). In the metaverse, with the aid of interaction technologies such as sensors, BCI, VR, AR, or XR, learners’ interactions usually involve embodied and multi-sensory participation, as a result, a wide range of learners’ senses (e.g., vision, audition, or kinesthesia) can be greatly stimulated and motivated when they interact in the metaverse ( Genay et al., 2021 ; Zhao et al., 2022 ). Birchfield et al. (2017) indicated that learning in a multimodal and embodied way can greatly promote learners’ learning interests and performance.

Learning objective

Revised Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives includes six categories from low to high: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating ( Bloom et al., 1956 ; Anderson et al., 2001 ). Due to a few limitations like time, space, or resources, traditional classroom learning or screen-based remote learning primarily concentrates on low-order cognitive development (i.e., remembering, understanding, and applying); however, traditional lecture-based classes make it difficult for students to develop high-order thinking skills (i.e., analyzing, evaluating, and creating) (e.g., Booker, 2007 ; Arievitch, 2020 ). Owing to some of its peculiarities, the metaverse enables learners to engage in various types of learning activities (e.g., group work, creative learning, or inquiry-based learning) regardless of whether they are in classes or not, which may help learners to apply, analyze, evaluate or create knowledge more easily throughout the learning process ( Prieto et al., 2022 ; Shin, 2022 ). Previous studies (e.g., Arievitch, 2020 ) demonstrated mastery of all levels of learning objectives is based on or merged within the process of complex activities such as problem-solving. As a result, developing learners’ high-order thinking skills can become relatively easier in the metaverse. To some extent, it will generate a series of “ripple” effects on developing learners’ goals from high-order to low-order. In other words, in the metaverse, learners can not only grasp basic knowledge but also develop their skills and competencies for future life to get more comprehensive development during the whole learning process.

Learning assessment

In conventional learning environments, teachers often assess learners summatively by learning results (e.g., tests) due to the difficulty of recording learners’ performance and collecting their learning data. ( Parmaxi, 2020 ; Bork-Hüffer et al., 2021 ; Kye et al., 2021 ; Jovanović and Milosavljević, 2022 ; Taylor and Soneji, 2022 ). In this case, scores will be the only indicator of learners’ learning, resulting in negative effects such as inequality in education. In the metaverse, with the support of learning logging and learning analysis, teachers can assess learners’ performance more comprehensively based on both formative and summative data. More significantly, it emphasizes more on learners’ growth rather than results, thereby breaking free of some limitations of traditional assessment.

Future potential applications of the metaverse in education

When Mark Zuckerberg presented the rebranding scheme of Facebook in a live-streamed virtual way, it is impressive that some potential applications of the metaverse like gaming, working, or learning were vividly displayed. In the metaverse, both learners and teachers can break free from the restrictions of time and location. More significantly, the peculiarities of the metaverse are going to unlock a lot of amazing learning activities for learners, which enable them to perceive, explore, and create the world in unprecedented ways. Therefore, it can be foreseen that the metaverse world could open a new window for future education. Owing to the features and affordances of the metaverse in education mentioned above, this section will discuss several potential applications for the metaverse in education but is not limited.

The metaverse assists blended learning

Blended learning, as a learning paradigm, refers to a combination of traditional in-person and online learning ( Garrison and Kanuka, 2004 ; Bonk and Graham, 2006 ). During the COVID-19 pandemic, screen-based remote learning on video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams has become a norm ( Almahasees et al., 2021 ; Kye et al., 2021 ; Ko et al., 2022 ). As the pandemic in some regions has leveled off, some schools have begun to ask their learners and teachers back to school, meanwhile, the trend of autonomous learning in remote or blended forms is considered to continue in some lockdown areas. Under the context of the uncertainty of COVID-19, the combination of non-face-to-face and in-person education is still expected to be an available choice for the sustainability of post-pandemic education ( Palvia et al., 2018 ; Bork-Hüffer et al., 2021 ; Lee et al., 2022 ; Zancajo et al., 2022 ). However, scholars have reported several problems linked to learning on video-conferencing platforms, including video-conference fatigue, tiredness, lack of motivation, inability to focus, desocialization, and depersonalization ( Almahasees et al., 2021 ; Li and Yee, 2022 ).

For example, in the autumn of 2021, professor Jeremy Bailenson opened a course “Virtual People” (Communication 166/266 Syllabus) in the form of blended learning at Stanford University (2021) . 263 students with VR headsets gathered in the metaverse by using Zoom and ENGAGE platforms. Participants were asked to finish the reading task before class. During the metaverse learning sessions, learners needed to engage in a variety of activities virtually and remotely, such as large group field trips, small group panels, quizzes, and creating virtual spaces both alone or together. Figure 2 shows the picture of the class discussion section of “Virtual People” in the metaverse platform.

In this sense, the metaverse enables both teachers and learners located in different physical places (e.g., at home, in lockdown areas, overseas), to have great opportunities to involve in educational settings through wearable devices. From this standpoint, simultaneous or asynchronous in-person and remote learning can be easily realized in the metaverse. Learners can use avatars to participate in various learning activities (e.g., lecture, individual work, group panel, collaborative work) and interact positively with either real or virtual teachers and peers in various learning scenes. When they are in the metaverse, they will feel as if they are right in the same space together, with more incredible experiences and peer support than not just looking at a grid of faces or boring slides on the screen. Through such forms of learning, the participation and learning interest of learners might also be greatly enhanced. More significantly, the problems existing in current video-conference learning may have a practical way to be addressed. Given this trend, the metaverse can develop to evolve multiple new paradigms of blended learning for years to come to facilitate better learning engagement and experience for learners ( Ko et al., 2022 ).

The metaverse assists virtual experiment learning

Virtual experiment learning plays an essential role in natural science (physical science and life science) curricula ( Vergne, 2021 ). As indicated by some scholars ( Gamage et al., 2020 ; Zhang et al., 2022b ), virtual experiment learning faces many challenges, including limited funding for materials and infrastructures, a lack of solutions to the closure of physical laboratories due to COVID-19, etc., which led to practical experiment training being less prioritized than theoretical learning ( Myburgh, 2022 ).

With the assistance of modeling and rendering technologies, a virtual laboratory can be recreated virtually in the metaverse, as can the experiment apparatuses projected in 3D to the virtual world to practice a variety of virtual experiments. Meanwhile, learners are allowed to participate in various virtual experiments with real-time interactions through interaction technologies. Considering the features of the metaverse in education, the following potential applications of the metaverse to virtual experiment learning are listed, with references to several position papers ( Wu et al., 2013 ; Gamage et al., 2020 ; Vergne, 2021 ; Myburgh, 2022 ):

1. To assist the experiments that could be risky, irreversible, or toxic in the real world, e.g., an experiment with a potential risk of explosion;

2. To assist the experiment conditions and scientific phenomena that could not be possible in the real world, e.g., an experiment that needs to be carried out in a vacuum;

3. To assist the experiments that need relatively high costs and funds in the real world, e.g., an experiment that needs expensive equipment and materials;

4. To assist the experiments that react slowly or need long-term observations and records in the real world, e.g., an experiment needs learners to observe and record the whole growth stage of an insect.

In this sense, applying the metaverse for virtual experiment learning can break through restrictions in the physical world, such as space, funds, sites, equipment, or potential risk, as well as make learners possible to observe, measure, record, and manipulate experiments in stand-alone or collaborate way remotely. Further, it can help to acquire skills through continuous practice as well as promote learning from mistakes. Based on these merits, applying the metaverse in virtual experiment learning could be promising.

The metaverse assists language learning

Since the 21st century, language learning has been fundamental for acquiring bilingual or multilingual proficiency for K-12, higher education, or professional field ( Peters and Fernández, 2013 ). However, for several reasons, such as lack of contextual practice or interaction, traditional language learning has been taken passively either in the classroom or out of class ( Liang et al., 2021 ). As indicated by scholars ( Parmaxi, 2020 ; Park, 2021 ; Guo and Gao, 2022 ; Lee and Jeong, 2022 ; Ryu, 2022 ), the emergence of the metaverse can show great potential to promote language learning.

There are several reasons for adopting the metaverse in language learning. At first, language learning requires a strict learning context, especially for listening and speaking classes ( Chen et al., 2021 ; Lin and Wang, 2021 ). For example, the objective of one speaking lesson is to grasp spoken skills by practicing the dialogue on the topic of asking for flight information in an airport context. For example, in the real world, it is quite unrealistic for teachers to take a whole class of learners to the airport or invite the airport staff to come to the school. However, in the metaverse, learners can attend various learning activities, such as role-plays and dialogue practice, with avatar partners or with a predefined intelligent NPC airport staff or air hostess, in a simulated airport setting. In this case, the metaverse could situate language learners in a simulated and vivid learning context, which allows them to experience an immersive language learning process and develop their language skills with teachers and peers. Besides, language learning requires constant and long-term practice after class. For example, considering an EFL (English as a foreign language) learner who is on summer vacation, it is quite difficult for his/her to call friends to gather together to practice English (e.g., listening, translating, speaking). While in the metaverse, this learner could invite his/her partner to walk into the virtual world by avatar, and then practice dialogues in a former-created scene or a recreated scene remotely. If a partner is unavailable for some reason, from the perspective of intelligent agents, it is helpful for learners to the provisions of intelligent language peers who are capable of language practice. In this case, the metaverse can provide language learners an appropriate space to have real-time practice and interaction with real or NPC roles freely out of class, which may also help their language ability transfer to the real context effectively.

The metaverse assists competence-based education

Competence-based education (CBE) is a leading paradigm for educational reform in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, in which the competences (e.g., knowledge and skills) needed in later vocational practice form the foundation for curriculum development rather than the general academic subjects ( Koenen et al., 2015 ; Wijnia et al., 2016 ; Antonietti et al., 2022 ). In most cases, VET is built upon the alternation between theory and practice. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, how to conduct CBE is going to be a thorny problem ( Liang et al., 2022 ).

Take the SNU Bundang Hospital as an example, a virtual conference was simulated by an XR technology platform, which allows participants in different locations to wear a 3D headset to attend a training course and used avatars to have active discussions with others. At the same time, with the help of VR, a high-resolution camera, and fluorescent imaging equipment, a lung cancer surgery was conducted in a smart operating room of SNU Bundang Hospital and the real-time surgery scene with high-resolution was displayed on the conference screen. As participants indicated, they were observing the surgery procedure as vividly as they were in the real operating room ( Koo, 2021 ).

Figure 2 . The class discussion section of “Virtual People” in the metaverse ( Stanford University, 2021 ). Reproduced with permission.

In this sense, the metaverse is expected to offer a potential solution for CBE. On the one hand, it enables both teachers and learners to switch between the classroom scenes and the professional scenes seamlessly and helps the learners acquire general and professional knowledge by observing the process in a virtual environment remotely; on the other hand, it can constantly situate learners in a professional training environment to practice skills with target groups whenever and wherever possible instead of going to the practice base with time and fare waste. Consider a learner, who is a preservice nurse, he/she might need to practice his/her first aid or nursing skillsets, and it is almost impossible to find patients to do this in the real world. In this case, it is quite helpful for him/her to have a group of intelligent NPC patients in simulated hospital or clinic scenes in the metaverse.

The metaverse assists inclusive education

Inclusive education is introduced to enable every child to receive education and necessary support in mainstream school settings, regardless of their special needs ( Spandagou, 2021 ; Sahli Lozano et al., 2022 ). Children with special needs mainly refer to the group of disabilities; also, the spectrum is extended to include children who are abandoned, abused, or mentally ill ( Arora and Sahu, 2015 ). However, it is challenging for most educators to get students with special needs to be accepted by general students and learn together without barriers. Based on the peculiarities of the metaverse, it is explicable that the metaverse could be served as an ideal zone that allows children with special needs to have the possibility to study with general learners together ( Duan et al., 2021 ).

At first, the identity difference is an important reason that hinders the integration of those learners with special needs in general schools with general learners ( de Boer et al., 2011 ; Schwab, 2017 ). The digital identities in the metaverse can rebuild those learners’ images to eliminate special identity labels and discrimination, which makes it possible to help them engage in the learning activities with general students with confidence and a sense of belonging. Next, as part of or whole sensory or cognitive obstacles, the metaverse technologies (e.g., AI, sensors, or BCI) can extend those learners’ affordances of organs and senses to communicate and interact with the general learners normally and obtain sensory stimuli and cognitive development during the learning process. Moreover, owing to the difference in learning between learners with special needs and general learners, the metaverse can assist learners with personalized learning and special services according to the physical and emotional data via the technologies of computing, big data, learning tracks, and so on. Accordingly, the metaverse can meet with the philosophy of inclusive education that recognizes and appreciates the diversity of every learner; more significantly, it provides all learners an equal chance to involve in mainstream school.

Challenges of the metaverse in education

Although the metaverse provides us with innovative perspectives for education, we should be vigilant about a series of challenges of the metaverse for either educational or other purposes. In this section, we will mainly discuss four challenges of the metaverse in education.

Technology and equipment

A well-designed and affordable smart wearable device is essential for both learners and teachers to teleport to the metaverse world ( Parmaxi, 2020 ). As Park and Kim (2022) indicated, the hardware (e.g., HMD) is now quickly enhanced as a result of technological advancement, but it still needs further improvement. For example, it is being reported ( Weech et al., 2019 ; Tlili et al., 2022 ; Xi et al., 2022 ) that users could get some symptoms (e.g., cybersickness, blurred vision, or dizziness) or even fall into the ground after putting on the wearable devices for a period of time, which may bring about a potential security risk in practice. Also, price is an important factor of hardware, but the current cost of equipment is still too high for most people ( Taylor and Soneji, 2022 ). For the user interface, it is worthwhile to think about how to meet the needs of free access, high fidelity, visualization, immersion, or multi-sensory interaction of the metaverse. The current hardware or software is far from the technical standard for the prevalence of applying the metaverse in the educational field. From an evolutionary point of view, the fast-growth technologies of 5G networks, VR, or digital twins are showing promise for the metaverse. Hence, it is necessary for technology companies and departments concerned to develop more advanced solutions for adopting the metaverse in education.

Privacy and data security

It is a critical issue that the users’ privacy and data security whether on the 2D Internet or in the 3D virtual world. In the metaverse, data is the basic form of governance, which allows more detailed data from users to be collected ( Kye et al., 2021 ; Lv et al., 2022 ; Zhao et al., 2022 ), such as facial images, physical state (heart rate, blood pressure, disease, etc.), transactions, consumption records, etc. In addition, it is more easily for learners with little social experience to be exposed to criminal events (e.g., fraud, surveillance, leakage) due to a higher level of online anonymity in the metaverse. Once it happens, it will violate the learners’ privacy, and even seriously affect their normal life. Moreover, the works and creations of both teachers and learners may also have the potential risk to be plagiarized. In this case, the related rules and regulations (e.g., real-name authentication) are expected to be enacted and regulators that play the same role as police in the real world are urgently needed; also, it is necessary to make the works and creations in the metaverse traceable with the help of the technologies such as cryptocurrency, NFT and blockchain ( Berg et al., 2019 ; Thomason, 2022 ; Vidal-Tomás, 2022 ). Otherwise, the metaverse will be a lawless digital space.

Ethics and morality

Due to the high degree of freedom, users in every corner of the world can have access to the metaverse ( Kye et al., 2021 ). There are new concerns (e.g., the different ideologies and worldviews, simulated experiments, data stealing, racial problems, religious conflicts, bullying, violence, etc.) that may potentially cause cross-national, cross-racial, cross-religious, or cross-gender ethical challenges, by the appearance of virtual “I” ( Dionisio et al., 2013 ; Park and Kim, 2022 ). In addition, Therefore, it is an urgent problem how to establish a well-organized metaverse with rules and ecosystems. At the same time, cultivating learners’ citizenship in the metaverse via ethics and legal education will also be essential.

The high immersion and presence close to the reality created by the sensor and virtual technologies, and plenty of scenarios and items that exist in the metaverse but miss in the real world, make learners more easily indulge in such a bizarre metaverse world ( Choi and Kim, 2017 ; Weech et al., 2019 ; Kye et al., 2021 ; Prieto et al., 2022 ). However, it is considered to be an inevitable risk that young learners, who lack self-discipline and self-control, may fall into a state of addiction, which may lead to potential damage to their physical and mental health ( Xi et al., 2022 ). Therefore, relative guidance from both teachers and parents will be required for learners to balance their time in and out of the metaverse world and avoid excessive lingering on the metaverse to prevent false spiritual satisfaction from the technologies.

Identity and social interaction

In the metaverse, digital identities can directly reflect users’ egos to participate in various types of activities ( Davis et al., 2009 ). As the boundary between the real world and the virtual world gets blended, users may be bewildered by their “real-me identity” and “virtual-me identity” ( Kye et al., 2021 ; Xi et al., 2022 ). Additionally, if the learners rely much on the social connection established between avatars and NPCs in the virtual world, over time, learners will gradually have emotional and social barriers, making it difficult to establish the social relationship in the real world; at the same time, there is also a possibility that NPC teachers may be a threat for the status of real teachers. Hence, a timely guide to learners, from society, school, and family, for recognizing the difference between reality and the virtual world, rationally treating the metaverse, and paying attention to real-world interaction, should be necessary.

