Metaverse-Based Learning Through Children's School Space Design

Abstract

Metaverse is understood with technological terms such as augmented reality, lifelogging, mirrored worlds, and virtual worlds, and using a metaverse platform is considered an emerging form of learning. Yet, its pedagogical features, such as self-learning, collaborative learning, and learning-by-doing, are identical to those of online learning. In this study, we argue that metaverse-based learning refers to a new reality learners create by assuming that the existence of reality is different in the metaverse. We extracted six educational values in epistemological and ontological senses, reviewing the four realities of the metaverse, including virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and extended reality, which is a way to avoid technological determinists'; approach to education. Based on the values – bottom-up, collaboration, authorship, ownership, interconnectivity, and community, primary school children's (year 5 & 6) groups (n = 20) redesigned 20 assigned school spaces such as classroom teacher office, science room, and music room on their chosen metaverse platforms. Throughout the thematic analysis of design artifacts, activity scenarios, and reflection & presentation, we discovered four themes: collaborative learning with co-ownership and co-authorship; being interconnected with all living and non-living things; co-participants with different roles; and transdisciplinary research-driven learning, which is used to articulate a framework for metaverse-based learning, which is different from online learning.