The Metaverse—An Alternative Education Space
Sharon Mistretta
Abstract
The Metaverse is a 3D virtual environment already populated by our students. In the form of avatars, their unique personas happily collaborate in spaces such as Roblox and Minecraft. After two years of being fully online, remote learning became associated with fatigue from business-model video conferencing tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. It is time to consider the adoption of customizable Metaverse platforms where educators and their students can safely teach and learn again in the same space. This paper examines contagion theory to frame the breakdown of our classroom environment during the Covid-19 Pandemic and the transition back to a mosaic of hybrid contexts. This paper delineates the merits of the Metaverse as an alternative education space that fosters Universal Design for learning. Additionally, this paper reviews platforms that support multiple entry points for engagement, representation, action, and expression.