Future research topics of the metaverse in education

As stated in the above sections, the metaverse could play a significant role in education. The evolution of emerging technologies can provide various opportunities for applying the metaverse in education. However, limited studies focus on the metaverse in education at present. We believe that the number of articles about this field will grow rapidly in the coming years. Accordingly, for the extension of future research, a range of potential research issues of the metaverse in education, are covered as follows:

1. Designing the metaverse models or frameworks for educational purposes. So far, the metaverse is under construction ( Prieto et al., 2022 ), and it requires infrastructure to be of a high standard adapted to common practices. The designs and frameworks of the metaverse including both hardware and software, are the foundation for educational practices. It is considered that multiple factors should be involved in the metaverse design with regard to school administrators, teachers, and learners, such as accessibility, safety, humanity, trust, educational capabilities, and learners’ cognitive characteristics. Besides, more effort should be paid into peculiar and additional design features for education. For example, a specific environment might offer the ability to “airdrop class notes” from one learner avatar to another learner avatar.

2. Enacting the metaverse rules and principles in education. Although the metaverse is a possible digital space for education with rich boons, there are still potential challenges of privacy, security, and ethics raised in the fifth section. Learners, especially teenagers, are in a critical period of physical and mental development. Current issues in learning activities may have a profound impact on their future life. Therefore, establishing and employing strict rules in metaverse-based educational settings should be urgently needed.

3. Investigating attitudes of school administrators, teachers, and parents towards adopting the metaverse for educational purposes. It can be foreseen that applying the metaverse can provide not only great opportunities but challenges for teachers and school administrators. In addition, the metaverse can change the way how learners study both in school and at home. Therefore, it is worth investigating the attitudes of school administrators, teachers, and parents towards employing the metaverse for educational purposes, which is expected to provide valuable references for future design, administration, and educational practice of the metaverse.

4. Teachers’ professional development in relation to the metaverse. It is universally believed that teachers play a fundamental role in successful education and bringing about educational reform. As an emerging educational technology, the metaverse could provide various opportunities for teachers. To this end, how to make a good preparation for teachers to teach by adopting the metaverse is a complex and multitudinous undertaking ( Belei et al., 2011 ; Lee and Jeong, 2022 ). Moreover, the presence of the metaverse also brings about new appearances for teacher education held in a brand new virtual space. Consequently, teacher education and professional development may become indispensable issues in educational research about the metaverse.

5. Exploring the cognitive and non-cognitive impact on learning of learners with the metaverse. This could be a promising direction for educational researchers to involve. As the educational implementation and paradigm in relation to the metaverse might be much different from the current education, it is needed to conduct exploratory research to compare different academic performances of learners varied in grades and ages by the metaverse and conventional technology. At the same time, under such an innovative environment with high immersion, presence, and freedom, it is also worthwhile to investigate the effect on learners’ both cognitive factors (e.g., attention, memory) and non-cognitive factors (e.g., learning attitude, learning motivation) with the metaverse. Moreover, it is helpful for educators to have an in-depth understanding of the learners’ behaviors in the smart environment fused with the virtual world and the real world by observation and analysis, so as to be able to know the social impact of the metaverse and help develop more effective learning strategies for learners.

6. Comparing the learning and teaching effectiveness among the metaverse and other learning environments as well as among the different metaverse platforms. When applying new technology for educational purposes, it is crucial to conduct comparative research to find out the relatively effective educational environments for teaching and learning. For example, will learners perform better in the metaverse world compared to in-person learning in the physical classroom or screen-based remote learning? Will learners have the same perceptions and performance in different metaverse platforms? Compared to the different environments, which part of the performance of learners will be significantly enhanced? We believe these mentioned topics deserve to be explored.

7. Proposing new thoughts on the methodological and pedagogical model in line with the metaverse. Due to its peculiarities, the metaverse can be seen as an ideal space for future education, where the conventional pedagogical model will change from static to dynamic represented, and learners are gradually the center of the teaching-learning process ( Wu et al., 2013 ). In this sense, the paradigm of conventional education will be broken. With this in mind, it is important to explore the new methodological and pedagogical models that can fit into the metaverse world.

8. Discussing the existing pedagogical theories for metaverse-based education. As a new concept, the metaverse in education will raise new discussions on pedagogics. It is essential to reconsider and revise the existing technology-enhanced pedagogy. Moreover, based on the new features of the metaverse, researchers are expected to propose new thoughts on pedagogical theories for the use of the metaverse based on those theories, like embodied cognition, situated cognition, extended cognition, distributed cognition, flow theory, cognitive load theory, and the technology acceptance model.

9. Developing an educational assessment framework based on the metaverse or employing the metaverse as an assessment approach. As reported by scholars ( Parmaxi, 2020 ; Bork-Hüffer et al., 2021 ; Kye et al., 2021 ; Jovanović and Milosavljević, 2022 ), wherever in either traditional or brand-new educational settings, it is a hard task for teachers to observe learners’ performance and collect learning data during the process; therefore, much attention has been paid to learners’ learning results rather than their learning performance during the process. In the metaverse, with the aid of AI, computing, storage, etc., learners’ performance can be recorded and analyzed accurately during the process. Therefore, various forms of assessment results can be produced, for example, a learning analytical report with both formative and summative data. This indicates the metaverse can provide an alternative way of assessment in a systematic unbiased way. From this perspective, a well-organized assessment framework should be developed, in that some indicators need to be added or adjusted with the application of the metaverse.

10. Uncovering innovative applications and case studies in different disciplines and domains in the metaverse. In the fourth section, we have discussed some potential applications of the metaverse in education (i.e., blended learning, competence-based education, inclusive education, and virtual experiment learning). It can be seen that, in the metaverse, learning in some disciplines and domains will be much different than before, such as physics, chemicals, geography, EFL, medical and nursing education, or communication studies. Hence, it is suggested that researchers could extend their studies to uncover the metaverse applications in different educational domains and provide design cases.

The technical leaps of high-speed communication, computing, AI, and virtual technologies have offered great possibilities for developing the metaverse ( Park and Kim, 2022 ; Thomason, 2022 ). As Gartner (2022) predicted, nearly 30% of people will spend 2 h a day in the metaverse for work, entertainment, education, and socialization by 2027. In terms of education, the presence of the metaverse is a brand new concept compared to existing educational technologies. As discussed above, the metaverse can bring about great opportunities and innovations for education. To some extent, a variety of obstacles and limitations in current education could be broken through in the metaverse world. More significantly, the continuous concern on the metaverse even indicates the trend and direction of future education ( Park and Jeong, 2022 ). Accordingly, it can be predicted that more and more educational researchers will actively engage in studies of the metaverse in education in the near future.

In addition, it should be noted that introducing the metaverse into the educational field may trigger several controversial issues (e.g., security, ethics, or addiction) that deserve further discussion; otherwise, the “metaverse” will be a “metaworse.” As for educational researchers, it is more significant to ponder over how to take advantage of the metaverse to overcome the limitations of current education and maximize its positive effects on future education. Hence, as for education, the arrival of the metaverse is thought-provoking and eagerly expected.

Author contributions

XZ and YC: conceptualization and methodology. YC: writing—the original and final manuscript writing. XZ, LH, and YW: writing—review and editing. XZ and LH: supervision. All authors contributed to the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript.

This work was financially supported by the National Humanities and Social Sciences Scientific Research Program of the Ministry of Education in China (grant number: 21YJA880027), Wenzhou City Philosophy and Social Science Fund in China (grant number: 22wsk669), and the Graduate Scientific Research Foundation of Wenzhou University in China (grant number: 316202101015).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: metaverse, metaverse in education, metaverse for learning, virtual reality, augmented reality, extended reality

Citation: Zhang X, Chen Y, Hu L and Wang Y (2022) The metaverse in education: Definition, framework, features, potential applications, challenges, and future research topics. Front. Psychol . 13:1016300. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1016300

Received: 11 August 2022; Accepted: 08 September 2022; Published: 11 October 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Chen, Hu and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Xinli Zhang, [email protected]

† These authors have contributed equally to this work

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

What Will Learning in the Metaverse Look Like?

• Posted June 9, 2022
• By Andrew Bauld
• Learning Design and Instruction
• Technology and Media

The Metaverse. No, it’s not the latest comic book movie plotline. Yes, it is the thing you’ve probably heard Mark Zuckerberg talking about. But what is it exactly?

At its simplest, the Metaverse describes a not-so-distant future version of the Internet, where human beings will use immersive technology to go beyond their physical environment. Imagine swimming through a coral reef from your living room or taking students on a field trip to walk on the moon without them ever leaving their desks. 

Harvard Graduate School of Education researcher and Ph.D. candidate Eileen McGivney, who taught a course on digital literacy last spring, is part of a team that wants to help educators understand the challenges and possibilities of bringing the Metaverse into the classroom with their new manual, An Introduction to Learning in the Metaverse .

"In recent months the buzz around the Metaverse has exploded, and this guide can help educators and educational technology designers understand what its promise is for learning versus what's just a gimmick," says McGivney. 

Produced by award-winning education experience company Meridian Treehouse with support from Meta Education and Immersive Learning, the independent team of researchers, including McGivney, marine biologist and National Geographic Explorer Erika Woolsey , and historian and digital storyteller Kai Frazier, created the guide to offer practical strategies for educators to integrate the different tools that fall under the term “extended reality,” or XR, into learning experiences. These immersive technologies include:  

• Augmented Reality (AR) : Using a smartphone or tablet to superimpose digital content onto the physical world. Think Snapchat filters or games like Pokémon Go. 
• Mixed Reality (MR) : Users interact with physical and virtual objects with a head-mounted, see-through display. Students might scan a physical space and embed an undersea environment where fish can swim around them. 
• Virtual Reality (VR) : The physical environment is completely replaced with audio and visual stimuli in a virtual world. A headset like Oculus can allow a student to shrink down and explore the human body from the inside.  

For anyone who thinks this all sounds a bit overwhelming, there’s reassuring news. 

“The Metaverse isn’t here yet and even those who consider themselves expert don’t really know what it will look like,” McGivney says. “There’s still time to question and think about what we want it to be.” 

For educators in particular, that means figuring out when and how XR is most appropriate for learning. For example, current technology is not suited for especially long periods of usage, so teachers wouldn’t want to create a 45-minute virtual lesson. But XR learning can be a great gateway into a new topic to spur interest and motivate students to learn more.

In fact, a recent study found that using VR to take students on a virtual field trip to Greenland to learn about climate change produced higher interest, enjoyment, and retention than peers who simply watched a 2-D video. 

“Half the battle is getting kids to care about what you’re trying to teach, so VR, because of the way it situates someone in the environment and the power it can provide for storytelling, it gives someone an emotional experience, which really connects to student excitement and investment,” McGivney says.  

So when is XR a good option for learning? A rule of thumb for teachers to follow is to use XR for experiences that otherwise would be too dangerous, impossible, counterproductive (for example, cutting down trees to learn about the effects of deforestation), or prohibitively expensive — what the guide refers to by the acronym DICE.   

Here are some other things for educators to consider when inclusively designing for XR learning. 

• What are your learning goals? Consider how XR can enhance a learning experience rather than just reproduce it. Say you’re a science teacher and your class is about to learn about the tidal zone. If you’re in a landlocked area, XR can be a great way to give your students the experience of being on the beach, but if you live close to the shore, a real-life field trip is still the better option. 
• What will you need? Think about what technologies your students will need and what they will realistically have access to. You might want to design your own new XR content, which is challenging, but as the guide points out, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. There are lots of resources already out there to explore. This Educational VR Applications Database from Stanford University is a good place to start.   
• What are your expectations? Teachers know how to measure learning outcomes for a traditional lesson, but you should reconsider what success looks like for a virtual curriculum. “We should think about the tech, not to teach a particular topic, but to give students an experience to see the value in what they are going to learn later,” McGivney says.

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The Metaverse Is Already Here, and K–12 Schools Are Using It for Education

Suchi Rudra is a writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, BBC and Vice, among other publications.

Even in its infancy, the metaverse has become a buzzword that remains a bit difficult to pin down. So, what exactly is the metaverse, and why is it such a big deal?

Vriti Saraf , founder and CEO of  k20 Educators , a global social learning community, explains that the metaverse is “a virtual version of everything you can do in real life. It is interoperable, owned by no one, and allows a lot of different platforms to live within it.”

What this means is that anyone, not just a handful of tech companies, can contribute to building the metaverse. Facebook and gaming platform  Roblox  — which has 50 million users daily — are two of the major players expanding the metaverse.

And while social media and gaming platforms may not immediately bring to mind education, Facebook has plans to invest $150 million in virtual reality learning experiences in the metaverse, while Roblox already offers  ISTE-aligned lesson plans for a variety of subjects and age groups . Roblox is also providing  millions of dollars in grants to help more education-focused organizations, such as Project Lead the Way , create online learning experiences on their platforms.

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Schools Are Using Multiple Resources to Access the Metaverse

Although the metaverse is evolving, Camilla Gagliolo, senior director of event content at ISTE , points out that K–12 students do not have to wait for a complete build out to participate.

Educators and education-minded companies are already carving out a space in the metaverse and calling it the “eduverse.” Educators are using resources from Labster (which provides a platform for virtual labs and science simulations) and the VR platforms ENGAGE and Mozilla Hubs (which support virtual collaboration by simulating being in the same space). Teachers can also create virtual tours for students on Driftspace.

Movement and exercise are also areas with strong metaverse potential in educational settings.

In the Metaverse, Educational Resources Empower Students to Learn

Education experts believe it is inevitable that the metaverse will have a huge impact on learning . When teaching about the human body, “you can either introduce them to a textbook, where they can learn everything sequentially, or you can place their avatars inside a human body,” says k20’s Saraf. “One student can choose to go to the brain, other students can choose to go into the intestines. That choose-your-own-adventure learning experience is very empowering for most students.”

And because the learning takes place online, a metaverse platform also gives students and their avatars access to the entire world.

READ MORE:  Can K–12 admins ensure the ethical use of artificial intelligence in schools?

The metaverse allow educators to not only create a more immersive style of learning, but also model teaching best practices.

At the moment, Gagliolo says, most applications for the metaverse are aimed at high school students, partly due to privacy and security concerns that still need to be addressed. However, tools are emerging to help educators ensure that students access only a curated set of applications.

This Dallas School Is One of the First to Use a Metaverse Platform

For every school, the metaverse will likely look different. Dallas Hybrid Prep , which opened at the start of the 2021-2022 school year and uses a hybrid model of virtual and in-person learning, is one of the first schools in the country to implement a metaverse platform.

Students use their laptops or tablets to access the STEMuli metaverse, a learning management system that builds asynchronous work within an enhanced virtual learning environment.

Olga Romero, founding principal at Dallas Hybrid Prep, explains, “Our fifth-grade students join with their teachers while learning from home to collaborate and complete gaming-style assignments, using avatars and earning online currency for completing the assigned tasks.”

DIVE DEEPER:  Learn how to incorporate asynchronous learning in your district.

In the 2021-2022 school year, students spent an average of 1.5 hours, three times a week working on assigned tasks.  They’re giving feedback too, which helps the school design the virtual learning space based on specific student needs.

“Our model is not for everyone,” Romero says. “But it does work for those students who need a more personalized instructional experience.”

Although remote learning throughout the pandemic has left many teachers (and students and parents) feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by technology, Romero thinks that the addition of more planning time, professional development and tech support would accelerate tasks and not create more work for teachers, who are working within the tech tools provided by the metaverse.

Olga Romero Founding Principal, Dallas Hybrid Prep

How Important Are VR Headsets to Accessing the Metaverse?

While VR headsets are becoming less expensive, Saraf says that there are still a lot of problems to be solved before they can be widely used within in the K–12 environment. “They’re obviously not at the point yet where they’re widely consumable, and they say you shouldn’t have anyone under the age of 10 using them. I actually don’t think it’s going to be practical, even for the next 10 to 15 years, for us to say, ‘Well, every kid needs to have a VR headset.’”

But even without VR headsets, most metaverse environments can be accessed and experienced simply through a laptop or tablet by either downloading software or clicking on a link.

Best Practices for Schools Designing Metaverse Platforms

Romero says that one of the most important things that schools can do when designing a metaverse platform is to involve teachers, parents and students, but also understand that “innovation takes time, and we make mistakes and evolve together in this process. There is a learning curve when implementing new initiatives, especially if you are the first one to try it out. Finally, make learning engaging and embrace the ‘wow’ moments in everything you do. Create new ways of learning that will captivate the student and motivate the teacher. That’s how you change the system.”

Regardless of how long it takes to build out the metaverse environment, some say that it’s not a tech tool that should be thought of as a replacement for anything carried out in real life. As Saraf puts it, “We don’t want to spend all of our time online. So, the important thing here is that you want to use the metaverse as a supplement to your in-person activities.”

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MetaEdu: a new framework for future education

• Open access
• Published: 20 March 2023
• Volume 3 , article number  10 , ( 2023 )

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• LuoBin Cui 1   na1 ,
• ChengZhang Zhu 1   na1 ,
• Ryan Hare 1   na1 &
• Ying Tang 1  

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The potential of the metaverse in the field of education is an area of increasing interest, with many researchers exploring the space to increase the ease and efficacy of student education while reducing time and labor requirements to deliver effective teaching. However, there has been little work into the systematic and technological aspects of delivering education through the metaverse. To fill this gap, we propose a metaverse education system that takes good advantages of virtual reality and Web3 blockchain techologies to create a social learning environment. With this added emphasis on social aspects, learners are able to socialize and engage in collaborative efforts to improve their own knowledge. Using blockchain technology, the system can also help to ensure security and transparency while also keeping progression and grading fair for all participating students.

