New Delhi: The setting is a juice shop. The attendant goes back and forth between the tables, receiving orders, servicing customers, and calculating invoices.
But the store is not real. And even attendants and customers are just virtual avatars.
So what’s happening here? According to proponents of the Metaverse classroom, a new buzzword in educational technology, this is what the future of education looks like.
The virtual juice shop can be the setting for profit and loss lessons. In another class, they say, students can shop in the virtual market for savings and tax lessons. All from the comfort of their home.
Metaverse is a network of 3D shared virtual worlds inhabited by living people’s avatars. This has been described by some industry insiders as the next big thing for Indian edtech. Expected to grow Enter the $ 30 billion industry by 2032.
Historically, the education engineering boom has featured online video sessions and pre-recorded lessons. “Interactive” meant that students raised their hands and asked questions and questions.
However, using the photo metaverse, the Educational Technology Department is committed to providing a 3D learning experience that students can learn by participating in case studies that they may have come across on the pages of a book (as their virtual avatar). I am considering it.
UnfoldU — a company that aims to “provide students with an alternative to tuition fees through online courses at a fraction of the cost” — was launched using blockchain and the Metaverse. Unfold U2.0 A step towards the goal of the March platform, “Metaversity of Mega Education”.
Last week, test preparation giant Career Launcher announced the launch of CLMeta, a student metaverse with virtual classrooms, a study room, a career counseling section, and a virtual shopping mall for students to buy educational products. Did.
On Wednesday, IIT-Jodhpur launched a part-time online MTech program for augmented reality (AR) and VR professionals between 2022 and 23.
In the meantime, efforts are underway to set up “metaversity”. Bangalore’s “online school” told The Print that it plans to offer the Metaverse to its students.
Among the stated objectives of its supporters is to provide quality education to students in remote areas beyond the hub, or “democratization of education,” but some experts say it is. We are still vigilant about the extent and impact of the end.
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Edtech & Metaverse
Metaverse It consists of three main elements: a VR (Virtual Reality) interface, digital ownership, and a personalized avatar.
First used in the 1992 novel by American author Neil Stephenson’Snow Crash “, The term “Metaverse” was introduced by the video games Roblox and Fortnite during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the launch of the VR social platform by Meta (formerly Facebook) in 2021, it gained even more momentum.
research Report It shows that the Metaverse market opportunity could rise to $ 800 billion by 2024.
In the field of education and engineering, market leaders like Vedantu and BYJU’S have not yet entered the field, but new market players are getting clues.
UnfoldU — a company that aims to “provide students with an alternative to tuition fees through online courses at a fraction of the cost” — was launched using blockchain and the Metaverse. Unfold U2.0 A step towards the goal of the March platform, “Metaversity of Mega Education”.
Regarding CL Meta, Career Launcher CEO Sujatha Kshirsagar said, “We have a kiosk in our physical office to let students interact with the AV / VR system.”
“This technology is still in its infancy and cannot be implemented on a large scale yet, but we believe we are taking a step towards the future of online learning.”
Dr. Neeraj Jain, Dean of AI and Data Science at IIT Jodhpur, said: “AR and VR are future technologies that play an important and increasingly important role in various areas such as healthcare, diagnostics, and robotics. Games, consumer experiences, and other places where immersive experiences are needed. “.
“This is where the technology as a whole is moving, which will increase the employment opportunities for people who are AR / VR experts,” Jain added. “This course provides working professionals with the opportunity to respond to new employment markets in the future.”
Invact Metaversity, 21K School
Invact Metaversity, an online platform aimed at building a virtual university in the Metaverse, caters to students who are not at the top of the Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, Tier-5, and Tier-6 cities. I am aiming for. Their class was said by co-founder Tanai Platap.
“Not all students can enroll in a dedicated institution like IIT or IIM, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the opportunity to get a good education. Our aim at Invact is to compete. It’s about building a learning platform that transcends the world of 2D at a powerful price, “Pratap told The Print.
The Invact Metaversity Metaverse “Business Fellowship” course was scheduled for release in June. Late It was caused by a dropout between former Microsoft engineer Tanai Pratap and co-founder of former Twitter India Manish Maheshwari.
early morning # Metaversity Campus walk! pic.twitter.com/7K9HkGYAnE
— Manish Maheshwari (@manishm) January 15, 2022
“The first training program had a lot of feedback and many working professionals signed it up,” Platap added, adding that the course is likely to be published in the next 6-8 weeks.
Invact Metaversity students can change their assignments and projects as follows, he said. Non-fungible token (NFT).. This gives them exclusive ownership of their work and allows them to sell NFTs whenever they want.
A 16-week course with Invact Metaversity costs Rs 20,000. Out of 3,000 applicants Maiden program In 2022, Only 70 people were admitted, Platap said. Invact Metaversity students get a bachelor’s degree in a skill-up course.
Another supporter of the Metaverse classroom is the Bangalore-based 21k School. This is an online school that claims to have recorded 6,000 registrations within two years of its inception.
“In line with the National Education Policy (NEP), we have given students the flexibility to study. They can choose from boards in the United States, United Kingdom and India,” said 21k School co-founder. Yeshwanth RajP states.
“They can even choose the batch they can study. We focus all on core subjects only. That is, elementary school students study for only 3 hours.”
The cost for a student to study at this virtual school is up to Rupees 60,000 per year.
“With the help of machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence), we can analyze student performance daily and determine the level of the next lesson to attend,” added Yeshwanth Raj P. “We want to introduce education to the Metaverse so that our students living in different parts of the world can interact with each other.”
Yeshwanth Raj P. said he and his team are trying to overcome the problem of “a bulky VR set that can be offensive to students when used for long periods of time.”
Saumya Pandy, a 36-year-old science teacher at 21K School, said she wished she had the opportunity to learn using immersive techniques in the classroom as a kid.
Asked how Metaverse can change the game of educational technology, Pandy now uses an app that students can use to virtually travel anywhere in the world to learn about different topics. I said that I am doing it. “But we are eagerly waiting for the Metaverse to be implemented,” she added.
The future of education in the Metaverse
Gouri Gupta, director of education engineering at the non-profit Central Square Foundation, said Metaverse could be the key to democratizing access to quality education, while teaching using virtual reality. He said that anyone can guess the pace at which he can expand.
“There are two factors to consider when talking about access to low-income education: infrastructure costs and learning software costs,” Gupta told The Print.
“Given that we don’t have the special infrastructure needed to access the Metaverse platform (Metaverse can be accessed in a limited format using smartphones), infrastructure may not be a major barrier.
“In terms of the cost of learning software, commercial education and engineering companies may take some time to introduce this innovation to the low-income group, but should ignore the ongoing innovation in the non-profit sector. Not. I hope many non-profit edtech platforms are already thinking about this. “
“The relevant technology infrastructure will be available in public schools,” Gupta said, as NEP focuses on the adoption of technology in the education sector.
“It enables children’s collaboration, peer learning, and immersive experiences, especially for those who find it difficult to access due to financial constraints,” she added.
Professor R. Govinda, a former Vice-President of the National Institute for Educational Policy Research, believes that the edtech boom is a “bubble” and will continue to serve niche viewers who are already serving.
“The field of education and engineering is market-driven and addresses only niche populations, so it will never be equally available to everyone. Technology has historically always had great potential. I’ve been proud of it, but it’s gone, and it’s going to continue until everyone has equal access to technology, “Govinda told The Print.
But this does not undermine the fact that 3D learning or this metaverse has tremendous potential for learning, “he said. “Students are in a position to gain more if the concept of science in higher education is taught in such an audiovisual way,” he added.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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