There is a new digital reality on everyone's lips; the metaverse. Being touted by Facebook as the "next chapter of the internet", many believe that it is nothing more than a diversion to deflect from the company’s tarnished public reputation. But it is likely to be far more than that.
We mustn't overlook what an augmented world could mean for education. Everything, from the night’s sky to a race car, will be transformed into a next-generation learning opportunity. The classroom could be transported anywhere from the Arctic to the Large Hadron Collider. Before we criticise the metaverse, we must not forget just how revolutionary it will be for education systems and students across the world.
Since early 2020 global education settings have been adapting to change, with 91 per cent of students worldwide having their education disrupted by the pandemic, according to Unicef. Educators everywhere reacted quickly. Overnight, remote learning became normal. As a result, access to technology was seen as more of a basic right than a privilege.
It will allow children to learn without them realising it, which is the holy grail of education
If we can embrace technology as a learning tool quickly in a pandemic, then we can just as easily become early adopters of the metaverse.
The term metaverse was coined in 1992 by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson. Today his vision is creeping closer to reality. The metaverse is a digital universe that can be accessed through virtual and augmented reality. Not only will it involve entire VR or virtual reality spaces, it will also allow a layer of digital information to be overlaid on to the real world though digital headsets or glasses.
This could change education systems across the world because, simply, the metaverse will allow anything to become a learning opportunity. For teachers, it will help break down the artificial siloing of subjects, which can be a typical feature of outdated curriculums.
For example, a teacher could show their students a race car. They could then display how it was built, how fast it goes and what temperature and speed the tires can withstand. With such scenarios experienced, the relevance of key theories learnt in school take on new meaning and relevance, while also allowing educators the chance to bridge gaps and teach nuance in the theory-to-action step that has been missing.
If this sounds far-fetched, here in the UK, Bradfield College’s tech department and teaching staff, responding to the pandemic, took on the challenge of creating their own VR-based teaching and learning scenarios in different subjects – History, Science and Geography; allowing students to experience elements of these subjects in detail never before achieved and the students have been hooked. So even if on a small scale, it is happening already – the question is one of mass adoption and affordability across countries.
Furthermore while the feedback from Bradfield’s own students in the early stage of their VR venture can currently be called anecdotal, longer studies in classrooms in China have shown that VR use has proven to have huge impact in test result efficacy, where students who got the "C grade", using VR learning immersion, outperformed the "A grade" students.
This contextual learning experience will cut through the fields of science, engineering and mathematics. Instead, students will be presented with a real-world example that fuses all three disciplines into one, holistic, engaging learning experience.
Education syllabuses have a perennial problem; they struggle to keep up with an ever-changing world. Many will remember a time when math students were told they wouldn’t always have a calculator in their pocket. Little did they know about mobile phones back then.
The metaverse can aid this problem. It will enable up-to-date, expert analysis to be embedded all over the real world. We could look up to the night’s sky, and have Neil deGrasse Tyson explain the structure of the MilkyWay. Expertise will come from anywhere, not just from textbooks and classrooms.
Yet it is not just the current curriculum that is outdated, but our ways of learning. Written exams are of little use at providing the practical education needed for a variety of vocational skills in life.
Imagine if, instead of a written exam, through VR an apprentice could gain hands-on experience in wiring a plug, fixing a blocked drain or even performing an operation, all without the dangerous, real world consequences. The science is conclusive on this; learning by doing trumps learning by memorisation, every time.
As with any new technology, it is our duty as parents and teachers to exercise caution. Many parents may wonder whether the metaverse will simply add more addictive screen-time to children’s days. Yet this is a reason to manage our children’s engagement with the metaverse, and not simply ban it.
Take the internet; most schools and parents are able to place parental blocks on certain websites and set screen time allowances. There is no reason we cannot place the same controls on access to the metaverse. While we are aware of the ill effects of the internet, I believe that it has been a net-benefit for education across the world. The same will be true of the metaverse.
Today's generation are already natives to primitive forms of the metaverse. Games like Minecraft, which encourage organic collaboration amongst anonymous users, have attracted some 140 million players worldwide.
Herein lies a key benefit of learning in the metaverse; it can "gamify" learning. In other words, the virtual, collaborative and task-oriented nature of the metaverse will allow children to learn without them realising it, which is the holy grail of education.
Studies have repeatedly shown that learning is most effective when it's fun. Gamification of learning is the future of education. This is what makes the metaverse a natural fit for the classroom.
The metaverse is another stage in the evolution of the internet. The internet allowed us to have the entire canon of human knowledge at our fingertips. The metaverse could deliver far more to the students of tomorrow, but that’s only if we let it.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More on Quran memorisation:
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
more from Janine di Giovanni
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
The Intruder
Director: Deon Taylor
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good
One star
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Bio
Born in Dibba, Sharjah in 1972.
He is the eldest among 11 brothers and sisters.
He was educated in Sharjah schools and is a graduate of UAE University in Al Ain.
He has written poetry for 30 years and has had work published in local newspapers.
He likes all kinds of adventure movies that relate to his work.
His dream is a safe and preserved environment for all humankind.
His favourite book is The Quran, and 'Maze of Innovation and Creativity', written by his brother.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
The team
Videographer: Jear Velasquez
Photography: Romeo Perez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Models: Meti and Clinton at MMG
Video assistant: Zanong Maget
Social media: Fatima Al Mahmoud
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
THE SPECS
BMW X7 xDrive 50i
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic transmission
Power: 462hp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh600,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