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1 Introduction

Education is fundamental for the growth and advancement of society because it helps all people understand new concepts, ideas, and methodologies to better the world. Understanding how people learn to offer an education system that achieves effective learning for all people has always been challenging. While some similarities exist, most students have significantly different preferred approaches to learning new concepts. For example, many of them prefer guided learning approaches to self-driven discovery learning [ 1 ]. Ideally, all education would be personalized to each individual student’s preferences. However, the wide range of learning styles and varying degrees of aptitude makes it hard for traditional teaching methods to be universally effective, especially when considering personalized learning approaches. Furthermore, the current one-size-fits-all approach to education presents a barrier to students who would succeed if given personalized coaching [ 2 ].

To tackle this challenge, early research efforts have been devoted to intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), where computational intelligence methods are used to mimic human tutors. As stated in a recent survey [ 3 ], the long history of productive research of ITSs has resulted in successful applications in education [ 4 ], military training [ 5 ], and healthcare [ 6 ], with even more work still ongoing. Early ITSs are often described as “homework helpers”, where a set of generalized or specific hints is provided upon a learner’s request [ 7 ]. If a student were puzzled with a problem and failed to phrase a meaningful question, older ITSs might offer irrelevant or incorrect guidance that harms the student more than helps. With this in mind, ITSs continue to improve their mathematical student models through sensor informatics and machine learning. Rather than requiring students to ask relevant questions, modern ITSs monitor students’ behaviors in their learning and identify their individual needs for support [ 3 ]. However, modern ITSs still have issues engaging students and providing interesting lessons. Furthermore, sensor informatics is a limited approach since many applications will not allow for the easy use of complex external sensors.

A second line of work that aims to overcome these shortcomings is to exploit the strengths of ITSs and increase student engagement through gamification. So called adaptive serious games use the principles of gamification to present educational concepts in an enjoyable and engaging setting. In other words, students can be distracted by game playing to the point where they do not recognize that they are learning. By adding intelligent or adaptive support, these games can be fully self-contained, providing lessons without the need for instructor intervention. While providing such personalized serious games is important with much potential benefits [ 8 ], many challenges still exist in the area. Although games provide a great environment to support contextualized knowledge construction, the requirement of self-directed and self-regulated learning on students makes it difficult to maximize a game's potential. While there is a wide range of data available in games for developers and researchers to analyze student performance and game effectiveness, physical learning data is still sparse as non-invasive physical sensors are often challenging to implement. Without necessary data, it is impossible to take good advantages of the power of data mining and artificial intelligence to build accurate and precise student/player models. Furthermore, many adaptive serious games offer one-player experiences, which do not consider the benefits of more social and group learning. However, recent technological advancement has made it possible for learning to occur anywhere and anytime. Any new and effective systems and platforms must consider that learning is no longer confined to classrooms, and must be able to capture learner information in any possible setting.

Metaverse, considered as the next generation of social connection [ 9 ], presents one potential solution to the aforementioned challenge in education. By extending physical learning through virtual and augmented technologies, physical education can be seamlessly integrated with virtual learning. By combining virtual reality learning with physical learning, an educational social space can be constructed where students are able to interact and socialize with peers while learning. Additionally, the flexible and configurable nature of virtual spaces makes it possible to tailor a wide range of lessons and educational approaches including personalized support. However, Metaverse education is still an emerging topic, with few efforts made to develop deep systematic approaches to this type of education system. Our prior work attempted to provide a systematic model for Metaverse education from the perspective of non-player characters (NPCs) that tutor students [ 10 ]. In that work, we did not consider other types of NPCs that would learn alongside the students. In other words, we did not consider the benefits that social interaction these learner NPCs would bring to an educational system. And though these aspects are beneficial to consider, they also raise numerous issues with system security and safety. This paper aims to address the challenges and make the following contributions:

Extended from our prior work, this paper proposes MetaEdu, a novel framework that integrates both artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3 technologies through the ACP method (Artificial societies, Computational experiments, and Parallel execution) for effective Metaverse learning. MetaEdu considers that learning can occur everywhere, both within and outside of a standard classroom, including social interactions via extracurricular activities such as study groups. The three developmental phases of MetaEdu are then defined, and their relations are elaborated to show the progression and symbiosis of virtual and physical learning.

A detailed architecture of MetaEdu is then developed and analyzed, showing how the key technologies are applied to design various types of NPCs in the virtual space with the aim to optimize physical learning. In particular, blockchain technology is used to ensure the security, transparency, and fairness of shared social connection, while AI is deployed to provide students with an adaptive educational experience as they interact with MetaEdu.

The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Sect. 2 provides a review of relevant technologies that inspired the proposed system, and a discussion of outstanding issues with existing research. Section 3 presents the definition of MetaEdu, with the emphasis on its three developmental phases. Section 4 discusses challenges that could arise when moving forward toward the implementation stage of such a system, followed by our conclusions in Section 5 .

2 Related work

2.1 its and serious games.

ITSs have made great strides in recent years [ 11 ], sharing responsibility with instructors for estimating student knowledge and providing coaching and tutoring. Their effectiveness has been demonstrated in various fields of education, such as computer programming [ 12 ], language learning [ 13 ], dynamic system modelling [ 14 ], mathematics [ 14 ], and more general-purpose e-learning approaches [ 15 ]. By providing students with more personalized education, ITSs aim to improve the efficacy of education while simultaneously reducing the strain on instructors’ limited time and resources. With an ITS, students can receive timely and personalized feedback on their learning without instructor intervention.

Among the various successful implementations, there are many AI methods that have been applied to map student data or performance into actionable system decisions. Methods like reinforcement learning [ 16 ] and genetic algorithms [ 17 ] allow AI systems to learn and adapt to new data. Other methods like Bayesian approaches [ 18 ] and fuzzy logic [ 19 ] allow experts to define their own logical behavior for AI tutors.

Beyond methods that focus solely on the AI side of ITSs, there has also been extensive developments in data mining [ 20 ], big data [ 21 ], and multimodal learning analytics [ 3 ] for educational approaches, with both areas showing promise for integration with more advanced AI methods. Methods like generative adversarial networks [ 22 ], unsupervised learning [ 23 ], and clustering [ 24 ] can work with student data to spot trends and make predictions that in turn can be used by AI methods to provide appropriate support.

A prominent field that extends the capabilities of ITSs is serious games, which are games made for education or training purposes. Serious games can be integrated with ITSs to both increase student engagement and to create a learning environment that focuses more on problem-solving. Principles of gamification [ 25 , 26 ] are often applied to increase the educational merit and engagement of the system. And as such, serious games often focus on providing more immersive and exciting lessons compared to a standard ITS or classroom education. Beyond that, many of the technologies and systems established in the field of ITSs are also applicable within serious games such as reinforcement learning, supervised learning methods, and fuzzy logic [ 27 ].

As stated earlier, technological advances have made it easier to connect globally, resulting in vibrant networks of learners and content around the world. Learning communities are inevitably expanded beyond the boundaries of the classroom. However, both ITSs and serious games are primarily used in a traditional classroom setting or for one-on-one tutoring, despite their successful research and educational merit. Thus, there is a crucial need to bring ITSs and serious games into new development to address the emerging theme of “learning without borders” and many social situations where education is present.

2.2 Metaverse

The idea of the Metaverse has taken off in recent years with many researchers now exploring the possibilities and technologies of a shared virtual social space for work, school, and fun. The level of social connection, mobility, and collaboration in Metaverse presents great value to education, especially when considering the theme of “learning without borders”. Metaverse promotes deeper learning by naturally bringing learning into new contexts and allowing socialization for deep group collaboration [ 28 ]. Gu et al. [ 29 ], for example, proposed using a metaverse and deep reinforcement learning to improve emergency evacuations, with a training system to help evacuees learn and predict efficient routes with a great improvement over traditional approaches [ 29 ]. Artificial intelligence (AI) also plays very important roles in Metaverse to ensure proper arbitration, simulations, and decision-making [ 30 ]. The involvement of AI in Metaverse makes it possible for data analytics that help better estimate learner knowledge for personalization. Similarly, blockchain technology can be fused into Metaverse, bringing education to a different level [ 31 , 32 ].

Despite these prominent features of Metaverse for education, the research is still in its infancy. Besides heated discussions on its benefits and potential applications [ 33 ], there are very few technological developments. The design of virtual classroom with commercial-grade software and hardware is presented by Shen et al. to allow for a seamless connection between physical and virtual learning environments [ 34 ]. Hare and Tang focused their efforts on building a virtual learning environment and designing AI-enabled tutor NPCs to offer guided learning [ 10 ]. A case study of a consortium university in Korea for Metaverse education is presented in [ 35 ]. Despite all these works, there is still a need for formal, systematic methods to guide the development of Metaverse education and, particularly, the integration of physical and virtual worlds to achieve optimal learning.

2.3 Parallel intelligent systems

With the advancement of system science and computer simulations, ACP (Artificial Systems, Computational Experiments, and Parallel Execution) methods were formally proposed by Fei-Yue Wang [ 36 ] to achieve Parallel Intelligence. ACP methods introduce a circular feedback mechanism to guide the operations of parallel intelligent systems - the integration of an artificial system with a real system. While the artificial system mirrors the actual system, computational experiments provide a unique way of testing models and algorithms in the virtual system that might be difficult or even impossible to conduct in the physical system. The optimal schema validated in the virtual system then has to act on the real system through parallel execution, including virtual-real interactions, double-feedback, and double closed-loop between the virtual and physical spaces.

In recent years, the ACP method has been widely applied to many domains. Ren et al. successfully used it to design a parallel vehicular crowd sensing (VCS) system [ 37 ]. In particular, various computational experiments considering human and social factors were conducted, evaluated, and shared with the real VCS system to improve its efficiency and robustness. Similar studies can be found in transportation systems [ 38 ], healthcare [ 39 ], education [ 40 ], and image encryption [ 41 ].

Given these recent developments using the ACP methods and parallel intelligent systems, it can be said that there are many commonaltiies between parallel systems and metaverses. In particular, they both share the same challenges when dealing with complex systems. For example, there are many variables involved in operations of a complex system including many unknown latent variables. Understanding these variables is key to characterizing the complex system for any control and management application. However, such studies in the real world might be very costly or even impossible due to financial, legal, or institutional constraints. In this case, the ACP approach offers a viable solution. The successful application of ACP in other domains should be adopted for the design of Metaverse. Following this line of thinking, the proposed system focuses on applying an ACP approach to metaverse education to create MetaEdu.

It is clear that Metaverse has the potential to make education more flexible, interactive, and effective with equal learning accessibility. The more opportunities Metaverse present, the more complex learning systems become, and the more challenges have to be dealt with. Taking this into consideration, we propose a system called MetaEdu which aims to build a virtual learning world that starts from mirroring the physical world but goes far beyond it. MetaEdu is built to store users’ learning trajectories and knowledge trees irreversibly on the blockchain and establish a safe, fair, and open circle with credible data through partial disclosure. Unlike current virtual reality education, MetaEdu is also able to protect user privacy while keeping user information up-to-date through Web3, in addition to meeting the requirements of social interaction in educational conditions.

3.1 Definition

MetaEdu refers to a virtual-reality learning system based on metaverse technologies and features. It aims to generate a virtual clone of real-world learning environments and extend it to make the learning process more immersive for users. In addition to this, MetaEdu includes a blockchain technology-based Web3 reserve system that tightly integrates the virtual world with the physical world in terms of the learning system, social system, and identity system, and allows each user to produce specific content and edit the virtual world through their avatars. MetaEdu consists of three parts: the physical learning system for the world, Web3, and the virtual learning system.

The human world is the physical world of humans (teachers, students, etc.) who can communicate with each other and perform learning activities. The physical learning system aims to enable learning in the physical world, and therefore, it contains devices/hardware, systems, communication, and computing with educational applications. For example, books, personal communication devices, cloud computing devices, storage devices, management systems, and campus or social environments. The virtual learning system is a simulated system that can perform all learning operations in the physical world through artificial intelligence technology. It can also run and generate algorithms or systems designed as physical learning systems and store the results on Web3. In addition, its AI can interact with avatars of users in the human world through interactive devices. In contrast, users or robots in the human world can manipulate elements in the virtual learning system through Web3 to achieve MetaEdu’s integration of physical and virtual worlds.

3.2 Development

The development of MetaEdu consists of three phases: clone, expansion, and fusion of surreality. The detailed development of the proposed system is given in Fig. 1 .

MetaEdu System development

The cloning phase refers to the mirroring process from the physical learning system to the virtual learning system. To give users a learning experience consistent with reality, the virtual world will have different scenarios that correspond to the physical world. For example, a classroom, library, and study room all located in the virtual space. These virtual scenarios must have the exact same elements and attributes as the physical world to encourage the same behaviors that users would perform in a physical learning environment. The end goal of the cloning phase is to allow users to experience a more convenient, efficient, and familiar virtual learning experience.

The expansion phase focuses on further developing and extending the framework created in the first phase. The main manifestation of this phase of work is that the virtual learning system will be improved and extended. At this stage, the virtual world as a mirror of the physical will be expanded with more scenarios and functions than the physical. For example, virtual classrooms that are easier to access with free technology experiments. In addition, virtual worlds are no longer just a mapping, but instead offer a way for students to self-improve beyond the limits of the physical world. Users participate in virtual worlds by logging into them to generate an avatar. Under the control of parallel strategies, the user’s behavior not only changes objects in the virtual world, but also generates impacts on the user experience in reality. Additionally, since the framework has already been built, the extended content of the virtual learning system will have a lower development cost with greater complexity and possibilities than the physical learning system. At the same time, however, security and privacy are critical factors to consider when transitioning to a virtual education system, including:

Cybersecurity threats: The teaching and learning resources of a virtual education system originate from the web and therefore may be vulnerable to cybersecurity threats such as hacking, malware, and phishing attacks.

Student safety: Virtual education systems may also pose greater risks to student safety, such as the possibility of cyberbullying or exposure to inappropriate content.

Data privacy: Virtual education systems often involve the collection and storage of student data, and online data storage may raise concerns about data privacy. It is therefore of utmost importance to ensure that student data is properly protected and collection and use of data is as transparent as possible.

The last phase is to deploy a multi-faceted interactive virtual reality system based on blockchain technology. In order to address the security and privacy issues raised in the second stage, the main goal is to ensure security, transparency, immutability, decentralization, and efficiency of information transmission between all participating parties. For these specific goals, blockchain technology offers a good solution. It is a decentralized and distributed technology that allows behavior and data to be securely recorded and verified without the need for a central authority. In MetaEdu, the physical system collects the user’s data and constantly updates a student model on the blockchain. This model can then be retrieved directly from the blockchain each time an educator or AI system calls for relevant content. Valid training results that need to be saved will also be uploaded to the blockchain to reduce storage risk.

Correspondingly, this new framework solves the problems of the original virtual world through the following aspects:

Security - Because blockchain is decentralized and distributed, it is more secure than traditional databases stored in a single location. This makes it more difficult for hackers to make unwanted changes to user information and records stored on the blockchain.

Transparency - Blockchain is a transparent system, which means that all learning records and the non-encrypted data stored on them are visible to anyone who has access to the network. This can help increase trust in the system.

Immutability - Once learning data has been added to the blockchain, it cannot be changed or deleted. This ensures that the information stored on the blockchain is accurate and cannot be tampered with.

Efficiency - Using blockchain to store user learning information has the potential to be more efficient than traditional databases because it eliminates the need for a middleman and can automate certain processes.

The three stages stated above also represent trends in human learning styles, so the systematic structure of the third stage will be explained in detail in the architecture.

3.3 Architecture

MetaEdu system architecture

The architecture of MetaEdu is shown in Fig. 2 . As described in the previous chapter, MetaEdu is built on two worlds: the physical world and the virtual world. In MetaEdu, the two worlds interact and synchronize information through Web3-based on-chain connections to allow for independence and mutual feedback.

3.3.1 Physical world system

The physical world consists of three parts: Information Collection, Communication Computation and Storage, and Management and Control.

Information Collection (IC): The IC system handles all in-boundary and over-boundary transmission. The in-boundary transmission will include users’ information entry in the off-chain Internet, while over-boundary transmission covers the over-bound user information authentication, the over-bound update of the knowledge system framework, and sensor data such as voice recordings, gestures, expressions, heartbeat data, gaze tracking, or any other data collected when the user participates in MetaEdu.

Communication, Computation, and Storage (CCS): The CCS system is a system that enables the exchange of information, the processing of data, and the storage of data. The communication component of the system allows for the transmission of information between devices or systems through the internet. The computation component allows for the computational processing of data. The storage component allows for the preservation of data through the use of storage devices. Together, these three components enable the exchange, processing, and storage of information, allowing for efficient communication, data analysis, and data management.

Management and Control Center: The physical world management system and control system involves collaboration between teachers, school administrators, and other stakeholders in order to create a positive and effective learning environment for students. It also involves the combination of technological tools and pedagogical strategies online, as well as effective communication and collaboration between instructors, students, and other stakeholders. In particular, this system is also responsible for communicating with IC and CCS systems in our MetaEdu cycle, so as to complete on-chain user authentication, information upload, and knowledge framework update.

For the MetaEdu ecological cycle, the physical world system needs to rely on these three components for synchronization and feedback with virtual system:

IC systems to collect user authentication and feedback, update user learning status, and improve the on-chain model.

The CSS system to ensure user communication, collect and back up knowledge frameworks, and maintain efficient up-link communication. CSS is also responsible for outputting in-chain/ off-chain information to users.

