This article analyzes the potential of the metaverse as a learning environment to support blended teaching in the post-COVID context. Building on the accelerated transformations brought about by the pandemic and the consolidation of the hybrid model as the “new normal,” the authors review the concepts of distance education, e-learning, blended learning, and the metaverse, highlighting its capacity to extend the real world into immersive and collaborative virtual spaces.
They also identify important challenges: technological and institutional limitations, the lack of adapted teaching methodologies, risks related to data privacy and security, and potential issues of inclusion if the metaverse design does not take student diversity into account.
On this basis, they conduct a quasi-experimental study with 31 undergraduate Information Systems students from a Brazilian public university, using the Gather Town metaverse as a learning environment in a database course. A “mirrored world” that replicates the university’s physical spaces is designed and used for lectures, group practical activities, and a collaborative assessment session, combining in-person and remote participation. To evaluate the experience, the COLLES questionnaire is applied, complemented by motivation items based on self-determination theory.
The results show high reliability of the instrument (overall alpha = 0.94) and high levels of agreement regarding relevance, reflection, interaction, peer support, interpretation, and indicators of intrinsic motivation, alongside low levels of demotivation and a minimal role of purely extrinsic motivation.
Statistical tests (Wilcoxon test) allow the acceptance of all hypotheses: students perceive the metaverse as a relevant environment for blended teaching that stimulates reflective thinking, promotes dialogue and collaboration, and supports effective communication between students and instructors, while also increasing motivation to complete the activities.
The authors conclude that, in the context analyzed, the metaverse contributed to student engagement in a hybrid setting, though they acknowledge clear limitations: the small and specific sample, the inability to generalize the results, the possible novelty effect, and the absence of a direct measure of learning gains. The study is presented as an initial proposal that paves the way for future research on the use of metaverses across different educational levels, disciplines, and blended-learning models.
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How to Cite: Moreira de Classe, T., Moreira de Castro, R., & Gomes de Oliveira, E. (2023). Metaverse as a Learning Environment for Blended Teaching. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 26(2), 283–307. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.26.2.36097
