Nostraverse launches new metaverse initiative for Dubai schools

A fantastic way to digitally engage with people all around the world is through the Metaverse. Anyone anywhere may use their web browser or a virtual reality headset to connect to a virtual area and interact with other people in real time.

The ideal way to conceptualise the Metaverse is as a computer-generated copy of the actual world that users and developers may personalise to their hearts' content by creating anything, from a metaverse school to virtual sports stadiums on real estate they own. It also provides a new opportunity for families and friends to engage in a world that is becoming geographically split as a result of pandemics and other crises.

Looking to digitally engage schools and students in a world of the metaverse, Nostraverse has launched a new initiative. Nostraverse, the pioneers of the metaverse, is a virtual reality platform where users can use access points to enter the VR world platform.

Calling the Metaverse an alternate reality that presents endless possibilities, Sam Clever, founder and CEO of Nostraverse, spoke to the Khaleej Times about the company's latest plan, which will create a network connecting various institutions and give rise to virtual classrooms.

What is your initiative about?

Our initiative here is about creating a virtual environment that allows interconnecting different schools together and the possibility to implement virtual classrooms. Of course, it is an initiative to be taken towards high school students at the beginning as interaction and familiarity from the students with the technology are required.

After the world’s experience with the pandemic, we must adapt to a contactless style of life. At least, having it as an existing option. Students have suffered widely with online classes in the absence of interaction and collaboration between each other and their teachers. The metaverse puts an end to this issue, providing a much more engaging and immersive experience for the students.

Why do you think schools can benefit from the metaverse?

The school entity itself will grasp the opportunity of education in the metaverse through conducting lectures and classes virtually. Yet, with the highest levels of interaction and an immersive experience. Hence, putting the schools on the cutting edge of technology through metaverse adoption.

They can own their 'digital twins'; which could be an opportunity for tournaments between schools on various activities to be taking place like football, ping-pong and chess — conducting meetings at the school’s virtual property rather than; parents, for example, having to go out of their way to attend parent’s day to speak with their kid’s teachers.

Schools are pillars of education. They can play a distinctive role in providing the students with an introduction and pre-stage education on the metaverse. Such exposure will unlock several opportunities for every student’s future. Students then would be capable of making an informed decision about how they want to pursue a specific career before specialising in a major at the university. In addition, this would improve the social interaction and skills that students acquire in school by taking them outside of their comfort zone in the school’s society to meet students from other schools through the interconnection of schools in the metaverse.

Schools could then become international without the thrive of physical presence all over the world, as students in Dubai could be taking classes in the virtual classroom of a school in New York or the UK.

How do you think the metaverse will change the education system in the next five-10 years?

I believe the Metaverse will re-design the idea of e-learning through virtual classrooms, providing students with the opportunity to study at home without barriers to attending a class.

Classes should no longer be pages on an interactive board or slides on a laptop. Geography could be travelling from one country to another; history could be recreated and lived instead of memorised; biology taught through holograms; chemistry experienced in a risk-free controlled environment, and several similar scenarios. The magic here is that students and teachers could go through that from the comfort of their homes. Opportunities are unlimited in the metaverse.

What are the main challenges of using the metaverse for educational purposes?

There are several challenges to bringing education into the metaverse. Just like there were challenges back when presenting the internet to education. The process to equip the schools and the students with the required equipment to access the metaverse and the high-speed internet needed. Teachers, administration, and students should understand and get educated about the metaverse before implementing the technology for use. The administration has to cope with how operations could be conducted and utilised in a hybrid format for employees.

Teachers and students should practice social interactions and settings in the metaverse as switching classes, taking notes, and playing sports and activities. However, nothing that we cannot teach, train, or equip.