The Management and Control Center to monitor and maintain the flow within the loop, using the best educational strategies to ensure that users learn easily and efficiently.

In relation to the blockchain, the chain stores not only the knowledge framework updated and kept by CCS, but also all the data of offline users, including login authentication data, interaction records and users’ knowledge records. In particular, due to blockchain irreversibility and on-chain publicness, MetaEdu can help users create on-chain knowledge trees with cascading updates to ensure fair and valid certification through group public scoring. Because of this, blockchain is a key technology that allows MetaEdu to operate more openly, fairly, securely, and efficiently.

3.3.2 Web3 system

Web3 refers to the next generation of the World Wide Web built on top of decentralized technologies such as blockchain. Web3 technologies are designed to allow users to interact with decentralized applications (dApps) and to take advantage of the security and transparency offered by blockchain. Blockchain in this case functions as a decentralized method of securely storing data and recording transactions. It consists of a network of computers that work together to validate and record transactions, which are then added to a chain of blocks that form a permanent record. Currently, blockchain is used for a variety of purposes, including the creation of digital currencies, the facilitation of financial transactions, and the storage and access of information which MetaEdu takes advantage of.

MetaEdu blockchain layers

Blockchain in MetaEdu consists of 5 layers, as shown in Fig. 3 :

Hardware/ Infrastructure layer: The hardware layer refers to the network of computers contributing to the blockchain’s computing power forms. A node is a computer or a network of computers that decrypt transactions.

Data storage layer: This layer is responsible for storing the data that is recorded on the blockchain. The data storage layer might use a variety of data structures, such as linked lists or hash tables to efficiently store and retrieve the data.

Network layer: This layer refers to the protocols that are used to connect the nodes in the network and enable them to communicate with each other.

Consensus layer: This layer is responsible for ensuring that all nodes in the network reach consensus on the state of the blockchain. It uses various algorithms and protocols to ensure that all nodes agree on the transactions that are included in the blockchain.

Application layer: This is the highest layer of the blockchain, and it refers to the applications and services that are built on top of the blockchain. These applications might include decentralized applications (dApps) and other services that allow users to interact with the blockchain and use its features.

In this layer structure, the primary function of the blockchain is to store and access information, and the various layers of the blockchain are structured in a way that enables this function to be performed efficiently and securely.

Users and virtual systems could access data on blockchain as shown in Fig. 4 :

Computational experiment model

One of the smart contracts based on parallel intelligence can facilitate social interaction or interaction with other smart contracts; on the training model provided by the virtual system, contracts can be designed to allow testing and experimentation with different inputs or scenarios. Primarily, contracts are designed to allow the input of different variables or parameters and provide outputs based on these inputs.

It is worth noting, however, that the execution of smart contracts based on parallel intelligence is usually facilitated through the use of virtual machines, requiring consideration of the underlying blockchain platform as well as the capabilities and limitations of the smart contract. While parallel execution can be used in the contract itself, off-chain computation can also be used, or sharding can be used on the blockchain platform to improve overall efficiency and capacity.

3.3.3 Virtual world system

The virtual world system is a mirror and extension of the physical world that offers users a platform for personalized learning and communication. With AI-enabled non-player characters (NPCs), it can build a virtual learning system that revolves around the user’s physical world and their digital avatar, continuously optimizing learning methods and improving efficiency. The system is divided into two main parts, learner NPCs and tutor NPCs.

Learner NPCs, which act as peers to users, and can be either skilled learners or apprentice learners.

Skilled learner NPCs in MetaEdu exist to create more challenging and dynamic gameplay experiences for users. These NPCs exist to act as challenging opponents for users that react to user strategies in competitive situations to try to outperform users.

Apprentice learner NPCs in MetaEdu exist to ”learn” at a slower pace than users and skilled learner NPCs. Unlike skilled learner NPCs which exist to compete with users, apprentice NPCs instead offer users an opportunity to teach others. They act as peers to users to help them accomplish goals and help them achieve a deeper education through teaching others.

Skilled learner NPCs and Apprentice learner NPCs will store and share learning experiences through the blockchain while accessing information and data to learn and make decisions based on that information and data. They can also use natural language processing and AI methods to communicate and interact with students in meaningful ways. Behind the scenes, both types of NPC behaviors can be adjusted to ensure that students receive appropriate competition or guidance from both competitive and collaborative NPCs. And while these NPCs may have conflicting goals, educational scenarios can be tailored carefully to students to ensure that NPCs only act when it is appropriate for collaboration or competition.

Unlike learner NPCs which function as peers, Tutor NPCs in MetaEdu are meant to create more effective educational experiences. Tutor NPCs can be used to present information and explanations, provide examples and practice exercises, and offer feedback and reinforcement to help students improve their understanding and performance. This could be particularly useful in online or distance learning environments, where students may not have access to a human instructor.

Tutor NPCs access information about learning frameworks and student users via the blockchain. Using machine learning algorithms to analyze data about the student’s performance and learning progress, tutor NPCs adjust the learning experience accordingly. The NPC will provide more or less challenging material based on the student’s performance, or may focus on specific areas where the student is struggling. This can help ensure that the learning experience is tailored to the student’s needs and abilities, and can help them progress more quickly and effectively. Some additional details and possible methods of NPCs were addressed in our prior work [ 10 ].

To provide students with an adaptive learning experience in the virtual world, we use the model shown in Fig. 5 . This computational experiment model is built to be highly controllable, easy to apply, and easily reproduced. In Fig. 5 , the inputs \(F_a, F_b,..., F_n\) are factors collected by the system. For example, the system might collect score on an exam, time taken to complete the exam, and gaze tracking data on which question the student looked at longest. The optimization model is then trained on this data to estimate student performance and select what guidance those students require. While specific methods to translate student data into knowledge models are beyond the scope of this paper and left up to implementation, the system may, for example, score the user in several categories using clustering methods. It would then select a hint from a database of hints, or generate a paragraph of useful information using a natural language model. In addition to providing support to the learner in the physical world, student models can also feedback to help improve the behavior of NPCs and make them more realistic (for learner NPCs) or more effective (for tutor NPCs). With this parallel approach, the goal is to improve system performance on multiple fronts while helping the user learn.

4 Challenges

While MetaEdu presents a good framework for a new way of education, there are many challenges ahead.

Security: since MetaEdu is a very complex system involving multiple smaller systems, it has many privacy and security issues. On a system level, the virtual world is a clone of the physical world, which naturally contains geographic information; the virtual learning world could also contain sensitive knowledge that needs to be taught, such as proprietary information from industries or countries. From the user level in MetaEdu, human users interact with in the digital world through virtual reality devices, and the personal and activity data collected by the devices are stored in the MetaEdu blockchain. The loss or leakage of information during the transmission process could cause huge losses to the user or related users. At the same time, a large amount of user information and knowledge models are stored on the chain, and it is very important to protect their security and integrity. However, since the number of MetaEdu users is huge and the knowledge system is constantly expanding, protecting their privacy and security is also an important challenge for MetaEdu.

Intelligence: to achieve the goal of introducing teaching and learning into both the physical and virtual worlds, MetaEdu relies on artificial intelligence (AI) to build various non-player characters (NPCs) that present diverse challenges in terms of intelligence requirements. On the one hand, since NPCs in virtual worlds have changing goals and environments, an AI model that can continuously learn and update itself is required. On the other hand, multiple training models exist in the system from top to bottom, and they need to be trained on all of the collected data. This information has considerable complexity and dimensionality, putting tremendous pressure and difficulty on the training. Therefore, adding a layer of trainers that can dynamically filter and update the training data set is a possible solution that would ensure smoother operation of the completed MetaEdu system.

Computation: as we mentioned in the previous point, as the number of users increases and the knowledge architecture is updated, a stable and efficient system ecology is necessary. So, without degrading the user experience, MetaEdu needs a system that can provide great computing power. It must have a large amount of storage space, fast computing power, and at the same time be responsible for managing system processes while maintaining stable operation of the system within a manageable latency.

5 Conclusion

In order to break the boundaries of the traditional education model and push education to a higher platform, we apply the concept of Metaverse to education and propose MetaEdu. MetaEdu is an educational system that enables learning and communication simultaneously in the physical and virtual worlds, greatly improving learning efficiency while enabling secure, seamless connections and interactions between users. The development stages of MetaEdu include cloning, extending, and surreality fusing to put together the physical and virtual components and the blockchain technology necessary to enable the completed system. By connecting both through the blockchain, the MetaEdu framework allows for safe and secure collection and storage of user data to enable powerful AI techniques, all with the end goal of enhancing student learning. Using the ideas outlined in this paper, we hope to inspire future researchers to create and apply MetaEdu to offer more effective and efficient education to students around the world.

Data availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no data were generated or analysed during the study.

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LuoBin Cui, ChengZhang Zhu and Ryan Hare are contributed equally to this work

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LuoBin Cui, ChengZhang Zhu, Ryan Hare & Ying Tang

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YT come up with ideas and wrote chapter 1,2. RH wrote the chapter 2. CZ wrote the chapter 2,3,4,5 and Figs 1 , 3 , 4 . LC wrote the chapter 2,3,4 and Figs. 2 , 3 . All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Is Metaverse in education a blessing or a curse: a combined content and bibliometric analysis

• Ahmed Tlili 1 ,
• Ronghuai Huang 1 ,
• Boulus Shehata 1 ,
• Dejian Liu 1 ,
• Jialu Zhao 1 ,
• Ahmed Hosny Saleh Metwally 1 ,
• Huanhuan Wang 1 ,
• Mouna Denden   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0035-3490 2 , 3 ,
• Aras Bozkurt 4 , 5 ,
• Lik-Hang Lee 6 ,
• Dogus Beyoglu 7 ,
• Fahriye Altinay 7 ,
• Ramesh C. Sharma 8 ,
• Zehra Altinay 7 ,
• Zhisheng Li 1 ,
• Jiahao Liu 1 ,
• Faizan Ahmad 1 , 11 ,
• Ying Hu 1 ,
• Soheil Salha 9 ,
• Mourad Abed 2 , 3 &
• Daniel Burgos 10  

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The Metaverse has been the centre of attraction for educationists for quite some time. This field got renewed interest with the announcement of social media giant Facebook as it rebranding and positioning it as Meta. While several studies conducted literature reviews to summarize the findings related to the Metaverse in general, no study to the best of our knowledge focused on systematically summarizing the finding related to the Metaverse in education. To cover this gap, this study conducts a systematic literature review of the Metaverse in education. It then applies both content and bibliometric analysis to reveal the research trends, focus, and limitations of this research topic. The obtained findings reveal the research gap in lifelogging applications in educational Metaverse. The findings also show that the design of Metaverse in education has evolved over generations, where generation Z is more targeted with artificial intelligence technologies compared to generation X or Y. In terms of learning scenarios, there have been very few studies focusing on mobile learning, hybrid learning, and micro learning. Additionally, no study focused on using the Metaverse in education for students with disabilities. The findings of this study provide a roadmap of future research directions to be taken into consideration and investigated to enhance the adoption of the Metaverse in education worldwide, as well as to enhance the learning and teaching experiences in the Metaverse.

Introduction

Metaverse in education.

The idea of the Metaverse is not brand-new, in contrast, it was heard earlier in sci-fi novels such as Snow Crash (Stephenson, 1992 ) and drew some attention with the movie version of the novel entitled Ready Player One (Cline, 2011 ). There were already known and popular examples such as Second Life and the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft which attracted attention of millions (Wiederhold, 2022 ). However, when Mark Zuckerberg officially announced the Metaverse project in October 2021, Metaverse became a buzzword. Many educators and researchers started providing several future agendas and implementation scenarios in their learning practices. The increasing interest in the educational landscape may stem from a wide range of possibilities including the virtual space that offers real-like representations of selves which possibly enhance the social aspect of teaching and learning. However, the term is relatively new and there is a need to examine the state-of-the-art of the research on Metaverse and this is where this study steps in.

Metaverse is a combination of the prefix “meta” which implies transcending with the word “universe” which describes a parallel or virtual environment linked to the physical world. Metaverse was first coined in 1992 by Neal Stephenson in his science-fiction novel Snow Crash, which envisions a virtual reality-based successor to the Internet. In this novel, people try to escape the pain of the real world by exploring a digital world through several digital avatars (Stephenson, 1992 ). Since then, it has been defined and considered differently, including collective space in virtuality (Lee et al., 2021 ), mirror world (Lee et al., 2021 ), embodied internet/spatial Internet (Chayka, 2021 ), a new type of Internet application and social form that integrates a variety of new technologies (Ning et al., 2021 ), post-reality universe, a perpetual and persistent multiuser environment merging physical reality with digital virtuality (Mystakidis et al., 2021 ), an omniverse: a venue of simulation and collaboration (Lee et al., 2021 ), and lifelogging (Bruun, & Stentoft, 2019 ).

Go and his colleagues, as cited in Kye et al. ( 2021 ), defined Metaverse as “a 3D-based virtual reality in which daily activities and economic life are conducted through avatars representing the real themselves.” Lee and his colleagues, as cited in Kye et al. ( 2021 ), further stated that “Metaverse means a world in which virtual and reality interact and co-evolve, and social, economic, and cultural activities are carried out in it to create value.” These two definitions imply that the Metaverse does not simply combine the physical and virtual worlds; it is instead a continuity of the physical world in the virtual world to create an ecosystem that merges both worlds (physical and virtual). Supporting the idea that Metaverse is an ecosystem and emphasizing its scope, Knox ( 2022 ) also highlights that the Metaverse “is not simply a platform developed by one company, implying the usual constraints of monopolisation, but rather a new plane of existence, not just void of control by any single corporation, but also free of incursions by any state entity or government.” (p. 4). Hwang and Chien ( 2022 ) proposed a framework to differentiate the Metaverse from AR and VR in three features: “shared,” “persistent,” and “de-centralized.”, emphasizing that AR and VR could be used in Metaverse with other elements besides the experiencing time and implementing of AI technology. Therefore, Metaverse provides the possibilities of immersion experience, collaborations, and interaction that supports developing social experience allowing “parallel world[s]” to emerge (Schlemmer, & Backes, 2015 ). Lee et al. ( 2021 ) further mentioned that developing Metaverse requires three stages, namely: (1) digital twins where digital models and representations of the physical world can be created. Digital twins are basically virtual replicas of physical environments that are synchronously used; (2) Individuals with high digital competencies which require people to have expertise in technology to manage and work in the digital environment; and, (3) co-existence of physical-virtual which implies merging and connecting the virtual and physical environment. Furthermore, Davis et al. ( 2009 ) developed a model for research in Metaverses including five components: (1) the Metaverse itself, (2) people/avatars, (3) Metaverse technology capabilities, (4) behaviours, and (5) outcomes.

In education, the Metaverse is also not a new concept as several researchers and educators have discussed its implications for learning. For instance, a study by Kemp and Livingstone in ( 2006 ) discussed how to combine Metaverse through the use of a virtual world called “Second Life” with learning management systems to enhance the learning process (Kemp & Livingstone, 2006 ). Collins ( 2008 ), focusing on virtuality dimension, argued that the Metaverse can be the next space where individuals can meet and socially interact requiring higher education to be proactive for using it teaching and learning purposes. It is also argued that the 3D digital virtual world offers interaction and communication through using avatar which reflects on the feeling of presence (Schlemmer, & Backes, 2015 ). Additionally, in 2006, a summit at the Stanford Research Institute International was held to draw a roadmap for the future of the Metaverse technology. Academics from different domains, technology architects, entrepreneurs, and futurists took part to envision and forecast a 10 years plan about how the internet would look in the future (Metaverse Roadmap Summit, 2006 ).

Though the roadmap was techno-centric, Kye et al. ( 2021 ) presented an educational definition (with possibilities and limitations) of the 4 types of the Metaverse proposed from the Roadmap Summit. According to Fig.  1 , there are four categories of Metaverse technology, namely: Augmented Reality (AR), Lifelogging, Mirror Worlds, and Virtual Worlds. The four categories are characterized by the two axes: Augmentation versus Simulation (A vs. S) and External versus Intimate (E vs I). For the Augmentation technology, a new visual function is added to the existing environment by superimposing digital information on the physical world that we perceive. In contrast, the Simulation technology generates and manipulates models of the existing physical environment and creates virtual interactions and experiences. The other division deals with external/internal worlds. For the External world, the technology focuses on the users’ external environment by displaying information about the surroundings and how to control them. In contrast, the Intimate world uses technology that focuses on the identity and behaviour of individuals or objects by creating inner worlds of avatars or digital profiles where users have agency in the digital environment. The results of the integrations of these two axes produced four types of the Metaverse. In the Augmented Reality Metaverse, the technology features building smart environments that are based on location networks such as in Pokémon Go . For Lifelogging Metaverse, the technology features recording everyday information about people or objects using AR technology for Facebook or Instagram for example. In Mirror Worlds’ Metaverse, the technology builds virtual maps and models using GPS technology on apps such as Google Earth or Google Maps . For the Virtual Worlds’ Metaverse, the technology is based on avatars interacting virtually and reflecting different personas.

