Special Feature: The metaverse awaits but will you be coming to the party?

The metaverse awaits but will you be coming to the party?

If some of the biggest tech companies on the planet have their way, it’s a place where we’ll all soon be living, playing and, yes, teaching. Buzzword or brave new virtual world? Let’s find out whether you should be adding a new dimension to your classroom.

Welcome to the metaverse!

The term is nothing new, having been originally coined by Sci-Fi author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel ‘Snow Crash’. He imagined a shared and connected universe within which digital avatars of people could interact with one another and where status is determined by the sophistication of one’s avatar. Mark Zuckerberg thinks it could be the future of the internet. So much so, he recently rebranded Facebook as Meta and is investing billions of dollars in bringing us a new immersive and imaginary world. While it’s unlikely to take on the somewhat dystopian tones of the novel, Meta’s own version of the metaverse will stay close to Stephenson’s script – a shared and connected virtual world where you can work, play and, importantly for us, learn. Essentially, a metaverse is a network of digital environments and experiences, predominately accessed by people wearing virtual reality (VR) headsets, with a focus on social connection.

Collaborate and share

Others have been here before. You may know Linden Lab’s Second Life (secondlife.com) that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and have a ‘second life’ in an online virtual world. And many others are working on their own meta-versions.

As well as its HoloLens, Microsoft is planning to roll out Mesh, which builds on Teams features like ‘Together Mode’ and ‘Presenter Mode’. The updated product will allow organisations to create ‘metaverses’ where people can collaborate in virtual environments that mimic physical offices and other shared spaces. Despite its troubled initial foray into Augmented Reality (AR) with Google Glass, Google’s AR headsets (internally codenamed Project Iris) are expected to be released in 2024. This will use “outward-facing cameras to blend computer graphics with a video feed of the real world, creating a more immersive, mixed reality experience than existing AR glasses.” Apple is also rumoured to be launching its own VR headset next year. Last November, Unity Software’s acquisition of Weta Digital, in a $1.6 billion deal, is more than likely the result of the company’s focus on the metaverse. Mozilla Hub already lets you meet, share and collaborate in private 3D virtual spaces. SandBox allow players to play, build, own and monetise virtual experiences In the following pages, read about Avantis World, the first ever educational virtual reality theme park, and Lenovo’s VR Classroom 2, and even how to create your own with tools like CoSpaces.

Appeal to learners

While much of the attention around the metaverse centres on gaming, the whole idea of using interactive, immersive environments in education will appeal to learners of all ages. Educators can build classrooms that suit their teaching needs and keep students more engaged in the learning process; learners can interact with realistic objects and participate in simulations and games as if they are physically there, perhaps understanding how a certain piece of machinery works or what a mathematical concept looks like in real life. Students can build study rooms where they can collaborate, study together, share files, and socialise. It promises to make learning fun and effortless, with real-time feedback, and enhancing the overall learning experience.

INSIDE AVANTIS WORLD

Preserve and protect

Are there downsides to this new dimension? Yes, of course. The BBC recently reported on all sorts of shenanigans going on in an app called VRChat. A researcher posing as a 13-year-old girl witnessed grooming, sexual material, racist insults and more in the virtual-reality world. Clearly, it is vitally important to get the social interaction component right from the start. We must not let the commercial rush to market combined with the social need for new tools, cloud our awareness of the potential dangers. It will be important to find ways to meld the virtual and real worlds in ways that preserve real teacher-child, caregiverchild, and child-child social relationships. It will also be key to avoid interruptions and distractions.

Potential is huge

Even if the prospect of hanging out with Mark Zuckerberg’s avatar in the metaverse doesn’t float your virtual boat, the opportunities being opened up by this digital world should. The idea of a huge, virtual online world is certainly intriguing. Millions of children are already in a state of two-dimensional immersion if they are playing Fortnite, Minecraft, or using the online games platform Roblox. The educational potential for the metaverse’s immersive capabilities to make virtual learning environments more life-like and learning itself more engaging and experiential is huge. With the amount of time, effort and money being invested, the metaverse is going to be the next stage of the internet. Already there’s much to take advantage of and enjoy; how the coming months and years play out should be an enticing prospect for us all. Compiled by the INTERFACE team.

