Edu 800 Annotation Week 12

Díaz, J., Saldaña, C., & Avila, C. (2020). Virtual world as a resource for hybrid education. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 15(15), 94-109.

This article examines the numerous issues that can arise while creating, implementing, and using a virtual or metaverse world in a learning environment. The researchers use the Scrum methodology to examine if the metaverse may be used as a supplemental digital tool to enhance teaching and learning in academic contexts, specifically at the university level. The researchers suggest that the university setting is the best model to use due to its ease of access to both synchronous and asynchronous information. For this reason, the authors believe that the metaverse’s inherent design mimics universities as a means of supporting students.

The strengths of this research are in the methodology used for creating the metaverse software project. According to the article, Scrum is typically used by teams to address issues in an adaptable manner, producing the best possible value for each incremental iteration. Also, it is notable that the same fundamental concepts that are seen in science fiction movies still hold true in the “real” metaverse. For example, the basic characteristics are still the same: interactivity, which means that users are able to communicate and interact within the confines of the metaverse and can impact the object inside it. Corporeity or embodiment, which means that users are represented by avatars within this space. Lastly, the persistence of the program’s ability to continue to change even when the users are not present. Everything is automatically saved and can be retrieved once the user connects again. 

Honestly, as I read this article, I could not help but think about movies such as “Free Guy” and “Ready, Player One.” I believe that the use of the metaverse seems to have many benefits in an educational setting. I can see the ways in which professors at a university or even teachers at a virtual school could use this realm to encourage student interaction and collaboration, and build community. In my opinion, this technology ties in gaming and educational hypermedia to some degree, so I can see how its use could possibly bridge gaps in these areas. This technology could add more depth and opportunities for synchronous meetings/classes where students get to interact in some fashion with the instructors and classmates to a degree no matter how far away they all are.  However, I don’t know if we are ready to take out our VR goggles just yet.