Is the Metaverse for Education a Blessing or a Curse?
Siham Abukhalaf （ Department of Education, Deakin University, 3125, Australia. ）
https://doi.org/10.37155/2972-4856-jei0302-2Abstract
The Metaverse, a virtual world connecting imaginative ideas to real-life experiences through immersive technologies, has gained increasing attention, particularly following the global shift to virtual platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Metaverse holds promise for transforming education by enhancing realism, motivation, active learning, collaboration, and personalized experiences, its integration into educational settings remains in the early stages, with limited empirical research available. This study aims to explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the Metaverse’s potential learning opportunities, anticipated challenges, and readiness for adoption. Grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework, this research seeks to fill gaps in the current literature by offering empirical insights into the benefits, drawbacks, and preparedness related to Metaverse integration in education.
Keywords
Metaverse; Education technology; Immersive learning; UTAUT2 framework; Stakeholder perceptionsFull Text
PDFReferences
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[2]. Abukhalaf, S., Charles, T., & Hill, C. (2024). The Metaverse as a Virtual Learning Space: Perceptions from the UAE. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(5), 1037-1052. : https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v3i5.3954
[3]. Chen, Z. (2022). Exploring the application scenarios and issues facing Metaverse technology in education. Interactive Learning Environments, 32(5), 1975-1987. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2022.2133148
[4]. Chen, Z., Wu, J., Gan, W., & Qi, Z. (2022, December). Metaverse security and privacy: An overview. In 2022 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data) (pp. 2950-2959). IEEE.
[5]. Danforth, D. R., Procter, M., Chen, R., Johnson, M., & Heller, R. (2009). Development of virtual patient simulations for medical education. Journal For Virtual Worlds Research, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.4101/JVWR.V2I2.707
[6]. Dionisio, J. D. N., Iii, W. G. B., & Gilbert, R. (2013). 3D virtual worlds and the metaverse: Current status and future possibilities. ACM computing surveys (CSUR), 45(3), 1-38. : http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2480741.2480751
[7]. Haque, M. A., Haque, S., Zeba, S., Kumar, K., Ahmad, S., Rahman, M., ... & Ahmed, L. (2024). Sustainable and efficient E-learning internet of things system through blockchain technology. E-Learning and Digital Media, 21(3), 216-235.
[8]. Hwang, G. J., & Chien, S. Y. (2022). Definition, roles, and potential research issues of the metaverse in education: An artificial intelligence perspective. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 3, 100082. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2022.100082
[9]. Lee, L.H., Braud, T., Zhou, P., Wang, L., Xu, D., Lin, Z., Kumar, A., Bermejo, C. and Hui, P., (2021). All one needs to know about metaverse: A complete survey on technological singularity, virtual ecosystem, and research agenda. arXiv preprint arXiv:2110.05352. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2110.05352
[10]. Lee, H., & Hwang, Y. (2022). Technology-enhanced education through VR-making and metaverse-linking to foster teacher readiness and sustainable learning. Sustainability, 14(8), 4786. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su15032186
[11]. Liang, J., Li, G., Zhang, F., Fan, D., & Luo, H. (2023). Benefits and challenges of the educational Metaverse: Evidence from quantitative and qualitative data. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE), 16(1), 71-91.
[12]. Lim, W. Y. B., Xiong, Z., Niyato, D., Cao, X., Miao, C., Sun, S., & Yang, Q. (2022). Realizing the metaverse with edge intelligence: A match made in heaven. IEEE Wireless Communications, 30(4), 64-71.
[13]. Marikyan, M., & Papagiannidis, P. (2021). Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. TheoryHub book.
[14]. Medvedieva, M., & Yamkovenko, V. (2024). Overview of applications with AR and VR technologies in educational activities. Věda a perspektivy, (2 (33)).https://doi.org/10.52058/2695-1592-2024-2(33)-168-177
[15]. Mokmin, N. A. M., & Ridzua, N. N. I. B. (2022). Immersive Technologies in Physical Education in Malaysia for Students with Learning Disabilities. IAFOR Journal of Education, 10(2), 91-110.https://doi.org/10.22492/ije.10.2.05
[16]. Prakash, A., Haque, A., Islam, F., & Sonal, D. (2023). Exploring the potential of metaverse for higher education: Opportunities, challenges, and implications. Metaverse Basic and Applied Research, (2), 13. https://doi.org/10.56294/mr202340
[17]. Sá, M. J., & Serpa, S. (2023). Metaverse as a learning environment: Some considerations. Sustainability, 15(3), 2186. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032186
[18]. Sarıtaş, M. T. & Topraklıkoğlu, K. (2022). Systematic literature review on the use of metaverse in education. International Journal of Technology in Education (IJTE), 5(4), 586- 607. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijte.319
[19]. Sokołowska, B. (2023). Impact of virtual reality cognitive and motor exercises on brain health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(5), 4150. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054150
[20]. Sun, J., Gan, W., Chen, Z., Li, J., & Yu, P. S. (2022). Big data meets metaverse: A survey. arXiv preprint arXiv:2210.16282.
[21]. Tlili, A., Huang, R., Shehata, B., Liu, D., Zhao, J., Metwally, A. H. S., ... & Burgos, D. (2022). Is Metaverse in education a blessing or a curse: a combined content and bibliometric analysis. Smart Learning Environments, 9(1), 1-31.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-022-00205-x
[22]. Venkatesh, V., Thong, J. Y., & Xu, X. (2012). Consumer acceptance and use of information technology: extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. MIS quarterly, 157-178.
[23]. Walker, G., & Venker Weidenbenner, J. (2019). Social and Emotional Learning in the age of virtual play: technology, empathy, and learning. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, 12(2), 116-132.https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIT-03-2019-0046
[24]. White, M. (2008, October). Permeating innovative technologies throughout the institution. In Proceedings of the 36th annual ACM SIGUCCS fall conference: moving mountains, blazing trails (pp. 297-300).https://doi.org/10.1145/1449956.1450043
[25]. Zhang, X., Chen, Y., Hu, L., & Wang, Y. (2022). The metaverse in education: Definition, framework, features, potential applications, challenges, and future research topics. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1016300. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1016300
Copyright © 2025 Siham Abukhalaf
Publishing time:2025-05-30
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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