Breaking boundaries and disrupting education By Hassan Baickdeli

VR and the metaverse are well on their way to disrupting the education industry. Comparable to the changes that came when the internet was introduced, they’re literally going to break boundaries as well as traditional moulds of what we have known education to be over the last 50 years – and not just the physical type. When done properly (and we are not that far away from it) you’re not going to need to travel to complete a full day’s learning. The process will be as simple as putting on an HMD, or Head Mounted Device, and you are instantly transported to your classroom, field trip, lecture theatre, sporting event, and the list goes on. You won’t need to run to catch the bus, you won’t have to worry about missing a practical session or tutorial, it will literally re-shape the educational landscape.

Successful and effective

Virtual Reality is a simulated environment. This can be in the form of 360-degree audio and video 3D scans of existing environments, or the creation of entirely new settings and assets via platforms such as Unity. The technology’s been used successfully in learning for a while now as a tool to educate students safely and effectively. Take the aviation industry’s use of flight simulators for training, for example. For educators, VR offers the ability to deliver rich and real-time educational material within a short period of time. Students, on the other hand, can utilise the technology to enhance present educational material by adding a dimension of interaction and experience that builds upon textbook learning. For instance, when learning about marine ecosystems, they can visit locations like the Great Barrier Reef and experience it themselves.

The next level

Lenovo’s foray into the field started as the VR Classroom 1 solution, in partnership with Google. Using the Daydream platform and leveraging Google Expeditions, it was immediately clear that this medium had a lot of potential, even from a very basic content consumption perspective. Based on its success, the far more advanced VR Classroom 2 was launched recently. As part of this update, it utilises the ThinkReality platform through which students can access licensed content from global partners, as well as other schools and students. We have seen this solution drive contextual outcomes that take immersive learning for schools to the next level.

Potential dangers

The ethical standards for virtual worlds are currently not up to scratch, and I mean this from a physical perspective. As we head into this transformation, there are a range of elements, variables, and perspectives that need to be considered, as well as be front and centre before any type of implementation or strategy is begun. Schools have certain security measures in place, like web filters that only allow access to whitelisted and approved sites. Lenovo has worked with schools to enable the same methodology in relation to both locations and experiences in the form of apps and content. Fortunately, with the ThinkReality platform, headsets are basically a shell and only feature the experiences and content you choose to push out to them, so everything is basically reviewed, approved, and then selected to be pushed out. With regards to just providing a headset to a student and then letting them wander off into the great unknown metaverse (or one of many), a great deal of education and training needs to be done for both students and parents to make sure they understand how the technology works and how to remain cognisant of potential risks.

VIRTUAL LEARNING: VR CLASSROOM 2

Embrace transformation

As for the future, the educational landscape is definitely changing, and the next five years will be amazing. Technology needs to be understood and the transformation needs to be embraced, and it’s the role of organisations like Lenovo to help the education community leverage these technologies in a safe, compelling, and practical way. There’s a great deal coming in the form of devices, platforms and we can’t wait to share these with you, so stay tuned! Hassan Baickdeli is Head of Emerging Technology & Solutions A/NZ at Lenovo.

Lenovo VR Classroom 2 is a complete solution for teaching with VR. Powered by ThinkReality, it provides a combination of hardware, content, device management, and support designed specifically for education. Learn more at

support.lenovo.com/vrclassroom

Forget the metaverse, welcome to the Eduverse By Mark Girven

Conbrio is involved in the education space via a variety of classroom technology solutions. It believes that most of these products complement each other, although they can be supplied as individual components, such as ClassVR and Avantis World.

