Class in the metaverse: Nir Eisikovits on the challenges of building virtual reality universities

Virtual reality, widely used in gaming, is now being adapted for a range of purposes, including medicine, therapy, and sports. But could virtual reality work for higher education? In this essay, Nir Eisikovits, an associate professor of ethics at University of Massachusetts-Boston, explores the ethical and social challenges of virtual reality. He explains what is at stake for students and universities if campuses move to the metaverse.

Nir Eisikovits, "College Could Take Place in the Metaverse, but These Problems Must Be Overcome First,"The Conversation, 1 March 2022

 

1. At the beginning of his essay, Eisikovits explains several pressures higher education institutions face. Which two do you think are most important? Why? One solution could be creating an alternate university, one that exists in virtual reality. How could a virtual reality university benefit students and faculty?
2. Eisikovits describes five key challenges that higher education must address before building virtual reality universities. What are these challenges? Which one do you think most impacts the university community you are part of? Why?
3. Eisikovits uses a numbered list to organize his argument, a strategy discussed in Chapter 2. Why do you think he chose to organize his points in this way? How does this organization affect you as a reader? Think about your own academic writing. In what kinds of writing do you think you could use a numbered list effectively? Where would a numbered list not work as well? Why?
4. Watch Facebook’s promotional video for the metaverse. Then, join this conversation and draw on your own experiences as a student in your response. Would you want to go to college in the metaverse? Why or why not? What would a virtual reality university offer? What would it limit? What other information would you want before making that choice?

Comments

[Cristal]

I would not like to go to a college in the metaverse because I feel as if it won't be as effective as going to college in person being face to face with a professor who is teaching you about a certain subject. A virtual university would give students the opportunity to attend class without physically being present. Would the experience if one would do virtual reality for science classes which required a number of labs be as efficient as doing in-person? Would it limit our mobility and the things we are able to do in the lab? Would we retain the information the way we should be doing?

[Christopher Timberlake]

I would try going to school in the metaverse. I think it would be a bigger of a change than we think it is. We would be missing out on face to face communication skills. You would be able to take any course you would like. It would limit like the characters or avatars you can choose. I would want to know the hours and how would work be done. I think it would help people learn what they want to learn but at the cost of face to face communication skills.

[Trinidy Jackson]

I would want to experience college in the metaverse because it would make school more fun for me and I would feel more motivated to do the work. It can be a distraction for most people but I find it captivating. I would feel more enthusiastic about my work if the class is interesting to me. A virtual reality university would offer people with anxiety the opportunity to focus on their work without interacting with other students. However, it could limit communication between the students and professor. Before making this choice, I would like to know how much I have to pay compared to regular college.

[Brayan H.]

Nir Eisikovitz, the author of the article, has made some great points about the effects of college taking place in the Metaverse. Some points I’d like to mention that I agree with are, the “Focus” in the virtual reality environment, the “Communication”, and the “Digital Divides”. Focus is highly needed when you are attending college, especially if the idea of college takes place in the Metaverse. As a student myself, it’s already a struggle sometimes to even pay attention in class without having to look at another tab or reply to texts in the middle of class. Communication is another important aspect of college that is required. Being on a virtual reality platform takes away the facial expressions and body language we show in class if we were to argue on a topic, or in generality to show how we feel in class. When I first started my life in college, I had to do a hybrid semester. When I would be at home doing my classes, anyone that presented an argument or a presentation had their cameras off, which removes the expression of the argument or presentation, and since most of us during the first semester had to sit in front of the computer, our body language was removed as well. Now on the other hand when I completed my other classes on campus, the environment was so much more different. Although we were all in a pandemic still and were still required to wear masks, which removed facial expressions, I was able to see the body language students would portray in class whenever we presented. Finally, virtual reality can create a digital divide. Many people across the world are not able to afford to pay for college tuition, and with the idea of having college take place in the Metaverse, educators need to think about how much more accessible this technology will be for other people. Would it lower the costs of attending college? How will this be made available to other students who would like to study for a major? It’s questions like these that we must consider before we move on with the plan of making college life available on a virtual reality platform.

[Ryan H.]