A diagram of the 4 types of Metaverse according to Metaverse Roadmap Summit (Kye et al., 2021 ) (CC BY 4.0)

The advent of immersive technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Extended Reality (XR) has further promoted Metaverse in several educational applications. One of the Metaverse’s advantages is enabling students to attend their classes virtually and providing elements that are involved in the real classroom. Students in Metaverse can interact with teachers and communicate with classmates through their avatars. This can create an immersive learning opportunity that enhances the students’ learning motivation. For instance, Siyaev and Jo ( 2021b ) investigated the use of mixed reality in maintenance to provide an engaging learning experience for aircraft maintenance. González Crespo et al. ( 2013 ) analyzed educational virtual environment applications and the dissemination of knowledge in the form of free courses in the Metaverse using OpenSim. Reyes ( 2020 ) developed a Metaverse using AR and mobile learning for teaching mathematics. The findings showed that the application of Metaverse in mathematics can enhance students’ learning outcomes. Furthermore, Park and Kim ( 2022b ) identified the world types in educational Metaverse, i.e., survival, maze, multi-choice, racing/jump, and escape room world types were identified.

Research gap and study objectives

The current concept of the Metaverse is based on Generation Z’s social values that the online self is no different from the ideal self (Duan et al., 2021 ). In other words, it is assumed that online digital identities are a reflection and representation of the real identities of the offline physical worlds. With the growth and influence of Generation Z in the Metaverse, it is now different from the Metaverse before, and, thus, it is argued that there is a need for a new definition (Park & Kim, 2022a , 2022b ). Additionally, the rapid advance of mobile technology and deep learning have facilitated access to the Metaverse in anytime at anywhere compared to the early versions of the Metaverse, and improved the accuracy of vision and language recognition, resulting in more immersive environments (Park & Kim, 2022a , 2022b ). Therefore, it is worth investigating the evolution of Metaverse in education, the way it is designed, and its research trends over the years.

Moreover, several literature reviews were conducted related to Metaverse in general (e.g., Narin, 2021 ) and reviewing graphics, interactions, and visualization studies related to Metaverse (Zhao et al., 2022 ); virtual commerce from both application design and consumer behaviour in Metaverse (Shen et al., 2021 ), digital twin (Cimino et al., 2019 ; Jones et al., 2020 ; Liu et al., 2021 ), 3D virtual worlds (Dionisio et al., 2013 ). However, no literature review, to the best of our knowledge, was conducted to summarize the findings related to Metaverse in education and provide future insights. Consequently, several questions have remained unanswered, such as which type of Metaverse, according to the roadmap Metaverse in ( 2006 ), is used in education; or what type of learning scenarios and assessment methods are conducted in the Metaverse. Therefore, to fill this gap, this study conducts a systematic literature review of Metaverse in education by adopting both bibliometric and content analysis. Bibliometric analysis was adopted to provide visual representations of the relationships between the main concepts (Yilmaz et al., 2019 ). This visualization through mapping allows researchers to identify the background of a given research field, the relationships between key concepts, and possible future trends (Vogel & Masal, 2015 ). On the other hand, content analysis was adopted to acquire an in-depth analysis of the reviewed studies – hence, to identify research themes that authors focused on while discussing Metaverse in education. Specifically, this study answers the following research questions (RQ):

RQ1 What is the trend of Metaverse in education in terms of publication year, document type, country, keywords and research methods?

RQ2 What are the types of Metaverse (according to the Metaverse roadmap in 2006) used in education?

RQ3 What is the education field and level where Metaverse was used, and which learning scenarios have been implemented?

RQ4 How the digital identity of students is represented in the Metaverse and what technologies have been used?

RQ5 How has Metaverse in education evolved over generations?

RQ6 What is the impact of the Metaverse on education and what are the associated challenges?

This study combines quantitative and qualitative synthesis approaches to review the Metaverse in education studies published in the literature. A traditional systematic review is an important step before carrying out any study, however, outcome reporting bias may be introduced, and the interpretation of results is prone to be subjective in a manual review (He et al., 2017 ). Therefore, a mixed-methods systematic review that combines bibliometric analysis and content analysis is needed to scientifically identify the knowledge base and evolution of a topic (Tlili et al., 2022 ). The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed to produce this systematic review (Moher et al., 2010 ).

To deal with this complex topic, an extensive search for research papers was conducted using the following search strings in both Web of Science and Scopus databases: Metaverse and education (Topic) OR Metaverse and learning (Topic) OR Metaverse and teaching (Topic). The data in this study include academic studies published until 31 December 2021. A study was excluded if it: (1) discusses Metaverse in general and not in education; (2) is not in English; and (3) is not accessible online. As a result, a total of 47 studies in the Web of Science database and 34 studies in the Scopus database were identified.

As part of the analysis, content analysis and bibliometric analysis were used. The data were analyzed and interpreted through these approaches for the purpose of data triangulation in order to gain a multi-dimensional perspective and increase the validity of the research. For the bibliometric analysis and synthesis, VOSviewer software was used to make distance-based co-occurrence maps: terms retrieved from keywords, titles, and abstracts were clustered and mapped according to their relatedness in a similarity matrix (Van Eck & Waltman, 2010 ).

Results and discussions

The obtained results are presented and discussed according to each of the aforementioned research questions.

Trends of Metaverse in education by publication year, document type, country, keywords and research method

As shown in Fig.  2 , research on the use of Metaverse in education first started in 2007. The number of studies in the WOS database increased after 2008, with a peak of five studies per year in 2009, 2010, and 2013. There is a sharp decrease after 2013, and only one study was found in 2014. The maximum number of studies reached its peak with seven academic studies in 2015. After 2015, there was a decrease in the number of research papers until 2019, and it was seen that no research was conducted in 2019. Four studies were conducted each year, with a spike in 2020 and 2021. When the polynomial regression trend line is examined, it is seen that the studies on the Metaverse in the WOS database showed a fluctuating trend from 2007 to 2021 but tended to increase in recent years. When the trend line of the Scopus database is examined, it is seen that the studies on the Metaverse show a similar trend to the WOS database over the years. A maximum of four studies per year were conducted in the Scopus database in 2009, 2001, and 2013, and the number of studies decreased after 2013. In 2020, it showed a rapid increase with six academic studies. In 2021, the number of studies decreased, and three studies were found. It has been observed that the Metaverse research of both databases has increased in recent years, especially in the post-Covid-19 period, due to the popularity of virtual environments, the Metaverse research tends to rise again. The first wave of Metaverse research (2007–2013) can be linked to Web 2.0 and earlier examples such as Second Life. The second wave (2014–2020) can be attributed to Web 3.0 and innovative technologies such as AR/VR and the capacity increase in computing data and rendering virtual worlds. The third wave (2021 onwards) can be referred to the sudden peak in 2021 which can be explained by the investments made to the Metaverse technologies (e.g., Facebook).

Distribution of Metaverse in education research by publication year

In terms of the distribution of Metaverse in education research by document type, Fig.  3 shows that most publications were conference proceedings. It is seen that the number of studies in the WOS database in the article type is two times more than the Scopus database. In the book chapter genre, there are eight studies in WOS and two in Scopus. In editorial material, there are only two works in WOS. Books and review article studies have the same rate in both databases. The common feature of both databases is that there are more tendencies towards conference papers in Metaverse studies. The interest in conference papers can be explained by the faster publication processes of proceedings and the effort by academia to quickly understand the promises and potentials of Metaverse technologies.

Distribution of studies on Metaverse by document type

The first author’s affiliation country was considered to present the distribution of Metaverse in education research. Figure  4 shows that the United States had the highest number of research, followed by Brazil, Japan, Spain, and South Korea. Interestingly, it is seen that no research related to Metaverse in education is from the Arab or African region. This could be due to the limited infrastructure that these countries suffer from, which does not support them in adopting these technological-based learning environments (i.e., Metaverse in education). Consequently, this raises the question if this type of learning environment further emphasizes the digital divide instead of reducing it and ensuring inclusive education. There is a continuous need to investigate how developed and developing countries could work together to facilitate adopting Metaverse in education worldwide. There is also a continuous need to harness the power of openness and open educational resources to ensure an inclusive Metaverse in education.

Distribution of academic studies on Metaverse by country

When analysing Metaverse in education by study topic and according to the publication year (see Fig.  5 ), it is seen that the trending topics in Metaverse research are in line with time trend analysis. Accordingly, there are three thematic waves of research trends that emerged. The first wave focuses on social aspects of the Metaverse in education (see virtual worlds, virtual communities and second life in Fig.  5 ). The second wave explores the potentials of technology-mediated presence and immersive technologies (see Metaverse, emerging technologies, virtual environments, telepresence, avatar, augmented reality, mixed reality). The third wave unlocks the potential of self-organized AI-powered virtual learning ecologies (see deep-learning and simulation in Fig.  5 ).

Distribution of Metaverse in education by topic over the years

To identify the focus and trends of Metaverse in education research, the co-occurrence of terms in keywords was analyzed using VOSviewer, as shown in Fig.  6 . The size of the labels and circles depends on the number of co-occurrences. Lines identify major links between terms, and their thickness and the distance between the terms represent the association strength. For example, in Fig.  6 , the terms “metaverse” and “e-learning” have a short distance between them, which means that they occurred together several times. Additionally, Fig.  6 shows that the cluster distribution of keywords belonging to both databases is almost the same (green, blue, red, and yellow clusters). The green cluster in both databases is centralized around “Second Life” and “e-learning” showing the trend of using second life as a learning environment. The blue cluster shows research trends toward communication and social interaction through the Metaverse. The red cluster represents the Metaverse technology, covering terms like virtual reality, augmented reality, avatars, and interactive computer graphics. The yellow cluster represents trends toward deep learning, educational computing, and measurement concepts.

Keyword clustering for the Metaverse research. Left side WoS database; Right side Scopus database

Figure  7 shows the research methods used in Metaverse in education research. Since Metaverse is relatively an emerging topic, 41.7% of the studies did not conduct any experiment and focused on reviewing the literature and expounding theories. 20.8% of the studies used mixed methods, followed by quantitative and qualitative methods (18.8% for each). Through the analysis, it was found that the most frequently mentioned tool for collecting data was the survey, followed by the interview. This is mainly because questionnaires and interviews can quickly collect data to get feedback from participants. Remarkably, we observe that a large proportion of studies did not conduct any experiments. One of the key reasons is that the establishment of experimental setups with sensors and classroom configuration are costly, in addition to the technical barrier. Nonetheless, with the low-cost and enhanced sensing capability in digital learning environments, a classroom can turn into a sensor-driven environment, and student engagements can be captured for in-depth analysis (Wang et al., 2022 ). Furthermore, researchers can explore the power of big data and learning analytics to provide implicit students’ assessment methods based on their log data within the Metaverse. This assessment technique could cover the limitations of the explicit techniques used (survey or interview), such as interrupting the learning process or users can easily fake their feedback. Additionally, log data can trace how students behaved and progressed within the Metaverse environments, hence gaining deeper insights about the whole learning process, unlike questionnaires or interviews.

Distribution of research methods in Metaverse in education studies

Types of Metaverse used in education

The reviewed studies on Metaverse in education were coded according to the four Metaverse types mentioned in the 2006 Metaverse roadmap (see Fig.  1 ), namely Augmented Reality, Lifelogging, Virtual Worlds, and Mirror Worlds. As shown in Fig.  8 , the coding was done based on two axes (x, y) separately, where each study was given two values—an x-value for (E vs I) and a y-value for (A vs S)—between − 1 and 1 each, based on the degree to which an article reflected its Metaverse technology. The y-value reflected the position of the Metaverse in the article according to the Augmentation (0–1) versus Simulation (0 to − 1), as shown in Fig.  8 . A value that is closer to 1 meant that the article expressed a high level of technology exploitation and explanation in terms of Augmentation, and a value that is closer to − 1 meant that the article presented a high level of technology Simulation; while a value that is closer to 0 meant that the technology was neither exploited nor explained to a high level of detail. For example, articles that presented studies conducted in Second Life (Getchell et al., 2010 ) or Open Simulation (Jaffurs, 2011 ) were given a value between 0 and − 1 on the A versus S axis, implying that they belong to virtual immersive environments that generate and manipulate models of the existing physical world. If the article presented well-informed explanations about how this immersion creates virtual interactions and experiences, the value was closer to − 1, while if the explanation was limited, the value was closer to 0. In contrast, articles that presented studies involving scanning QR codes for Augmented Reality projects (Estudante & Dietrich, 2020 ), or Microsoft HoloLens (Siyaev & Jo, 2021b ), were given a value closer to 1.0 on the y-axis, implying that it reflects a high level of technology exploitation and explanation in applying Augmentation technologies.

Distribution of studies according to the four types of Metaverse

The x-value reflected the position of the Metaverse in the article according to the External (0 to − 1) versus Intimate (0–1) technology. A value closer to − 1 meant that the article expressed a high level of technology exploitation and explanation with External environment interaction, and a value closer to 1 meant that the article presented a high level of technology application in terms of Internal environment interaction; while values closer to 0 meant that the technology was neither exploited nor explained to a high level of detail. For example, articles that presented studies conducted with a high level of virtual interaction (such as Barry et al., 2015 ) were given a value closer to 1 towards the Intimate end on the E versus I axis, implying that they belong to virtual immersive environments that focus on the behaviour of individuals within inner worlds. In contrast, studies that reflected a high level of External environment interaction (Estudante & Dietrich, 2020 ), were given a value that is closer to − 1 implying that the Metaverse technology focused on the users’ external environment. An article with a value that is closer to 0 on the E versus I axis meant that the technology was not fully exploited nor explained to a high level of detail (Kanematsu et al., 2014 ). Figure  8 presents the scatter plot of the distribution of Metaverse in education studies according to the four Metaverse types. It can be seen that the majority of studies had high technological level of Simulation and Intimate interactions implying a high tendency towards using the Virtual Worlds (VW) Metaverse type.

VW is described to have a technology that reflects sophisticated computer graphics works in virtual environments through 3D technology (Kye et al., 2021 ). VW articles used educational elements from the VW Metaverse category such as language and translation grids as an underlying chat and communication platform in virtual reality (Farjami et al., 2011 ; Kanematsu et al., 2010 ). Overall, the educational implication of VW Metaverse types has proved to be useful since it includes virtual simulations in environments that are challenging in terms of high risks for students, such as learning about nuclear energy and safety (Kanematsu et al., 2014 ) or that are difficult to produce due to their high costs, such as training students in aircraft simulations (Siyaev & Jo, 2021b ).

Augmented Reality (AR) is the second most frequent Metaverse category within the reviewed studies on Metaverse in education (Fig.  8 ). AR is described as overlaying virtual objects in the real world to make the object 3D and real (Kye et al., 2021 ). For instance, a page from a book in the real world can be augmented to appear as a 3D video. The reviewed studies involved scanning QR codes for AR projects to stimulate students and diffuse escape game activities for a physics lab (Estudante & Dietrich, 2020 ), or training students for aircraft maintenance using Microsoft HoloLens (Siyaev & Jo, 2021b ). Overall, the articles didn’t exploit the full educational potentials of AR Metaverse. For example, among the reviewed articles, none have offered to teach and learn invisible parts (such as the human body or the universe) by using virtual digital information presented in 3D (Kye et al., 2021 ).

Lifelogging and Mirror Worlds Metaverse types in education are the least frequently used among the reviewed articles. Lifelogging Metaverse is described to have one’s daily life activities, thoughts, relationships to be productively shared, accumulated, and analysed through educational social media (Kye et al., 2021 ). One study was coded as Lifelogging Metaverse type (Siyaev & Jo, 2021a ), where they integrated Augmented Reality with Intimate communication through speech interaction and recognition. This counted for a Lifelogging Metaverse type since its educational implication included reviewing and reflecting on one’s professional daily communication to improve the ability to represent and implement the information in an appropriate way according to the feedback from others within the network (Kye et al., 2021 ). Lifelogging also allows students to critically and creatively explore various data on the platform to reconstruct information through collective intelligence.

Lastly, Mirror Worlds (MW) Metaverse type is described as expanding real world contexts by combining Global Positioning System (GPS) and networking technology to overcome limitations of teaching and learning due to spatial and physical restrictions (Kye et al., 2021 ). There was only one study (Park & Kim, 2021 ) that was coded as a MW Metaverse type as they used game-based immersive learning by gathering the students in a lecture room to receive a lecture by ‘mirroring’ a physical context into an online platform. Though the study reflected what (Kye et al., 2021 ) described as an “efficient expansion” system for reproducing the real world, however, the study didn’t exploit the MW Metaverse to its full potentials. For example, users in MW meet and play games with physically distant people and perform meaningful tasks, but the group of students in (Park & Kim, 2021 ), who gathered in the lecture room, could have collectively played the game with another group of students who would, perhaps, gather in another university or another country.

Here, we provide a discussion of the findings since the majority of studies in education focused on the Virtual Worlds Metaverse (Kye et al., 2021 ), while fewer studies used the Augmented Reality Metaverse type; and even fewer used Lifelogging and Mirror Worlds types. Although the articles either used or explained virtual environments through implementing 3D technologies. However, according to the Metaverse roadmap, the articles in this review did not exploit nor explain the technology to a high level of complexity. For example, none of the articles reached to the level of communication and collaboration with AI characters such as the description of VW Metaverse. Furthermore, it seems that Lifelogging and Mirror Worlds types, even though were coded so, did not fully exploit the explicit technology of those two Metaverse types to a high level in educational settings as described by (Kye et al., 2021 ). For instance, Lifelogging can generate valuable new kinds of data, such as digital language syntax and image/video sharing by students, which can be analysed to explore new areas of integrating educational technology and psychology. Also, exploiting the technology of MW can provide a platform for Individuals with high digital competencies (Gen Z and Alpha) who are ‘the future’, and thus deserve attention in terms of their learning behaviour in MW Metaverse. Therefore, we suggest that future studies that consider the use of Metaverse in education exploit and explain the four types of Metaverse to a higher level of sophistication and focus on areas that have knowledge gaps such as integrating Augmentation technology with Intimate interaction (Lifelogging) or Simulation technology with External interaction (Mirror Worlds).

