The Eduverse

Editor's Note

Hello from London!

Ever since the discussion around the metaverse really kicked off in earnest, I have been intrigued about which direction this could take education. In general, education takes longer to move with technology, primarily due to linkages with institutions and the need for equality for access. Even so, I'm still excited by early stage investments in the space. Cue Labster:

Five years before the metaverse became trendy, Danish edtech company Labster was already building one.  Founder Michael Bodekaer Jensen might not have used the term at the time, but this is essentially what the platform is — an educational “eduverse” where students can wander around a science campus to do virtual experiments or take VR-based medical training courses, and where teachers could build and share their own digital teaching materials.  Labster boomed when the Covid-19 pandemic closed many schools. And the company feels it can move up another gear as the metaverse awakens schools, governments and businesses to the potential of immersive virtual worlds. 

I certainly don't think education in the metaverse will only be VR headsets and a reimagination of the real world. And I definitely don't think that it will be a virtual reality depiction of a physical classroom. That would be a waste of an opportunity for everyone.

Where I think the opportunity lies is what we don't yet know. I think we will find new ways of learning, more "in-demand" areas of learning and start to re-prioritise our relation with education. Education today is mainly defined by what industry wants us to learn rather than what the world needs us to learn - and the metaverse or a new revised form of education could rip up the traditional ideas of learning. Imagine studying "blockchain" in high-school, taught through a life-like emulation of cryptocurrency markets in the metaverse. I jest - but you see where this may go - because with technology adoption comes much responsibility.

For the creators of the new worlds in which we will live, work and have fun, it's important that we know what the boundaries should be - or we will get stung again by corruption and manipulation.

For those interested, here are a few further papers on this area.

Stay Curious,

Onward! - Rahim

P.S. Is 30 minutes of exercise enough?

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End Note

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