Arizona State University
Arizona State University to Step into the Metaverse
Metaverse is no doubt the next frontier of living life online, conducting business virtually, and expanding the educational horizon. This is why nowadays most of the prominent commercial as well as educational sectors are looking forward to exploring the virtual world. One such name is Arizona State University which is already opening up a world of possibility by steeping into Metaverse where the 3D world enters.
Arizona State University, one of the biggest as well as popular public universities in the USA plans to join the Metaverse and Web3 ecosystem. Moreover, it also intends to release non-fungible tokens, popularly known as NFTs for authenticating tickets and certification. Again it is also revealed that the university’s future offerings might include holding lectures in virtual reality. The reason why Arizona State University with its nearly 150,000 students has taken this significant step to jump into the Metaverse space, is rooted in the year 2021 when almost 60,000 people passed their lectures and exams via “digital immersion” to maintain the COVID-19 protocols. It was indeed the best tool that enabled students to continue learning during this time of physical separation during the ongoing pandemic. Several other universities have taken initiatives to “go meta” in this present year of 2022. A recent report shows that the University of Sao Paulo is presently working on a project researching the effectiveness of virtual and augmented reality devices and their effect on human behavior. Meanwhile, Italy University of Bari Aldo Moro has recently launched an initiative to promote local culture by utilizing NFT, Metaverse, and Virtual Reality.
Now, a team of about 70 students at Arizona State University Learning Futures Collaboratory is working effectively to expand the Metaverse by testing out its practical applications of it. The project is led by DAN Munnerley and Healthier Haseley. According to them, there are a lot of people who are already using parts of Metaverse but don’t realize it. For instance, now most people use Snapchat or TikTok filters or apps like Ikea’s Place, which are nothing but steeping towards Metaverse. Again, several mediums are quite entertaining as well as useful for putting on a reality headset and conducting a meeting anywhere in the world. So, there is no denying the fact that nowadays we use several things that are changing our life for the better. No one can ignore the importance of Zoom fatigue which helped people reconnect with their family and friends during the pandemic.
Simply put, there are endless possibilities that the virtual world is offering including in the education sector. It triggered the need for Arizona State University to start with a digital twin of the campus. The idea is that they are going to create such a world by putting people there in an avatar form so that they can meet with each other, walk the campus, do campus tours, and even take classes together without even setting foot on the university campus. Surprised! But this is reality. With such a virtual world, you can walk around your campus, you can walk on the surface of the moon, and can visit NASA. It simply means that it is an effective way to expand the world to everyone.
Arizona State University plans to provide lectures, seminars, workshops, and a meeting digital platform through a web-based virtual environment. In addition to it, the university also plans to host athletic events, music concerts, and art exhibitions in the Metaverse. So, it becomes clear that virtual reality is gradually becoming more popular among educational institutions since the technology helps to enable more effective digital experiences especially due to the growing popularity of remote learning.
So, how can you define Metaverse? Experts claim that it is really hard to define Metaverse, especially in the present context. But if you go back to the root of this term then you will see that the trend was kickstarted by Facebook by changing its name to “Meta”. This term was used to describe things that “feel” meta. Now, there is a trend among the top-notch companies ranging from Walmart to Chevron to have jumped on the Metaverse train with their recent patent filings. So, it can be said that a fully functional Metaverse is such a world that can be accessed by any virtual user by utilizing innovative types of display technology and integrating spatial audio and high-quality holograms.
There are a series of trademark filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that has revealed that this university is going to conduct virtual classes, meetings, and other projects in the Metaverse in its recent future. Yes, this is the next goal set before the institution. This is how Arizona State University is going to lead the expansion of virtual learning and interaction.