Educational field, level, and learning scenarios within the Metaverse

Figure  9 presents the distribution of Metaverse research in the field of education. The findings show that 53% of the Metaverse research studies were used in natural science, mathematics, and engineering, followed by general education (15%), and Arts and humanities (11%). The motivation for using Metaverse in natural science, mathematics, and engineering is because it can provide technical support for the discipline, such as providing 3D modeling computer programs for courses (Sourin, 2017 ), helping students to establish connections between experiments and virtual objects, and providing autonomous tutoring systems based on user interaction data mining (Pereira et al., 2015 ). In arts and humanities, Metaverse was frequently used for language learning as it can help people communicate with people of different languages in virtual worlds and provide new possibilities for learning foreign languages (Cruz-Lara et al., 2010 ). Finally, Metaverse was widely used in the field of education because combining the virtual world with physical classrooms can create new learning possibilities for collaborative, cooperative, and problem-based learning (Araya & Avila, 2018 ). It is worth noting that the Metaverse is less used in social science and aircraft maintenance accounting for 6% (see Fig.  9 ). In fact, the Metaverse can be of substantial assistance to these disciplines as well. For example, in archaeology, the Metaverse is able to provide students with individual virtual excavations, and the system helps present network communications during online e-learning experiences (Getchell et al., 2010 ). Therefore, future research can focus on these areas of education to provide learning experiences for more disciplines.

Distribution of studies by education field

When investigating the education level, it was found that 62.9% of the Metaverse research was carried out in higher education (see Fig.  10 ). The findings show that the use of Metaverse in higher education enables interactive and immersive experiences that allow teachers and students to explore new approaches in teaching processes, information and communication technologies, and emerging technologies (Díaz, 2020 ). It is also noteworthy that Metaverse can be significant in terms of online learning which is mainly designed through synchronous and asynchronous modes “spanning in-plane digital windows with width and height but without any depth” resulting in limitations and inefficiencies in 2D learning environments (Mystakidis et al., 2021 , p. 488). Such a view implies the potential of the Metaverse in terms of lessening the limitations and inefficiencies that are inherit in traditional 2D online learning. However, limited Metaverse research focused on early childhood, primary, and secondary education. Additionally, it is found that no study focused on using the Metaverse in education with students with disabilities, calling for more research in this regard on how to develop accessible and inclusive Metaverse in education environments. The virtual freedom emerging spatially and temporally can increase the degree of inclusiveness and participation for students with disabilities and special needs.

Distribution of studies by education level

The Metaverse can provide a set of possibilities to realize learning scenarios (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2022 ). Figure  11 presents the different learning scenarios in the Metaverse. The findings show that the Metaverse is used in nine different learning scenarios in education. Most studies focused on virtual learning (31.3%, see Fig.  11 ), followed by collaborative learning, blended learning, game-based learning, individual learning, and problem-based learning (PBL). Tarouco et al. ( 2013 ) reported that learning in the Metaverse can provide students with an immersive learning environment, offering the possibility of collaborative learning and a high degree of interactivity. By analyzing how the Metaverse is used in different scenarios, it can help students learn more efficiently, as well as help teachers design their teaching processes in the Metaverse. This implies proposing learning and assessment strategies in the future and thinking about how it can be implemented in the immersive environments? How does the learning can be designed with cutting-edge technologies such as eye-movement technology and voice recognition technology (Hwang & Chien, 2022 )?

Implemented learning scenarios in Metaverse in education

In most learning situations, the Metaverse is used in virtual learning. This is mainly because high-performance servers are able to use the Metaverse to help students interact with various digital resources through virtual worlds (Díaz et al., 2020 ). Meanwhile, virtual learning scenarios are often used in conjunction with collaborative learning. This is because using the Metaverse as a social collaboration interface is where students are able to make connections in the virtual world and support guidance and feedback through an autonomous tutoring system based on data mining of user interactions (Pereira et al., 2015 ). For example, teachers can give students some learning topics and upload teaching resources in the Metaverse, and students can search for resources through virtual devices on the Internet (Díaz et al., 2020 ). Students can also interact with other peers to share academic information through internal social networks in the Metaverse, facilitating collaborative learning (Díaz et al., 2020 ).

In blended learning scenarios, the virtual platform created by the Metaverse is always implemented. The finding shows that it is effective to blend the lectures and guides in the virtual Metaverse with real experiments with the Metaverse and virtual systems as one of the components (Kanematsu et al., 2014 ). In the research of Kanematsu et al. ( 2014 ), it is noted that in STEM courses, students can conduct virtual course lectures through Metaverse (Second Life). Then, in the real classroom, the teacher can lead the students to carry out the experiment of the STEM curriculum, and in the Metaverse, the teacher conducts simultaneous instruction and teaching, so as to obtain the support of the teacher (Kanematsu et al., 2014 ).

Based on the virtuality and fun of the Metaverse, which is also always implemented in game-based learning. Getchell et al. ( 2010 ) showed that the Metaverse opens up new opportunities for game-based learning, which allows educators to create environments for game-based learning that are more flexible than before, allowing students to develop higher levels of control in learning scenarios, learning at a lower cost. For example, in a study by Estudante and Dietrich ( 2020 ), a digital mobile virtual reality (VR) game is proposed through the open application Metaverse. Students are guided to follow in the footsteps of physicists to solve puzzles. In this game, which includes the periodic table of elements, chemical equilibrium reactions, molar mass, and other concepts, based on game-based learning, students can master chemical knowledge points (Estudante & Dietrich, 2020 ). Therefore, in the context of game-based learning, the platform created by the Metaverse can serve as a tool to improve students' learning motivation and communication skills (Estudante & Dietrich, 2020 ).

Based on the above discussion, the problem-based learning (PBL) scenario also provides an implementation for the development of the Metaverse. In this learning context, questions and discussions are always combined, and the Metaverse emerges to provide students with a platform for problem-solving. For example, in the study of Kanematsu et al. ( 2012 ), PBL was chosen as the educational tool and the Metaverse was chosen as the classroom environment for nuclear engineering education. Teachers provide short lectures and nuclear-related problems to students in class, and students actively solve problems through Metaverse chat discussions (Kanematsu et al., 2012 ). The finding shows that the use of Metaverse in PBL classrooms can arouse students' attention to course content and improve classroom activity and understanding (Kanematsu et al., 2012 ).

Currently, few Metaverse in education studies focus on mobile learning, hybrid learning, and micro learning. In fact, through the use of the Metaverse, these learning scenarios can be attractive to students and teachers, as well as provide an ideal platform for their teaching and learning process (Díaz, 2020 ). The developed virtual world created by the Metaverse is able to change the traditional teaching model from static to dynamic in these different learning situations, allowing for student-centered collaboration by providing learning resources and timely assessments (Díaz, 2020 ).

Digital identities of students in the Metaverse and the technologies used

Digital identity formation in Metaverse environments is considered to be important in terms of improving social presence of students, that is the degree of being perceived as real (Gunawardena, 1995 ). Therefore, the selection or creation of avatars as well as the interaction patterns define the concept of a ‘Digital Identity’ as the self-image or the deep aspirations of a student to ‘be’ —which can profoundly affect and be affected by that student’s online and offline learning behaviours. In this regard, there are three related of Metaverse avatars, namely: representation, presence, and immersion (Davis et al., 2009 ). This is thought to be important as virtual online learning is seen as a synthetic process in many cases and the lesser degree of social presence may emerge as an obstacle for interaction and communication, two essential elements of social learning. In the reviewed studies, students had the possibility to use avatars as a way to represent their digital identities within the Metaverse. Particularly, some studies provided the opportunity for students to select one avatar from the already built-in avatars (Cruz-Lara et al., 2010 ). Other studies provide the students the possibility to create their avatars and customize them (Díaz et al., 2020 ). In this context, it is seen that students create their avatars according to their own personalities (Getchell et al., 2010 ). As mentioned in the article by González Crespo et al. ( 2013 ), students can create digital avatars according to their own tastes and their preferred characteristics. Students can perform skills in the virtual platform, including flying, walking, purchasing different objects, and personalizing their wardrobe and appearance to interact with virtual world objects (Díaz et al., 2020 ). In addition to that point, students are being able to interact with other users through social chat in the virtual platform created by the Metaverse, students communicate powerfully with others through explicit or implicit references to environmental objects, gestures, poses, facial expressions (Cruz-Lara et al., 2010 ; Díaz et al., 2020 ). The digital avatar combines objects, people, and places to create a virtual three-dimensional world for the user that is basically indistinguishable from the real world (Cruz-Lara et al., 2010 ).

Digital avatars are also commonly found in games, and in order to increase student engagement in the classroom and rigorous academics, characters in the Metaverse often have the ability to blink (Barry et al., 2015 ; Díaz et al., 2020 ). Most studies have shown that in order to enable students to interact with other students through digital avatars, Second Life is used in the classroom to allow students to identify themselves (Barry et al., 2015 ; Sourin, 2017 ). Students can create digital avatars with different roles in the Second Life game, such as socializers, and make more friends by interacting with other players frequently in the game (Park & Kim, 2021 ). Since Bailenson et al. ( 2002 ) determined the non-verbal cues associated with Metaverse avatars, we suggest developing several communication patterns of avatars including, gaze, eye direction, arm gestures, head posture, body posture, and facial expressions that enable high level of interaction and presence in the education Metaverse. Moreover, future research could examine avatar customization variables and the culture difference effects on students’ decisions of their avatars. Improving the gameful experience of the educational Metaverse is crucial (Park & Kim, 2022b ).

The technology and tools of the Metaverse have brought a lot of pedagogical and technical support to education, allowing students to learn immersively, thereby enhancing their motivation. In Fig.  12 , technology and tools are divided into 7 categories, namely immersive, artificial intelligence (AI), game application, educational, modeling and simulation, mobile, sensors, and wearable. The direct experience given to students in the Metaverse is immersive, which not only promotes teamwork and skill development (Tarouco et al., 2013 ), but also engages students in classrooms in different ways (Erturk & Reynolds, 2020 ). In order to achieve immersion, it is necessary to combine some virtual technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Multi-user Virtual Environment (MUVE), Mixed Reality (MR), and Augmented Reality (AR). The technologies that serve as gateways and enable us immerse Metaverse environments also imply that the importance of multimodal immersion (Mystakidis et al., 2021 ). These four types of technology are currently the most common immersive interfaces in the Metaverse, which can enhance student learning in education and allow students' psychological immersion to occur, thereby enabling situational learning and transfer. The use of MR in the Metaverse is also mentioned in the study by Siyaev and Jo ( 2021b ), showing that MR is an asset that combines physical and virtual worlds, capable of enhancing learning through deep learning voice interaction modules. Therefore, MR can mainly deal with the occurrence of voice interaction in students' learning process, allowing students to establish a deeper connection with the virtual world. In addition, VR allows virtual world servers to manage virtual environments and create avatar sharing in order to enable immersive learning for students (Cruz-Lara et al., 2010 ). In other words, students in the Metaverse can create their own avatars through VR, interact socially with other students, and control the avatars according to the displayed environment, so as to achieve immersive effects (Cruz-Lara et al., 2010 ).

Taxonomy of technology and tools used in Metaverse in education

Figure  12 shows that game applications as another category have been widely implemented in the Metaverse to also provide immersive learning experiences. The most common game applications is Pokémon Go. It allows Pcreating fictional interactive 3D characters through real-time VR and AR technology, allowing players to “luring” pokémons in-game (Sourin, 2017 ).

When the Metaverse is implemented in education, it is also combined with educational platforms, allowing the immersive environments to play an important role in educational topics and making it easier to connect knowledge (Wagner et al., 2013 ). In Fig.  12 , the Metaverse is usually combined with Second Life platform which is used in research by Rapanotti and Hall ( 2010 ) to develop an immersive virtual world platform for higher education. Second Life provides tools to create a 3D simulated avatar that combines social networking concepts with the development business network provided by Linden Labs, thereby providing students with an immersive learning environment. Students can not only create their own digital avatars in Second Life to communicate with other students virtually (Cruz-Lara et al., 2010 ) but also use virtual currency to purchase or build materials needed for virtual platforms (Belei et al., 2011 ). In the study of Getchell et al. ( 2010 ), it was also shown that Second Life, as a 3D game platform, can provide users with a real environment in the archaeology class by combining with the institutional learning management system (LMS). Besides, The Metaverse in education is combined with virtual learning laboratory, HotPotatoes, MOOC, Moodle, Institutional learning management system (LMS), Teleduc, Eduquito, Sloodle. For example, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) provide students with a social network through Web 2.0 and AVAS (Wagner et al., 2013 ). The combination of the Metaverse and MOOC can provide subject resources to a large number of students for free, and online courses allow students to broaden their knowledge (Wagner et al., 2013 ). A virtual learning laboratory is usually used in natural science, mathematics, and engineering courses. Virtual Learning Laboratory (VLL) usually combines software derived from Second Life and OpenSim is widely used in the virtual world environment, providing students with a collaborative, interactive and dynamic learning environment, thereby improving students' learning motivation and learning quality (Tarouco et al. al., 2013 ). As a complex learning platform, Moodle can also modernize traditional content delivery, thereby enhancing collaborative learning among students (Lucas et al., 2013 ). For example, a virtual environment created by Moodle allows a university's e-learning platform to make presentations, link user profiles of the two platforms, and share user data (Lucas et al., 2013 ).

In Fig.  12 , OpenSimulator (OpenSim), SketchUp, Autodesk 3DsMax, Unity, and Blender are used as modeling and simulation tools to create expert systems courses in virtual campuses to provide students with e-learning opportunities (González Crespo et al., 2013 ). In this category, the most common tool used by the Metaverse is OpenSim, a 3D application server originally created by Linden Labs Linden Research under the direction of Second Life (Barbulescu et al., 2011 ). The main feature of OpenSim is that universities can easily customise their development, design management systems, and integrate with LMS databases to create personalized content (González Crespo et al., 2013 ). The virtual reality platform was developed by OpenSim, with the help of Sketchup Modulator and Autodesk 3DsMax, to provide students with a visualization platform and allow student avatars to walk and interact in the virtual environment (Wagner et al., 2013 ).

In Fig.  12 , mobile technologies are also the dominant ones in the Metaverse, including mobile devices and geospatial mobility, because of its ability to create a connection between the medium and the student, thereby enhancing authenticity in the virtual world. In a study by Estudante and Dietrich ( 2020 ), a smartphone application (iOS and Android) was used to create a virtual world augmented reality for the Metaverse. Educators in the real world can use triggers to initiate virtual world instructions on students' screens, including playing videos, calling up text and pictures, and Internet hyperlinks. In González Crespo et al. ( 2013 ), it was shown that geospatial mobility can be combined with the OpenSim system to create content tailored to the needs and methods of each institution. At the same time, geospatial mobility enables data connection and information sharing in open virtual worlds (González Crespo et al., 2013 ). Using Metaverse on mobile devices can enhance the learning processes when students use their avatars. Particularly, there are two possibilities with the second life Metaverse represented in (Schlemmer & Backes, 2015 ): (1) Mobile Grid Client Second Life and Open Simulator Messaging Client for All Android Powered Devices and (2) Pocket Metaverse iPhone and iPad Client for Second Life.

Sensors and wearable devices are one of the categories of technologies, including Microsoft HoloLens2 smart glasses and eye blinking, which enable teachers to monitor student dynamics by analyzing student behaviour (Barry et al., 2015 ). When students wear HoloLens 2 smart glasses, they are able to interact with content and execute commands in the virtual space (Siyaev & Jo, 2021b ). The Blinking system is also a common tool in the Metaverse, mainly recording students' blinking times through specialized software (Barry et al., 2015 ). When students are emotionally unstable, the number of blinks in the blinking system increases, so teachers can better analyze students' responses (Barry et al., 2015 ).

In the artificial intelligence category, the application of neuro-symbolic AI, convolutional neural network, machine learning, and semantic database technology help students to better process learning-related data. The key concept of Metaverse lies in its complex data analysis for understanding, monitoring, regulation, and planning, and the emergence of artificial intelligence can serve as a basis for processing this data (Duan et al., 2021 ). Neuro-symbolic AI can combine neural networks and traditional symbolic reasoning to provide feedback on user data through automatic speech recognition metrics (Siyaev & Jo, 2021a ). Neuro-symbolic AI is commonly used in aircraft maintenance training and education. For example, in aircraft maintenance courses, neuro-symbolic AI can play the role of field experts, providing technical guidance and all resources to facilitate effective training and education in aircraft maintenance (Siyaev & Jo, 2021a ). For convolutional neural networks (CNN), it is often used to process audio features and the learning and classification parts for command and language recognition, thereby improving learning efficiency (Siyaev & Jo, 2021a ). Machine learning and semantic database modeling are often combined with web 3.0 to allow users to access virtual worlds (González Crespo et al., 2013 ). Through a web-based architecture, machine learning and semantic database modeling can link with external scientific data sources, search for knowledge, and solve practical problems (González Crespo et al., 2013 ). Moreover, the potentials of AI in Metaverse enable new roles of intelligent Non-player Character (NPC) tutors, peers, and tutees (Hwang & Chien, 2022 ). Therefore, there are future research opportunities to leverage AI technologies to analyse students’ behaviour and interaction patterns with their performance levels in the Metaverse and coming up with new roles.