The idea of a metaverse has been around for a long time, since the 80s. It is now a ‘Meta’ (aka Facebook) property, meaning it’s having a lot of money pumped into it and being marketed heavily, which, in turn, has opened up the term to the full force of the internet and all its associated problems. This is why we have created the Eduverse, which offers all the connectivity and innovation of the metaverse, but with a purely educational focus and in-depth measures in place to protect students. ClassVR and Avantis World are part of this and have always prioritised student safety. In the ClassVR Portal, teachers can be in complete control of the content that students can access on their devices. The same is true in Avantis World, where students can only access the virtual experiences that have been set for them and those experiences end forever when the teacher closes them.

VIRTUAL LEARNING: CLASSVR

Empathy Engine

A term we like to use about VR is ‘Empathy Engine’. By this, we mean placing the students in a particular environment or experience, significantly increases their understanding. All of the content available is educational and suitable for students of all ages – inappropriate content is not accessible on ClassVR headsets or through Avantis World, as the teacher is always in control. The resources are constantly being added to via the portal. You can also link into community resources created by other educators, as well as generate your own. Virtual reality tools have proven to be more than just novel visual aids for education – they are powerful learning tools. Research shows that retention rates rise when students or trainees use virtual reality to immerse themselves in a lesson or scenario. In Rachelle Dragani’s study, ‘Brain science: Why VR is so effective for learning’ (2019), she reported that a study showed median recall accuracy rates with VR headsets hit 90 per cent compared to 78 per cent for learning with computer screens. She also explained how, in Beijing, students whose lessons were supplemented with VR averaged scores of 93 on a final exam, a 20-percentage point increase from those who relied on traditional classroom learning.

Creative and exciting

Since the launch of ClassVR in 2017, the outcomes we have seen with its usage have been excellent. Teachers from around the world have shared their testimonials with us and have explained that, in various subjects, they have seen improved understanding, greater concentration, a renewed enthusiasm for learning and a better quality of responses and engagement.

The guide ‘50 creative ways to use Class VR’ (classvr.com/ download/50creative-ways-to-useclassvr/) provides exciting ways teachers can use VR and AR in the classroom. It’s designed both to inspire and demonstrate the practicalities of ClassVR as a teaching tool. Conbrio is committed to assisting all schools with the delivery of the Digital Curriculum through not only ClassVR but a range of solutions. Having a variety of learning tools available in a classroom is absolutely crucial to maintaining students’ interest and dynamically appealing to the variety of preferential learning styles amongst any group of students. Mark Girven is BDM at Conbrio Technology Group. Check out ClassVR at classvr.com and Avantis World at avantisworld.com. And download ‘A Guide to VR and AR in Education’ at classvr.com/#school-

virtual-reality-training

For more on Conbrio’s classroom technology solutions go to

classtech.co.nz

Sharing Best Practice

Teaching in two different

realities By Paul Hamilton

There have always been educators who have not only embraced new technology, but also pioneered new digitech tools and new mediums, connecting with curriculum and learning, and sharing globally with educators. They have forced developers to look more closely at the education market and start building solutions that were once only targeting business and enterprise. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) fit into this category perfectly. Let’s start by quickly unpacking these two immersive technologies as they have some distinct differences.

VR is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment. It uses virtual headsets to place the user in the virtual environment and has become popular through platforms such as Oculus, HoloLens and HTC. AR can be defined as ‘digital content layered in the physical world’, and is often used to enhance the world we live in or reveal another layer of information. If we think of the game that introduced many of us to the concept of AR, Pokémon GO allowed users to seek and find Pokémon. These are hidden to the human eye but are revealed through a smartphone or tablet through a digital layer strategically placed in a physical location.

So, the distinguishable element between the two is the connection to the physical. Whilst one aims to totally immerse the user in the virtual world, the other aims to connect digital content to the actual, real world.

While many bundle AR and VR elements together, you can see there are some key differences as to why educators may use each immersive technology separately. We can explore a classroom task to identify how these immersive technologies might be used effectively.

FINDING A POKÉMON

The scenario

Let’s imagine a visual art teacher has just finished up a unit where her students have created digital artworks based on local indigenous artists. She wants to share these artworks with the wider community and sees AR/VR as an opportunity to shine a light on her talented artists. What should she use and how might she go about implementing such a project?