I would not like to attend a virtual university. There are many reasons I would not want to, many of which are the same points made by Nir Eisikovits in this article. One such reason is the loss of nonverbal means of communication. Nir Eisikovits states that “Engineers have only started thinking about these problems” which is an important step, but even if these concerns are addressed there will always be a limit to a computer's resources. There is a lot of information lost when moving into the virtual world. A computer has a limited amount of resources, so it will sometimes remove “unnecessary” data in order to save on space. In doing so, losing crucial information that, though not visually noticeable, can make the virtual world just feel off. I already have difficulties in socializing in school, so I fear that no matter what, there will always be a divide in knowing that I am just looking into a screen. I feel it would limit how close I could get with my classmates, considering they can change their appearance and voice whenever they want. I will admit that virtual universities could be an amazing tool for those unable to attend a physical university like those with health issues, for example someone with a compromised immune system can safely attend and socialize at a virtual university. However, my fears may be unfounded, as I know many people who have already made deep connections with people in virtual reality. Despite my reluctance to attend a virtual university, I would need to know the cost as well as how such a degree will be valued by employers before I could make a final decision.

[Therese Minaya]

Upon reading this article, I agree with Eisikovits argument that the metaverse may obstruct human education. While technology may be beneficial to societal progression, such technological forums fail to promote key components of human evolution. Through face to face education, students are exposed to human expression that can heavily influence the success of one’s education. Through these face to face interactions, students are exposed to the opportunity to establish social relationships and learn the importance of basic human etiquette. It is through in-person schooling where children, teens, and adults become equipped with the proper skills to socialize with one another and learn to empathize with each other’s thoughts and emotions. By only participating in robotic playgrounds as a means to learn, humans are stripped of the chance to learn social etiquette, which is necessary to work in professional settings. The metaverse only utilizes icons, avatars, or even characters to serve as a representation of how students may feel, which I personally believe is an insufficient means to constitute the true emotions of students. Furthermore, the problem of maintaining focus within metaversal education platforms becomes a concern as well. Even in non-virtual settings, students are apt to distract themselves- through tending to their phones in class to engaging in conversation with neighbors, distractions are prevalent in everyday life. Even in the metaverse, distractions do not cease, but are rather more prone to happening. Although students may attempt to filter out distractions by setting app limits or even separate themselves from distracting devices, advertisements from facebook, twitter, or even instagram consistently being drained onto an individual’s interface is inevitable. Thus being said, distractions are essentially everywhere and are even more abundant on the metaverse, ultimately prompting a student’s education to be obstructed. Given that the metaverse abducts students from the opportunity to develop social skills from face to face interactions, I believe that creating this type of learning environment is less beneficial than face to face learning. In addition, distractions become more frequent throughout internet forums, therefore making it harder to focus and learn, which obstructs student success.

[Diana Gonzalez]

I would go to college in the metaverse because it is cheaper, more convenient, and easier. It is cheaper because all of the textbooks can be online, and shared by professors through e-mail. It is convenient because the cost of gas, car maintenance, traffic, and time is saved. This would make it easier, and people could construct their own schedules according to their own schedules. No one knows when you use the restroom, the environment is comfortable, and students are their own teachers if the class is synchronous. Those who are self-learners can follow online lectures and work at their own pace as long as the deadlines are meant. Others who need a little more help can attend synchronous classes. During the colder months, it is possible fewer people will get sick because people are not out in the cold weather with multiple people. This also could apply to spring, but instead of the cold, it is allergies that can make people sick. Activities and other activities that create a school environment can take place somewhere else. For example, people could use community locations to practice whatever sport they sign up for, and club meetings could take place at other fun places. The environmental club can have a meeting at the beach, the book club can meet at a library, debate teams can meet at courthouses, and so forth. This will provide a more real-world experience than meeting in a classroom. People will also be more focused because they are not distracted by their peers, and can adjust to their surroundings if they do find themselves getting distracted. If someone was getting distracted at their desk because of the TV or they're bored, they can just get up and move to the living room or kitchen. .They can even go to a Starbucks or sit on the grass at the park.

[Zionette Parks]

I personally would not attend a school in the metaverse just because it is can only be used for a certain amount of time. My brother for example has a virtual reality headset and he complains about his headaches from the headset all the time, he explains how it is hard for him to be on his headset for long periods of time. Also the headset needs to be charged you have a have a clear space for you even to play so you can't even charge them until your out of class and what if they die while your in class that would definitely be a bummer. Class in the metaverse not only would make us lazy it wouldn't be efficient because it could possibly be someone else behind the headset. I has its positives and negatives but honestly I would think having classes through the metaverse isn't efficient.