As discussed above, several technology categories have been used in Metaverse in education to create a balanced eco-system. However, it is seen that several emerging technologies are still not implemented. For instance, blockchain could be implemented to ensure more security for the users as well as to create an anti-cheating learning system. Additionally, while cryptocurrency is frequently used in Metaverse in general, it is not the case in Metaverse in education. Internet of Things (IoT) technology could also be used to create a more immersive learning environment that merges both the physical and virtual worlds through the use of different sensors and devices. Therefore, future research could investigate how the aforementioned technologies could serve education in the Metaverse. Also, a new potential question could be raised: are the ICT-based competencies in the literature enough for students and teachers to cope with this new educational system (i.e. Metaverse in education), or new competencies are needed for better learning and teaching experiences.

On the other hand, along with all the new educational opportunities provided by technologies, users could be exposed to several risks, including identity theft, data hacks, breaches, and other financial scams and money laundering due to the decentralized blockchain-based structure that links every task to digital wallets. Furthermore, the sensors designated for understanding class participants’ emotions and gestures can pose privacy threats (Bermejo Fernandez et al., 2021 ). Also, the augmentation of objects, as the user interaction traces in a digital classroom, can increase the risk of privacy leakages. Therefore, researchers and practitioners should pay attention to those risks when designing Metaverse in education, hence ensuring a safe learning and teaching experience.

Evolution of Metaverse in education over generations

When we grow older, we grow older together as a community. As one grows, one’s parents and one’s children grow older as well. The same events that affect one’s own education can have a different effect on the education of different age groups in society. Although setting sharp boundaries or definitions for the different age groups is challenging, several studies offer different labels, dates, and analysis for each generation type (Moore & Frazier, 2017 ). The importance of clarifying generation groups lies in the fast-paced development of technology and its integration with education, especially for future generations such as Gen Alpha (Tootell et al., 2014 ). Therefore, the way Metaverse in education was designed and evolved over generations was also discussed. Table 1 presents the different generations highlighted in the literature.

The coding of generation types was based on the education ages of participants in the different Metaverse studies and the year in which each study was conducted. For example, a study that would involve high school students in 2020 would generally be coded as ‘Gen Z’ since the participants would be around 16–24 years old in 2022. However, if the study was conducted in 2010, the participants would be coded as ‘Gen Y’ since they would be 26–35 years old in 2022. The distribution of Metaverse in education studies based on the generation type is presented in Fig.  13 . It can be seen that 52% of the studies involved Generation Y such as (Barry et al., 2015 ; Getchell et al., 2010 ; González Crespo et al., 2013 ), while 44% involved Generation Z such as (Kanematsu et al., 2014 ; Park & Kim, 2021 ; Siyaev & Jo, 2021b ), and 4% involved Generation Alpha such as (Mystakidis et al., 2021 ). Based on the obtained findings, there seems to be no studies on the earlier generations such as the Baby Boomer Generation and Gen X (Baby Bust), which makes sense, since these two generations have an age range between 43 and 76 as of 2022 (the date of writing this study), which means that almost all of them have completed their basic formal education and to many, their higher education as well. However, studies on education in the Metaverse should also consider these two generations (Baby Boomer Generation and Gen X) for their lifelong learning and how they could share their life experience to younger generations in the Metaverse. It is also seen that there was only one study that considered Gen Alpha who were born between 2010 and 2025 and have an age range between 1 and 11 years old as of 2022 (the date of writing this study). The reason why there are not many Gen Alpha participants is that this specific generation only started to appear around 2011 and did not join formal schooling until 6 years later, which is around 2017. Even after they joined formal schooling, their education was soon interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced their education to be online. This generation is the first to be born entirely in the twenty-first century and they are mainly children of Gen Y and older members of Gen Z. This means that they were born into a society that is completely digitalized with the Internet, smartphones, and virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. If any, this generation would be the most to interact with Metaverse technologies more smoothly than the older generations, but this is just a theory that needs investigation.

Distribution of studies according to generation type

Additionally, each study was coded based on the occurrences of different learning scenarios involved in using Metaverse in education according to the different generation types (see Table 2 ). It can be observed that Collaborative Learning is common in studies (Liu & Zhang, 2012 ; Rapanotti & Hall, 2010 ) involving Gen Y (7 times) compared to Gen Z (2 times) such as (Díaz et al., 2020 ; Siyaev & Jo, 2021b ), while Blended/Hybrid Learning is more common for studies (Estudante & Dietrich, 2020 ; Kanematsu et al., 2014 ) involving Gen Z (6 times) compared to Gen Y (0 times). There was only one study (Mystakidis et al., 2021 ) that involved both Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and another study (Sourin, 2017 ) the involved both Gen Y and Gen Z. One more observation is that Individual Learning (Getchell et al., 2010 ), Problem-based Learning (Barry et al., 2015 ) and Project-based Learning (Tarouco et al., 2013 ) seem to be applied more often with Gen Y compared to Gen Z. Also, Mobile Learning (Díaz, 2020 ) was only applied to Gen Z Metaverse studies.

Based on the findings above, it can be understood that Gen Y is more “social” as they were born in the era of the Internet and social media. This was reflected in the Metaverse studies by relying frequently on collaborative learning (see Table 2 ). Gen Z also grew up in the era of the Internet and digital technologies. However, compared to Generation Y, members of Generation Z are not that digitally literate due to the age difference. This was reflected in our findings by finding that Blended/Hybrid learning was the most frequent learning scenario for Gen Z (see Table 2 ). Future studies may try Collaborative Learning scenarios in studies on education in the Metaverse with younger generations such as Gen Z or Gen Alpha, and vice versa; try Blended and Online Learning scenarios with Gen Y or Gen X.

One of the important issues in the integration of Metaverse in education is the technologies and tools used for immersion. Each study was coded based on the software and tools used as a Metaverse technology in education according to the different generation types (see Table 3 ). It can be seen that ‘Second Life’ is the most common platform with 7 times used by Gen Y (Barry et al., 2015 ; Kanematsu et al., 2012 ; Tarouco et al., 2013 ) and 2 times used by Gen Z (Jaffurs, 2011 ; Kanematsu et al., 2014 ). The second most common technology is Virtual Reality with 4 times used by Gen Y (Liu & Zhang, 2012 ; Wagner et al., 2013 ) and 2 times used by Gen Z (Díaz, 2020 ; Park & Kim, 2021 ), and a special case where Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) were both integrated by two generations; Gen Z and Alpha (Mystakidis et al., 2021 ). AR is the third most common technology, and it is mainly used by Gen Z and Gen Alpha. There was only one case where Augmented Reality, along with multiple technologies, was involved with Gen Y and Z (Sourin, 2017 ). Furthermore, it is seen that Artificial Intelligence, such as the application of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), is more implemented with Gen Z, reflecting that the Metaverse in education environments are getting smarter from one generation to another.

There are two points to consider from this analysis; to begin with, Second Life as an immersive technological platform seems to be more common among older generations (Gen Y, see Table 3 ). This raises the question of how new immersive changes of Second Life would be useful to deliver education to Gen Z and Gen Alpha? Secondly, Augmented Reality seemed to be more common with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, with only one with Gen Y. This supports the first discussion point, where the later generations seem to be more involved with AR technologies rather than VR (such as Second Life). Future studies may consider three future research directions: (1) by using Second Life (or similar VR platforms) with younger generations (Gen Z and Gen Alpha) or (2) by using more Augmented Reality technologies with older generations such as Gen Y. Besides, to our understanding, most studies of Metaverse technology and tools used for immersion in education focused on students. Therefore, (3) future studies may consider teachers as research subjects to see how they can cope with these technologies.

Finally, the Metaverse in education studies were further coded based on the user-centric factors (ecosystem) and their distribution in the different generation types (see Table 4 ). Generally, most personal data in the digital world is “organization-centric” rather than “user-centric” where organizations have the control of gathering, management, use, and sharing of data (Moiso & Minerva, 2012 ). Though it is still in its early stage, one of the most common user-centric factors in the Metaverse studies in education is the Content Creation feature. It seemed that it is almost equally common with Gen Y (Getchell et al., 2010 ; González Crespo et al., 2013 ) being used 5 times, and Gen Z (Díaz et al., 2020 ; Estudante & Dietrich, 2020 ; Siyaev & Jo, 2021b ) being used 6 times. Other user-centric factors are mainly involved with Gen Y. Features such as Virtual Economy (Belei et al., 2011 ), Social Communication (Farjami et al., 2011 ), or Personalize Socializing with others (Tarouco et al., 2013 ) are almost equally distributed among Generation Y participants. There was only one case where Virtual Economy was involved with both Gen Z and Gen Y (Sourin, 2017 ). There was no consideration of user-centric factors towards Gen Alpha. It seemed that most studies did not consider a variety of user-centric factors with the younger generations (Gen Z and Gen Alpha). If the world of the Internet is moving towards Web 4.0 with its cryptocurrency, blockchain, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) technologies, the younger generations should be considered more in terms of their attitude towards ecosystems in the studies involving Metaverse in Education.

The impact of the Metaverse in education is positive, Liu and Zhang ( 2012 ) called the Metaverse “an important tool in the ever-increasing business scenarios in the international market”. The Metaverse can play an effective role in different learning situations. For example, in the game-based classroom, the escape game created by the Metaverse using the VR platform can well facilitate mobile learning (Estudante, & Dietrich, 2020 ). The finding shows that students are more active in learning with games in the Metaverse than in traditional classrooms, and have a strong motivation to use smart devices to practice science (Estudante, & Dietrich, 2020 ). Getchell et al. ( 2010 ) evaluated the Metaverse in game-based education from various user functions and argued that the Metaverse provides a flexible platform for game-based learning and helps to create new educational environments. Metaverse teaching in virtual environments, such as Second Life, also has a positive impact, can promote multilingual communication among students and achieve better learning quality (Kanematsu et al., 2010 ). At the same time, in order to make the Metaverse play a greater role in the educational virtual environment, some studies have shown that the application of OpenSim, the related technology of the Metaverse implementation, has made significant progress in specific fields of engineering research, which brings greater possibilities in educational contexts (González Crespo et al., 2013 ).

The Metaverse also has a positive impact on students from different fields. The finding suggests that the Metaverse has greater customization, higher creativity, and lower risk to facilitate student interaction, increase motivation and engagement, and extend traditional learning by providing experiences that would otherwise be impossible (Erturk & Reynolds, 2020 ; Tarouco et al., 2013 ). These features enable the Metaverse to have a large space for implementation in the field of education. Metaverse offers aircraft maintenance students an online alternative to flying, and allows students to socialize and perform virtual aircraft maintenance in a virtual space, thereby reducing unnecessary expenses (Siyaev & Jo, 2021b ). The Metaverse can also bring positive feedback to language courses, it allows the integration of the language grid system with Second Life, which enables virtual discussions between students from different countries, and the translation system will also enable students to have more concrete exchanges (Kanematsu et al., 2010 ). In the STEM field, the Metaverse is implemented to get students excited about avatars and virtual three-dimensional spaces that students are eager to continue learning (Barry et al., 2015 ). This is because the Metaverse increases the fun of learning, and the settings in Second Life increase the friendliness of teachers and the understanding of students (Barry et al., 2015 ). Last but not least, the Metaverse-driven classroom can blur the boundary between class participants in virtual and physical environments. As such, we can potentially consider the class participants can form a new landscape of social networks in education, which opens new research opportunities (Wang et al., 2022 ). However, it should be also noted that more longitudinal research is needed to truly explore the impact of the Metaverse and be ensure that most of the aforementioned positive research outputs are not result of the novelty effect of the Metaverse.

On the other hand, Table 5 presents the identified challenges associated with Metaverse in education, which can be classified into technological, pedagogical, and other types. From the technological perspective, network traffic (20.7%) had the highest percentage, followed by smartphones’ interface design issue (6.9%) and the blink capture issue (6.9%). Getchell et al. ( 2010 ) pointed out that the timeliness of network communications is important, and their demands on the host server system and network traffic are more intensive. However, the current positioning of size of network communication is inaccurate and can have strange effects when evaluating students (Getchell et al., 2010 ). In addition, there are also studies showing that the Metaverse has a smartphone interface problem because it is a technical problem independent of the Metaverse application (Estudante & Dietrich, 2020 ). For example, when students study, they need to manage and install digital resources for learning through smartphones, combine technology with traditional classrooms, and create content in different formats of the Metaverse (Díaz, 2020 ). Reports also suggest that a smartphone's interface that is too small can limit the number of students who use it together, reducing team skills and the degree of communication with each other (Estudante & Dietrich, 2020 ). Furthermore, blink capture technology is also a major challenge for the implementation of the Metaverse in education. The eye-blink system is often associated with emotional responses when students discuss various issues, and using this technique in the Metaverse can improve the quality of learning (Barry et al., 2015 ). However, studies have shown that the recording of blinking behaviour may be compromised by problems with the student's eyes themselves, as well as creating device delays and falsely capturing blinks (Barry et al., 2015 ).

From the pedagogical perspective, the design of digital resources limits the development of the Metaverse, with a frequency of 13.8%, as shown in Table 5 . Díaz et al. ( 2020 ) stated that the design of the Metaverse can provide students with compelling digital resources, and enable students to interact with academic information and provide interesting experiences. The digital resources implemented in the Metaverse require teachers to design, improve and provide to the administrators of the Metaverse servers (Díaz et al., 2020 ). However, due to the lack of teacher competencies and pedagogical structure in some applications (6.9% in Table 5 ), digital resources were not well designed (Erturk & Reynolds, 2020 ). It is worth noting that the Metaverse is implemented in education and there are also challenges of student time management (6.9% in Table 5 ). In Belei et al. ( 2011 ), it was shown that in the virtual world of the Metaverse, there are more demanding time management and a large number of technical barriers that hinder students' use. For example, when students complete a course in a virtual world, effective time management becomes extremely difficult because students do not have enough knowledge of the technology and how to apply what they read in class (Belei et al., 2011 ). Finally, the application of Metaverse in education will also cost a lot of time, design, and practice, which limits its development (Lucas et al., 2013 ).

Conclusion, implications, and future research

This study notes that despite the solid ground that it provides about the Metaverse in education, it still has some limitations that should be acknowledged. For instance, the obtained findings are limited by the databases and keywords used in this systematic review. Additionally, this current study did not review papers about the Metaverse in education which were not in English. These papers might report some interesting findings that could not be covered here. Furthermore, not too many published studies were identified from the top journals in educational technology, and this might be due to the infancy of the research topic. Therefore, this current study provides a step forward to researchers and practitioners about the potential research directions to investigate while exploring this research topic, namely Metaverse in education.

This study conducted a systematic review on Metaverse in education. The findings show that the implementation of the Metaverse can expand educational opportunities to explore environments that have historically been inaccessible due to space, time, and cost barriers, thus solving real-world problems in virtual worlds. They also reveal the research gap of lifelogging application in Metaverse education. With the rapid evolution of technology, more research efforts to deploy lifelogging applications in future classrooms with various technologies, such as AI, blockchain (a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system), and IoT devices (i.e., the nonstandard computing devices that connect wirelessly to a network and have the ability to transmit data). Furthermore, more research should be conducted about the effect of Metaverse with students with disabilities. It is worth noting that in order for the Metaverse to be better implemented in the future, it is necessary to provide technical guidance to teachers, promote training inside and outside the classroom in synchronous and asynchronous modes, and provide students with a dynamic, engaging, and collaborative virtual platform.

On the other hand, this study would like to draw attention that Metaverse is not a new technology yet a technology that is reincarnated many times in the past two decades. As a result of the capacity increase in technology, it is here again with many blessings and curses. For instance, we have realized that many papers reviewed are lured by the possibilities emerging with the Metaverse and paid less attention to the threats it presents. Currently, its popularity is driven by the investments made by big tech companies and this necessitates approaching with caution as such initiatives may lead to many threats in the educational landscape. Though its recent history, it is still a technology in its infancy and it still has many vulnerabilities. For instance, how will users’ security and privacy be ensured? What is the business model for a virtual space that generates mass volume of data? What are the moral and ethical principles for an AI powered and algorithm driven space? What are the expected social and physiological impacts of the Metaverse, a space that blurs the boundaries of physical and virtual worlds? In brief, before finding answers to some critical questions, we need to empirically investigate the blessings of the Metaverse so that we can refrain from its curses and students in the educational landscape are not lost in these immersive and imaginary spaces. Besides, from the reviewed studies, it is seen that Metaverse in education is built around emerging technologies which could be a blessing for those universities or schools with advanced infrastructure, but it could also be a curse for those that suffer from the provided infrastructure, especially in developing countries. Therefore, it is important to investigate how the Metaverse could be designed to be inclusive and accessible to all students, hence be one of the strategies to contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG4 which is about quality education.

As a final remark, this study emphasizes that Metaverse in education is still in its infancy which means that there will be many blessings and curses. Metaphorically, as in the case of the rush to the gold in the wild west, now there is a rush to the meta gold which implies that we should approach with caution due to a wide range of reasons. Again, as in the discovery of the American continent, Metaverse has many potentials which motivate many investors to colonize it, use it for profit purposes, and build new communities where they exploit them. If that is the case, we should critically ask ourselves that how will we position the teaching and learning? Besides, there are other critical questions to ask. For instance, under the influence of the EdTech companies, how will we grant agency and empower learners? How will we protect them in an algorithm driven space? Is it a free new virtual world or is it a virtual world where we are all chained with digital handcuffs? Perhaps, we should think twice before logging in the Metaverse to query if we sacrifice anything. Are we certain about that the Metaverse is a product and we are users, or we are products and the Metaverse is a user that mines and benefits from user generated data? Will it be open to only human users or will there be many meta bots that manipulate humans? Are we all well prepared for cyber syndromes in such virtual worlds due to being isolated from the reality in the physical world? If we are planning to use the synthetic Metaverse for teaching and learning purposes, and do we have a strategic agenda to humanize such processes? In all, there still are many critical questions to ask before we fully jump in and immerse to Metaverse because if we are tempted by the novelty effect of the Metaverse, all we get might be nothing but a Metaworse .

