By Koneru Lakshman Havish
There is no denying the fact that we are living in the era of digitalization, where technological breakthroughs have a significant impact on every industry area, including education, healthcare, and hospitality. Particularly when it comes to education, the idea of learning has greatly evolved. Textbooks have been replaced by media-focused content, allowing students to gain better knowledge and learning experience. Furthermore, in light of the growing importance of technology in the modern corporate environment, students today are more motivated to pursue tech-enabled courses and become a useful asset to organizations.
Amongst other technologies making a debut in the education sector, AI and Metaverse have majorly raised the bar high. Both technologies have enabled better individualized and interactive learning for students. Metaverse in particular has brought education to students by allowing them to attend virtual classes using their own avatars or digital characters while experiencing components of the classroom more complacent and interactive. AI on the other hand has made it possible for students to tailor their approach to educational programs based on their specific preferences. According to a report by Business Today, 47% of learning management tools will be AI-enabled by 2024. Furthermore, AI in the education sector is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 40.3% from 2019 to 2025.
AI and Metaverse in Education
Individualized learning: The emergence of artificial intelligence has enabled students to target a customized learning experience for themselves. It collects students’ data in terms of their understanding and level of perception and creates a learning path for them. Also, with artificial intelligence students can track their real-time progress and take specialized classes or practice tests based on that. According to Harvard Business Review, AI systems could dramatically improve learning by giving students the time to repeat study exercises as often as necessary and by giving more precise and accurate feedback. Moreover, personalized attention has always been a concern for parents when it comes to traditional schooling. But with AI in the picture, students can design their own unique learning path depending on their interests.
Interactive, flexible learning: Gone are the days when teachers would deliver lengthy lectures with a bare minimum of student participation. Currently, students are increasingly motivated to obtain hands-on experience in order to fully grasp subjects. Metaverse provides students with a virtual 3D classroom configuration that allows them to focus on improved learning experiences. Furthermore, interacting with the parts of a specific subject in a 3D setup helps learners grasp better understanding. Especially with AR and VR, student engagement has increased thereby, facilitating broader comprehension and enhancing memory recall for hard or abstract concepts. The digital classrooms have also enabled the interactive curriculum; self paced learning and mirco-learning.
Experiential learning: Metaverse and artificial intelligence has enabled students to gain hands-on experience which as a result facilitates their theoretical understanding. Traditional approach to education was restricted to textbooks but with the emergence of these new-age technologies students can now acquire practical skills in the virtual space. For instance, medical students can practice difficult operations or do risky research in the metaverse without endangering anyone’s life. The geographical and physical barriers to learning have been removed through digital learning space with real classroom experience.
Access to smart instructional content: AI has revolutionized education by providing students with new ways to access educational content. It has offered students a convenient one-stop for getting access to video lectures, electronic textbook assistance, and practice exams. In addition, with AI-enabled chatbots, it has become easy for students to clear their doubts at the moment. Furthermore, students today prefer media-focused content material for better understanding. And AI provides students access to all the smart educational content in one place. Metaverse has introduced fun into learning through gamification, where the virtual classes have become immersive and more engaging.
AI and metaverse: Future of education
Ever since the emergence of technological evolutions the education sector has changed to a great extent. Traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms have been replaced by screens which as a result has made education more accessible and available to the students. When it comes to their academic interests, students today have more options than they did in the past when they had to go with traditional courses.
AI and metaverse amongst other technologies are evolving and contributing significantly in the field of education. These two cutting-edge technologies have improved individual and interactive learning for students. Metaverse in particular supported by AR and VR has enabled students to obtain more immersive learning experiences in a 3D classroom setting, using their own digital avatars or digital characters. In contrast, AI has allowed students to develop their own distinctive learning path based on their areas of interest and obtain access to intelligent instructional resources with the aim of improving their educational experience.
The author is vice-president, KL Deemed to be University