[josh samples]

In today's world there's already a lot of controversy about the metaverse and its short term and long-term effects on humans and society. Technology is already a growing problem with the younger generation. The social skills we see out of today's adults compared to younger kids its quite different. Further implementing technology will slowly melt away social skills and the necessary skills to live life in normal reality let alone the "metaverse" reality. I personally wouldn't want this in my life or my family's life. This life of ours is already so beautiful in nature so why would we have to create a "false' reality. This fictional world will just further the problem with the social skills of the younger generation and further increase our growing mental health crisis we as humans are facing. This would make the world lazier and cause further health and menta problems

[Trinah Itadal]

Nir Eisikovits in his article explains the effects of virtual reality for higher education which I think his right. Yes virtual reality has some positive and negative effects. I think the most problem faced by higher institution during virtual reality is lack of communication between the professor and the student ,the student might not gain confidence ,low concentration and the student may not be able to live among many ,like socializing with people will not be easy. I personally admit that I would not admire to study in metaverse ,this because I will not be able to concentrate enough ,as a student it's a problem for me to concentrate in class because I always look at my phone and see if there is a text I have to reply to I remember there is sometime at home when we were told to study online ,but I don't remember attending even half of the class time and some times would just not attend ,so I personally I insist on the fact that virtual reality is not good for me. Verbal communication is also lost during virtual reality and yet a person like me I understand something more better when its face to face , and a student is not given chance to build their confidence ,like before I personally was not confident enough to speak in class but now am trying to gain that confidence ,but if I was at metaverse, I wouldn't get the chance to gain that skill. Talking about my social life ,the face to face studying is also encouraging to socialize with my other colleagues. I also insist that a virtual reality college would limit us to make connections with other students from well off families and because these days most jobs are got through the connections or friends you have got. But however I believe that there are some students that virtual reality works for and which is ok because we are different in some way ,and I also do not deny the fact that it has some positive effects like ,it helps one the money they would have used to go attend college, virtual it helps you to travel and explore the world without leaving where you are seated ,virtual reality helps students to improve their skills of technology since your in position to know how it is used and its a good thing since in the present day life ,the world uses a lot of technology ,and some students learn better when they see something like in picture form. I would want to know how my work would be saved for future purposes .I believe that virtual reality has some positive and negative effects on people.

[Peter Fernandez]

I would not attend virtual reality college. I agree with many of the points that Nir Eisikovits makes with this article. I believe that if we go to college in the metaverse, people will start to lose social skills. I think that the lack of face-to-face interactions between students will take a toll on some of the students. When classes are held online, students tend to not always give as much effort as they would in-person. I believe that if classes were in the metaverse, overall grades would fall. In person, a teacher can tell quite easily if a student is paying attention or if they don't understand something. In the metaverse you cannot see the students real face and will not be able to put the student back on track with the lesson. Then there are the physical disadvantages to using a virtual reality headset for school. A lot of people get headaches if they use a VR headset longer than a few minutes. I could not imagine wearing one for multiple hours straight. There is also the issue of open space. You would need a fairly empty space to use a VR headset or you might bump into things and hurt yourself. Headsets also need to be charged because you don't want your headset to die in class. That can also raise the issue of someone else going to class for you. There is no way to tell who is behind the headset while in the metaverse. Everyone is just some character that has no link to your real self. As an in-person college student, there are many advantages that I have now that I would not have in the metaverse. There are a lot of campus activities that you can engage in by just walking around campus. There are clubs to join and friends to make. In the metaverse there is no campus so it would be harder to set up clubs and meet new people. Teachers here also have office hours where you can come talk to them about a lesson or bring some work that you need help with. I feel it would be hard to show a teacher your work in the metaverse because you would somehow need to get your work into virtual reality. Overall there are just way too many issues to realistically make classes in the metaverse work and too many advantages to having class in person.

[Dillon]

Like Cristal, I believe I would not like to go to school in the metaverse either. I am more of a hands-on learner and going based off my online experience during Covid, I would say that I wouldn’t be so eager to relive that experience. It was much harder for me to obtain and understand the information that was being shared with me. I just don’t think that already with our attention span that most of us have in physical school being so low, a metaverse will only make the attention span that we have even shorter. This is the case especially with the distractions that don’t include technology, like parents, siblings, internet access, road work and more. Also, it would lead to people having social anxiety again and being afraid to communicate and interact with one another physically. I don’t believe that doing everything through a screen is a good way to handle things as important as education.