Reasons for using VR

The school has a number of headsets and the teacher uses the popular VR platform CoSpaces. She layers all 30 arts works into an art gallery template, adds atmospheric music and students’ narratives talking about the artworks. The gallery is published and wha -nau and the wider community can walk through it, interacting with different pieces and becoming totally immersed in the experience. VR handles lots of digital content and this is the perfect example of showcasing the students’ artworks with little or no technical issues from the users’ end.

Reasons for using AR

The teacher wants to include a fundraising element to the project with an auction to purchase a framed picture of the artworks. Before placing a bid, the teacher would like the community to test out the artwork in their homes to see if it matches the colour and furniture in the individual’s home. She uses Reality Composer (developer. apple.com/augmented-reality/ tools/) to create an AR experience where people can digitally place each artwork in their homes. The artworks are to scale and contain single narration from the artist explaining the work and their inspiration for creating it. AR’s strength is to connect objects to the physical space, allowing users to test before buying. This example is not a ‘pie in the sky’ scenario. Educators around the world are using immersive technologies like AR and VR in creative and effective ways as part of their way of teaching, learning and sharing.

Adding some virtual magic

Many current platforms and tools being used for creating content in the worlds of virtual and augmented space have another element worth noting – coding. With a tool like CoSpaces, if students are looking at ‘house design’, once the plans have been drawn, they can use what are called CoBlocks to show to prospective house owners how the spaces can be used. They can add custom animations, interactive elements and much more with a few blocks of code.

This moves the learning focus from spatial concepts that are often the building blocks of VR and AR, into a new realm in the digital technologies space.

Some tools to use

Lastly, if you want to give VR or AR a go, what are some of the tools and platforms

to consider using? For creating Virtual Reality experiences, some web-based platforms are: • CoSpaces (cospaces.io/edu/); • Mozilla Hubs (hubs.mozilla.com); and • ThingLink (thinglink.com). Others you could try include Unity (unity. com), Tilt Brush (tiltbrush.com) and Nearpod VR (nearpod.com/nearpod-vr) As for Augmented Reality, there are iPad apps like Reality Composer and AR Mkr (armakr.app), as well as: • JigSpace (jig.space); • Adobe Aero (adobe.com/products/aero. html); and • Windows Mixed Reality (microsoft.com/ en-us/mixed-reality/ windows-mixedreality) These are some of the platforms I have successful used in the classroom. Maybe you can, too! Paul Hamilton is a creative and digital trainer at Using Technology Better, specialising in creativity, design thinking, and immersive and emerging technologies.

3D CHESS IN REALITY COMPOSER

Virtual Reality learning is more enjoyable

A new study exploring how students responded to 3D visualisation as a learning tool offers new insights into the benefits of VR as an educational tool.

Researchers from the Neuroimaging Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and Wisconsin Institute for the Discovery at University Wisconsin-Madison have developed the UW Virtual Brain Project, producing unique, interactive, 3D narrated diagrams to help students learn about the structure and function of perceptual systems in the human brain. In their experiments, participants showed no significant differences between computer screens and VR devices for content-based learning outcomes. However, VR far exceeded screen viewing for achieving experiencebased learning outcomes. In other words, VR was more enjoyable and easier to use.

Evaluated lessons

“Students are enthusiastic about learning in VR,” said Bas Rokers, Associate Professor and Director of the Neuroimaging Center. “All participants received lessons about the visual system and auditory system, one in VR and one on a computer screen (order counterbalanced). We assessed content learning using a drawing/labelling task on paper (2D drawing) in Experiment 1 and a Looking Glass autostereoscopic display (3D drawing) in Experiment 2. “In both experiments, we found that while there was no difference in the effectiveness of lessons between devices, participants reported VR was more enjoyable and easier to use. “We also evaluated the VR lessons in our classroom implementation during an undergraduate course on perception. Students reported that the VR lessons helped them make progress on course learning outcomes, especially for learning system pathways. They suggested lessons could be improved by adding more examples and providing more time to explore in VR.”