Investigating the use of new metaverse technology in teaching and learning: a systematic review

The current research was conducted with the aim of investigating the use of new Metaverse technology in teaching and learning in order to develop, facilitate and apply it in education. The research problem was how to make real impossibilities possible in teaching and learning intuitively and the role of metaverse in this field, the success rate of educational research and their scientific and research reasons for using metaverse in education. In the studies, the goals, variables, methods, results and challenges regarding the use of metaverse in education were investigated.

The research was conducted using a systematic review method. The statistical population (research field), the content required to conduct a systematic review, included valid scientific and research articles. The statistical sample was selected using a targeted method and 23 items were selected from among 127 articles. The criteria for entering the research cycle included the full relevance of the article title to the topic of Metaverse, the newness of the publication year, publication between 2020-2023, the validity of the indexed publication and site, the validity and adequacy of the article reference, the use of correct research methods and its relevance to the topic, that was teaching and learning. The criteria for excluding the article from the research process included the lack of subject relevance, the low research rank of the publication, the publication year not being new, the topic being repetitive, languages other than Persian and English. The keywords used were metaverse, teaching and learning in Persian and English, and the articles were searched in reliable domestic and foreign databases.

The research showed that Metaverse was effective in teaching and learning, despite being new and the limited development of its technological dimensions. In response to the questions, the most prominent goals of research related to the use of metaverse in education, providing a clear definition of metaverse, applications of metaverse in education, presenting the model, determining challenges, describing the characteristics and methods of use, legal requirements, analyzing attitudes and the role of artificial intelligence in metaverse were determined. The leading countries in this field were Korea, China, America, Spain, Taiwan, and UAE. The research methods used were survey, descriptive, experimental, content analysis, modeling, and systematic review. The statistical population of most of the studies were students and the variables were general learning, educational content, user satisfaction, and metaverse framework. Also, the main tools used in the selected studies were questionnaires, interviews and tests. The number of experimental studies in education was seven. The main findings of the research included providing a technical framework, improving interaction, creating deep and meaningful learning, increasing motivation, creating creativity, personalized learning, situational training, and creating new educational opportunities. The challenges were related to the nascent nature of the technology, the effect of technical capabilities on the results, technological limitations, ethical issues, health threats, high costs, content production problems, lack of experts, and lack of access to everyone.

The emergence of the metaverse should be practically considered from 2021, but its effective capabilities and abilities in education have been confirmed by most studies, and it is predicted that the metaverse would bring a bright future for teaching and learning and can be used to facilitate and accelerate the realization of educational goals. Therefore, to improve the current situation, it is necessary to a) develop instructional design patterns based on metaverse, b) design and present a content production model for Metaverse, c) design, formulate, and standardize the design principles of teaching and learning environments based on metaverse, d) develop the principles and method of implementation, technical development and support of Metaverse, e) design principles and evaluation methods of educational programs based on metaverse, and f) prepare the legal and ethical charter of metaverse educational environments. Among the limitations of the research, we can point out the lack of experimental researcg, the lack of evolution of applied technologies in the metaverse, and the limited range of studies. It is suggested that by using Metaverse technology, education should be transformed from classroom to virtual world and its effect on different dimensions of education and learning should be researched.