[Dylan]

This article talks argues that incorporating the metaverse would be negative for people in higher education. One major problem that the students could face is academic freedom. Eisikovits defines academic freedom as ' the ability of faculty and students to discuss and study any topic they deem important '. This is a problem as universities and pupils can not allow social media companies to decide what people study and where. For example, they mention a virtual lecture that was being held in 2020 that features a member of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, that according to Eisikovits was involved in two plane hijackings was shut down by YouTube and Facebook.

Another negative aspect of the metaverse being used is focus. As Eisikovits puts it a 'good seminar needs to shut out the world for an hour'. My opinion is that focusing with phones is already hard enough so if students were in an environment that is more distracting it would be harder to focus.

As well as that, he mentions that a lot of communication is based on non-verbal cues. He goes on to mention that 'cartoons' can't express that emotion. I believe that currently the technology is no advanced enough to clearly show emotion that is needed in many classes.

Finally, he mentions the digital divide; does it make it more accessible? Eisikovits imagines a world where there is ' a three-tiered system, with traditional schools for the rich, metaverse virtual reality education for the middle classes, and the two-dimensional remote learning for those who can't afford anything else'.

I believe that universities are an important part of society and peoples lives meaning if these problems can be solved then the metaverse can change education.

[Joseph]

After reading this, The article addresses the potential of higher education taking place in the metaverse, a virtual environment where users may communicate with both other users and a computer-generated environment. Although the idea may have advantages like more accessibility and flexibility, there are a number of difficulties that must first be overcome.The possibility for uneven access to technology, which can result in differences in educational possibilities, is a significant problem. The absence of control and regulation in the metaverse, which can lead to a lack of responsibility and possible hazards for students, is another issue. Concerns exist regarding the effect on social and emotional growth as well as possible privacy and security issues. According to the article, these issues may be resolved by working together among lawmakers, technologists, and educators as well as by putting rules and protections in place. Even while the metaverse's idea of college is still in its infancy, if these difficulties can be addressed, it has the power to completely transform higher education. The metaverse and its immediate and long-term implications on people and society are now the subject of much debate. The younger generation already has a developing problem with technology. Today's adults have quite different social skills from younger children. In terms of my social life, face-to-face learning encourages me to interact with my fellow students. I disagree with Trinidy Jackson, who said they will love to attend virtual school. I firmly believe that attending a virtual reality university would prevent us from forming relationships with other students from wealthy backgrounds, as the majority of jobs nowadays are obtained through personal ties or friends.

[Van Lai]

According to this article from the Time News, it talks about the positive view of the potential of virtual reality for college education. I agree with what he is saying because he highlights the potential benefits of virtual reality by increasing the accessibility and affordability in order to engage with learning experience through education. Eisikovits acknowledges the challenges that are addressed to the public before virtual reality becomes an option for the Universities when it comes to safety and privacy for individual students. Some of the benefits that I believe Eisikovits is saying would be how we can expand virtual class size so that they may decrease the lower the cost for students and an increase of accessibility of information rather than traditional colleges. Next would be how it can provide a more engaging experience for students. Another benefit would be how virtual reality can also improve and provide more personal learning experience for students instead of traditional learning since they are limited. In addition, it can be useful for creating simulations and scenarios that can be used unlimit of time for practice learning and skills and can be safer. This can be helpful to improve student outcomes and to prepare them to face the real world that most people will experience. As for now, there are some challenges that need to be tested before releasing for college students. Virtual learning continues to improve itself over time which is important because it gives many potential and more accessibility for future generations to come. Last but not least, it can reduce the need for physical classrooms since there would be more space in the virtual world. Without it, there would be some limitation that students would not be able to gain or learn from it if virtual reality was not created.