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to privacy reasons, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Massive open online courses

Augmented reality

Virtual reality

Mixed reality

Extended reality

Natural language processing

Convolutional neural network

• Virtual worlds

Mirror worlds

Problem-based learning

Artifical intelligence

Multi-user virtual environment

Learning management system

Virtual learning laboratory

Non-player character

Internet of Things

Non-fungible tokens

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• Cyber worlds
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The metaverse is coming to education: fourteen key talking points

The eLinC report provides an in-depth study for understanding the background, and the possibilities that are opening up as metavers is applied in the field of education (Image: Eren Li, Pexels)

A report comissioned by the eLearning Innovation Center (eLinC) at the UOC, prepared by the digital transformation analyst, Marc Cortés, provides clues to help understand the effect that the emergence of the metaverse will have on the field of education . The report is published in open access format in the University library.

The metaverse is one of the most keenly debated aspects in the digital world, and the eLinC report provides an in-depth study for understanding the background, the current situation and the possibilities that are opening up as this technological innovation is applied in the field of education.

Background: technological dependence and videogames

The latest initiatives linked to exploring the metaverse by companies including Facebook and Microsoft highlight their interest in controlling this new technological realm , following reports suggesting that it is a technology of the future, and that it can be very appealing to young people . An analysis by The New Consumer in 2021 reported that 45% of individuals who are members of generation Z feel most comfortable in an online environment . Meanwhile, a study by Wunderman Thompson shows that 76% of the respondents believe that their lives and their everyday activities depend on technology .

Companies producing video games – which have become the most significant precedent for the current state of the metaverse – have been crucial in laying the foundations for the present situation. Videogame platforms, where millions of users connect every day, have normalized the use of avatars . The figures for Roblox show how users between the ages of 15 and 25 create more messages on the platform than they send on WhatsApp.

The metaverse and education: 14 insights

This dynamic is now apparent in education technology. Since 2020, investment in educational technology has tripled and, in 2021, it amounted to 20 billion dollars , according to figures from the Brighteye European Edtech Funding Report .

The report lists 14 questions that place the metaverse's potential disruptive influence on education into context .

• Transition of content and environments. The digitalization of the learning process is evolving as the metaverse emerges. The pandemic paved the way for the transition to hybrid educational environments. This new era is a paradigm shift that entails moving from a hybrid or digital in-person process to a fully immersive one.
• Improving the quality of learning: personalization and matching the student's pace. The metaverse will influence the process, as the students themselves will be able to explore immersive environments on their own; the analysis of the information generated in these environments combined with artificial intelligence also has the potential to help redefine the learning process to make it more personalized.
• Leveraging the new, proven possibilities of virtual worlds. More than 200 million unique users a month of videogame platforms such as Roblox show ways of relating and engaging with digital environments. Roblox has built a learning pathway for students under 18 years old, which shows them how to use the internet safely, and teachers are beginning to use it in their own learning pathways.
• From lecturing to gamification. The importance of including gamification as a tool in the educational process increases with the metaverse. Immersive technologies make the user's experience a more profound one.
• Reaching a greater number of students. The larger the potential market, the greater the potential for a business to grow in the field. The metaverse will offer the opportunity to expand within the existing market, generate a new market or create adjacent markets.
• The gap between educational supply and the demand for talent. The metaverse and virtual reality technology are already being applied in training programmes by companies aiming to equip their workers with new skills. Bank of America was one of the first to use it, with about 50,000 employees.
• The access challenge: digital and generational divides. The development of the metaverse requires significant investments in technological infrastructure. Any educational institution that wants to develop its contents and learning methodologies towards the metaverse will have to invest in it if it does not want to make access and use exclusive. The development of the metaverse also entails an understanding of what immersive reality and a virtual world entail. This is a challenge for any educational institution planning to include participants of a certain age.
• Redesigning educational environments. Introducing the metaverse into education means replicating the physical infrastructure in the digital environment. These environments are currently being replicated with the creation of digital graphical representations of physical structures.
• Transforming the role of student and teacher. The metaverse is ushering in changes in the role of the student (who is no longer defined as a recipient of content, but instead plays a leading role) and of the teacher (who will adopt the role of a facilitator).
• Understanding the new ways of capturing attention. In 2003, Stanford University founded the Virtual Human Interaction Lab as a research institution in order to understand the psychological effects of augmented reality use on behaviour. The experience has highlighted issues concerning the factors triggering the participant's attention in a learning process.
• Tackling assessment and monitoring challenges. The metaverse will have a major impact on the participants' assessment and monitoring processes. This means that assessment criteria must be redefined, taking into account that the metaverse affects how the participants' evolution is ascertained and monitored. There are also some doubts about privacy, and finally, it will be necessary to take into account how group work will evolve.
• New partners in education. The metaverse can take two forms in the field of education: an adaptation model , in which the content and methodology of educational models are adapted to metaverse technology, or a transformation model , involving the creation of ecosystems made up of universities and educational institutions, businesses and technology companies.
• Setting standards. Several major technology companies have made a commitment to this technology. It is essential to know whether this commitment is based on uniform standards, or if each company is creating its own standards.
• Interoperability, blockchain and non-fungible tokens. Interoperability is one of the major challenges in the metaverse ecosystem. Ensuring that the digital assets that have been created in one metaverse can be used in another will undoubtedly be one of the key factors in its adoption.

"The potential of the metaverse in the field of education can be considerable, and that's why the eLinC commissioned this initial study," explained Sílvia Sivera , the director of the eLinC at the UOC. "It remains to be seen how this world of alternative virtual reality brings added value to the learning processes of the future, and how it fits in with on-site, blended and fully online educational models like ours ," she pointed out.

This report is part of the UOC's commitment to achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, Quality Education.

Reference document:

Analyses and insights on the potential impact of the metaverse on the education sector. Marc Cortès. UOC, eLinC (2022): http://hdl.handle.net/10609/141246 . Available in English, Spanish and Catalan .

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Over 500 researchers and 51 research groups work among the University's seven faculties and two research centres : the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute ( IN3 ) and the eHealth Center ( eHC ).

The University also cultivates online learning innovation s at its eLearning Innovation Center ( eLinC ), as well as UOC community entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer via the Hubbik platform.

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Medical education in the metaverse

• Stefano Sandrone   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6064-9093 1  

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In his 1992 book Snow Crash , science fiction writer Neal Stephenson coined the term “metaverse”, a portmanteau between “meta” and “universe”, to envision an alternative space to escape reality. Over the decades, the metaverse has been linked to environments characterized by avatars and virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality, in which physical and digital objects interact (Table 1 ). The gaming industry has led the way with platforms such as Second Life, Minecraft and Fortnite. But the metaverse could also add a new dimension to medical education.

The metaverse can facilitate active and experiential learning while integrating several effective educational approaches, including problem-based learning, simulations, AR/VR and game-based learning. A series of studies over the past 20 years have assessed performance improvement and satisfaction levels for metaverse teaching activities across several disciplines. In 2006, an inpatient psychiatric unit was built in Second Life and allowed users to virtually experience hallucinations: this resulted in most of them better understanding visual and auditory hallucinations 2 . In the same decade, computer-based or computerized virtual patients simulating real-life clinical scenarios gained popularity, as they allowed learners to perform anamnesis and physical exams, make diagnoses and finalize therapeutic decisions in a safe environment, thereby honing their clinical skills 3 . These environments have now become even more immersive: training simulations and surgical procedures have been revolutionized by AR and VR approaches coupled with machine learning tools, which provide students with real-world training, hyper-realistic simulations and instant feedback 4 . More recently, an AR smartphone was used to teach the neuroanatomy of ascending and descending tracts of the medulla, and improved students’ performance 5 ; a large majority of students who used VR anatomy training strongly agreed or agreed with the sentence “I feel less afraid with the complexity of neuroanatomy” after the VR training and were in favor of adopting VR training in the curriculum 6 . Headsets and glasses have also been used for immersive teaching in cardiology, dentistry, fetal medicine, gynecology and oncology.

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• Making Sense of the Metaverse in Education
• Tom Driscoll
• September 19, 2022

Post by Tom Daccord

For many educators, the “metaverse” is but a vague and extraneous concept. And that’s understandable. But, metaverse technologies are growing quickly and have enormous implications for the future of teaching and learning. As such, the following Q&A aims to introduce EdTechTeacher readers to the metaverse and how it may impact education.

What is the metaverse?  

Put simply, the metaverse is a virtual version of the real world. It lives in a network of interconnected computers and includes a range of free, accessible, and decentralized games, communities, and venues for interaction. In the metaverse, anyone can join or create interactive digital spaces. It signifies a radical change in the way we engage in virtual spaces and interact with other humans.

How does it work?

The metaverse leverages artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, and “Web3” to create immersive, 3D, real-time, and interactive social environments. In these environments, metaverse users can interact with each other, build things (in groups or alone), play games and interact with avatars and 3D digital objects.

Does the metaverse exist now?

The metaverse only partially exists. There are online, interactive worlds that provide a “metaverse experience,” but these are not interconnected and provide only limited social interaction. That said, the metaverse’s underlying technologies are expanding rapidly and many experts believe the metaverse will become ubiquitous in the near future.

What are some examples of the metaverse?

For many, its most recognizable forms are games, such as Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox. These are online, interactive “virtual worlds”, with social interaction and feature avatars and 3D digital objects. 

Associated technologies include blockchain, a “digital ledger” of transactions that are difficult to hack or change, and NFTs (non-fungible tokens), a high-tech way to replicate real-world items as digital files. Also associated is Web3, a vision of a revamped and decentralized Web where users own their online activities. In all, these technologies help create systems for individuals and businesses to own, buy, share or sell goods.

Is the metaverse being used in education now?

Yes and no. 

Minecraft is being incorporated in K-12 education. For example, high school teacher and EdTechTeacher instructor Douglas Kiang designed an Underwater Dome Project for his computer science students to build community and encourage teamwork in his face-to-face classroom. Kiang found it led to a “truly profound collaboration” amongst his students.

Furthermore, Avantis Education recently introduced Eduverse , a web-based “safe and secure” K-12 metaverse experience for classrooms. In Eduverse, students interact as avatars in a VR environment and can explore Eduverse on their own or with classmates in a teacher-controlled space. In addition, Eduverse provides access to educational VR content and offers the “first educational VR theme park.” 

Also, K20 Educators is a new social learning network where educators can meet in the metaverse (“eduverse”) and learn about fundamental metaverse technologies. The goal of the network is to prepare teachers for the metaverse by providing “meaningful & innovative professional learning experiences.”

Underlying metaverse technologies have also been in use in education for some time. 

One example is Virtual Reality (VR). VR enables the creation of immersive learning experiences that can help enhance student understanding of a topic. VR enables users with VR headsets to become immersed in an array of real-world or fictional environments. One such learning experience is Becoming Homeless: A Human Experience from the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab where participants spend days in the life of a person who can no longer afford a home and interact with different environments in an attempt to save the home. Stanford researchers have found that the VR experience “changes helping behavior” and its impact lasts months afterward.

Another underlying metaverse technology is Augmented Reality (AR). With AR, one can overlay images, videos, and sounds onto an existing environment to “augment” a real-world scenario. (Unlike VR, no goggles or headsets are required and the experiences are not fully immersive.) One simple use of AR is to augment classroom materials. For instance, images, videos, and sounds of a World War II battle could be superimposed on a textbook page describing a World Word II. In a similar vein, images, videos, and sounds of the human heart might be superimposed on reading material describing the workings of the heart. So, AR can assist in the creation of personalized, multimedia learning materials.

But VR and AR platforms lack social interaction and are not interconnected with each other. They fall short of a truly metaverse environment. 

A transformative third associated metaverse technology is artificial intelligence (AI).  Artificial intelligence enables computers to perform tasks commonly associated with human intellectual processes. AI is creating dramatic transformations in the workplace, as computers replace human labor, but AI in education has been largely limited to tutoring software that aims to make curriculum materials more individualized for students. One example is Knewton , an AI-powered platform that tailors personalized lesson plans to students. These so-called “adaptive” or “personalized” AI-infused learning platforms are increasingly being introduced into schools and universities. But these fall well short of a metaverse experience of interconnected, virtual social interaction.  

That said, an educational world of “virtual humans” is beginning to emerge.  Neon, the world’s first “Artificial Human,” was introduced by Samsung-funded Star Labs in 2020. Neon is a photo-realistic videobot of a human being that can move, talk and smile “with such authenticity that it is impossible to tell they are computer-generated.” Neons can learn things about their user, speak in any language, and are being marketed as educational tutors. 

Furthermore, AI instructors have begun to emerge. For example, AV1 is a distance-learning robot in the UK that allows children suffering from long-term illness to attend school. AV1 acts as a proxy for the student; it can raise its hand, share with the class, or speak quietly with classmates. In China, 600 kindergarten classes have embraced Keeko , an autonomous robot that can tell stories and pose riddles. Keeko reads stories while prompting students for predictions, plays educational games, recalls conversations, and recognizes faces. 

AI is also impacting language processing and writing in ways that may startle educators. Recently, a new AI tool was released called GPT-3. “Generative Pre-trained Transformer, Version 3” absorbs and analyzes an enormous amount of text on the Internet and in other publications and leverages this information to write stories, create characters, provide sensory description, craft poetic language, and more. GPT-3 requires only a small amount of text from a user to write language “impressively” and “human-sounding.” As I explain in this article , GPT-3 is one of many “enormous ethical and pedagogical AI challenges facing educators ” .

In general, AI will support the metaverse by (among other things) creating digital humans such as 3D chatbots or videobots that interact with humans in the metaverse. AI will also help users with language processing so one can interact fluidly in the Metaverse. Educators will be forced to consider the extent to which they will be introduced into teaching and learning.

How will the metaverse impact education in the future?

There are many unknowns, but here are a few potential scenarios.

• Broadly speaking, the metaverse will enable many students to learn in fully immersive and multimedia environments that leverage both the physical and digital worlds. For instance, in a geometry class students might learn geometric equations by seeing and manipulating geometric shapes in a VR environment while at the same time listening to an expert mathematician provide context and guidance. Students could also be solving geometric problems in a collaborative, virtual environment with students halfway across the globe. Students might be active virtually in an architect’s or engineer’s office examining plans of newly designed city buildings to understand how mathematical principles are applied in practice. Students will work both individually and collectively, at times on different tasks and at varied paces. At certain junctures, the teacher will converse with students in a fully physical environment to review their progress, engender a discussion, and probe for evidence of thoughtful problem solving. In all, an enriched metaverse learning environment would blend both physical and virtual worlds and would leverage multimedia to provide diverse learning opportunities for students in a collaborative setting.
• Learning will become more decentralized and metaverse programs (or “metaverse schools”) will emerge as students increasingly seek immersive, interactive, and engaging online learning environments. In a decentralized learning environment, students are no longer bound by the physical or formal constraints imposed by school or university administrators. Students and their parents will search for alternatives to brick-and-mortar learning and traditional pen-and-paper, teacher-centered learning. More immersive alternatives will emerge, such as the STEM metaverse for children aged 6-14 that leverages live virtual multiplayer gaming to learn science topics. By offering students engaging alternatives to brick-and-mortar learning, schools and universities may be better positioned to tackle problems related to lack of physical space, student disengagement, and teacher shortages. In all, as more diverse and immersive online learning experiences emerge there will be more challenges to traditional pedagogy and programs. 
• Learning will become more gamified. Virtual learning activities will increasingly include game mechanics and game-design elements, such as competition, points and rewards. Fully immersive 3D VR and AR worlds will place the users inside games and go beyond the limits of 2D game screens. As gamified elements become more immersive and engaging they are likely to become more popular with children and young people. The global game-based learning market size is expected to increase nearly 20% in the next five years and as demand for augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence in education rise, so likely will demand for gamified learning activities. Roblox, one of the most popular gaming environments for children, has roughly 55 million daily users and a reported three-fourths of all U.S. kids between 9 and 12 years old were playing Roblox in 2020. Even now, 2D educational games such as Kahoot are extremely popular with students (and teachers). many popular educational platforms include gamified elements.
• Educators and parents will struggle with how the metaverse should be integrated in teaching and learning.  The metaverse offers an unlimited number of educational possibilities, but the risks to children are unknown at this point. In fully immersive 3D VR and AR worlds, students are inside their environments and what is transpiring around them may not be readily available or apparent to adults. This will likely trouble parents. Also, how will children react emotionally as they are exposed to more-and-more “realistic” 3D VR and AR environments? What happens to children if the difference between reality and fantasy starts to become unclear to them? These are but a few of the complex issues related to children in a metaverse environment. 

Interested in learning more about the metaverse / web3 and joining a community of educators exploring these ideas? We highly recommend participating in the upcoming Ed3 Unconference. You can find our more info and register here . You can also get a 5% discount when entered in the code “Edtechteacher5.”