Meta, the Metaverse-focused social media company, is helping universities get their own virtual reality campuses online. The company will open 10 virtual campuses as part of its immersive learning project, which seeks to take education into a virtual reality environment. In partnership with Iowa-based virtual reality education startup, Victorixer, Meta will invest $150 million in the initiative.
Getting Universities in the Metaverse
One of the biggest applications of virtual reality and metaverse technology relates to education and the potential for virtual reality classrooms to be true. Meta, the social media giant, is implementing this idea, helping 10 universities launch their Metaverse-based campuses.
One of these is the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), an online university. The university’s more than 45,000 students will now be able to meet in the online metaverse to try and share their experiences.
Daniel Mintz, chair of the Department of Information Technology at UMGC, said:
We’ve never had a campus before, and now we have the first one. It has a duck pond.
As part of this plan, the university will offer five courses on the Metaverse campus at no additional cost compared to non-immersive courses. However, the university is limited by the number of headsets (required for courses) it can loan to students.
Other institutions will also be part of the project: University of Kansas School of Nursing, New Mexico State University, South Dakota State University, Florida A&M University, West Virginia University, Southwestern Oregon Community College, California State University, Dominguez Hills and Alabama A. & M University.
Meta’s participation
Meta is donating its Meta Quest headset to these organizations to enable students to enroll in courses. One of META’s immersive learning projects aims to increase student access to these technologies by partnering with organizations and universities. Meta, part of a $150 million investment, is working to distribute headsets in partnership with Victorixor, the company designing the Metaverse complexes.
META has also helped universities pay for the design and construction of these spaces, which can cost as much as $50k for a five- to seven-building campus. Victorixer founder Steve Grubbs said:
Education is an exciting use case for the Metaverse, and Meta Immersive Learning will help creators around the world acquire skills for the Metaverse and create immersive experiences for learners.
Meta’s pivot to virtual reality has cost the company money, as its Metaverse division, the Reality Labs unit, reported a loss of $2.8 billion in Q2 2022. The company issued its first bond in August, selling off $10 billion in debt to invest. in Metaverse products and other initiatives.
What do you think about Meta’s involvement in the launch of these complexes in the Metaverse? Tell us in the comments section below.
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