[James]

School in the metaverse is not the best idea. The author, Nir Eisikovits, brings up many points on why the metaverse may serve as both an effective and non-legitimate way of learning. Virtual reality will allow for the opportunity of free learning, or so we think. Topics that interest people can be taken. However, in certain situations, educational freedoms can be limited. Universities have the power to block certain sites and resources limiting access to learning. This is a massive problem if we shift to digital learning since important sources may not be available to all students. Distractions have always been apparent within classrooms. In our changing and developing society the addition of phones leaves students unfocused. How will this change in an unsupervised climate where technology is the classroom? As we progress in time, is the addition of more technology truly beneficial? Visual learning is highly important. Many learn through connections and emotional attachments. This aspect will be gone with the switch to the metaverse. Students will not have the chance to bond with their teacher over a common interest allowing them to feel accepted into the classroom. This is something that will truly be lost and is what I think, the top reason as to why a switch to the metaverse is not for the best interest of humanity. To further this point, the entirety of social relationships may be lost. Students will not be able to have the ability to make friends over the metaverse. To corroborate my opinion, Peter Fernandez states, “the lack of face-to-face interactions between students will take a toll on some of the students.” Peter also connects the decline in grades to the installment of metaverse learning. I agree with this point since teachers will not be able to tell which students are struggling. The loss of physical observation for teachers will leave those students struggling, in the dark. Another issue mentioned by Peter was that you could never tell who is behind the headset in virtual reality. This means that students would not have to go to class if they found someone to take their spot for the day. This is a major issue since they will still get credit for the day. This will cause a decline in responsibility, creating improper habits setting them up for failure. In closing, switching higher educational learning to the metaverse will not benefit students but will lead to their downfall.

[Alvin Dunn]

Personally, I agree with the points that Nir Eisikovits presents. While the technology of the metaverse could be hugely beneficial for education, there are still many obstacles and problems that come along with the benefits of virtual education. One huge problem that could happen is that systems can end up being formed due to the wealth gap between students, “with traditional schools for the rich, metaverse virtual reality education for the middle classes, and the two-dimensional remote learning– like that being used now – for those who can’t afford anything else.” This would only end up creating more divide between students and may even create a divide of opportunities that students may be able to receive. For example, many opportunities that in-person students can do may not be available to students who are virtual, such as lab internships. Other students would still be put at a disadvantage due to their financial situation and that would be unfair to them. Another issue is the efficiency and effectiveness of the metaverse and virtual learning. Today, students already find it difficult to focus in classes, and taking classes while at home through a device may be even harder for students to focus on their studies. Many would find it difficult to focus in a virtual setting rather than in-person, as studying and trying to focus at home may be quite distracting. The metaverse developers would need to create a world or way for students to not get distracted but still be immersed enough in the experience to excel in their classes. Being virtual would also strip students away of the ability to socialize in person with other students. Virtual and in person conversations are much more different and can be less engaging when online. Students would only be able to conversate through avatars, which would take away from face-to-face interactions with one another. Children who grow up virtually may lose out on the social development aspects of in-person schooling and education, such as learning how to read facial expressions and body language. The metaverse might be able to almost replicate these types of engagements and interactions, but the in-person interactions are more authentic and less artificial. Metaverse and virtual education may be beneficial in the near future with advancing technology, but with those potential benefits, there comes many more problems and difficulties that arise.

[alex wong]

In this article, Eisikovits discusses the issues that are occuring in the universities in America such as unaffordable tuitions, online learning, underpaid teachers, heavy course loads, and student debt. The metaverse is an emerging virtual world that is meant to enhance the education system and improve remote learning experiences. However, Eisikovits highlights several problems associated with artificial intelligence and virtual platforms that need addressing. One issue that needs to be addressed is the lack of academic freedom on privately owned platforms because controversial topics are typically censored to protect companies. Another concern is maintaining student focus and minimizing distractions, such as cellphones, which remain a challenge regardless of the quality of teaching. Artificial intelligence avatars struggle to replicate nonverbal communication, such as facial expressions and body language, which are crucial for dynamic and spontaneous interactions in learning environments. Building a sense of community and fostering relationships with teachers and peers is also significantly more difficult in virtual settings compared to in-person classes where students are more motivated to speak to people around them. Eisikovits worries that the metaverse could create a digital divide among college students, potentially leading to a three-tiered system based on financial status where in-person universities are for the wealthy, metaverse education is for the middle class, and our modern remote learning system is only for those who can afford it.
I agree with the issues mentioned in the article and think that they need to be addressed and resolved. Online learning has the potential to benefit students in many ways and could increase college attendance if remote learning opportunities are improved. However, the lack of focus and sense of community in online learning are significant concerns. Students already struggle with distractions like cell phones in physical classrooms, and this issue will likely worsen in virtual environments. Additionally, forming friendships and study groups is much harder online, which can diminish the overall learning experience.