Have you heard about the Metaverse? The new virtual world that Facebook (now Meta) is building for us to work, play and exist in? It’s like a scene from the movie Ready Player One, but it’s real and it’s coming! So how do we prepare our young people for this new technology? Keep reading for ideas and a one-stop shop resource that will do it all for you!
What is the Metaverse anyway?
In October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was rebranding to “Meta” and they are working on building a new virtual world called the “Metaverse” where they hope we will be connecting. They are building a technology that moves beyond us just looking at screens, but being more immersive in the world and feeling like we are physically with others, all while never having to leave our homes.
This technology is coming our way and is likely to have a huge impact on humanity and the way we operate. This is an important topic to be preparing our young people for as this is the future they will be growing up in.
Cyberbullying is continuing to rise as we spend more of our time online, so one can only imagine how this novel technology will impact young peoples’ lives further. If you are looking for some material to help support you as you teach your students about the impact of the Metaverse and have meaningful discussions with them, keep reading!
Cyberbullying is continuing to rise as we spend more of our time online, so one can only imagine how this novel technology will impact young peoples’ lives further. If you are looking for some material to help support you as you teach your students about the impact of the Metaverse and have meaningful discussions with them, keep reading!
The challenges of new technology for teachers
The advancement of technology in this day and age can be overwhelming for teachers - as if there hasn’t already been enough to learn these past few years as education has been pushed further and further into the digital world, due to the pandemic. The thought of even more technology can be overwhelming, especially as it is unknown territory for all. There is already a great divide between teachers and students with regards to social media, with the majority of teachers likely not being able to relate to what it was like growing up with social media moulding their childhood.
This is why it is even more important that we do what we can to help guide our young people in this new world as we grow into it together. It’s likely that your immediate reaction to the idea of a Metaverse might be immediately, “no thank you”! And you wouldn’t be alone, but that doesn’t mean that you can ignore it completely as our students might well end up in this new virtual world and it is our responsibility to ensure they are prepared and have the emotional intelligence to handle it, as best we can. But where do we even start to teach about such a new technology? Fortunately, I have something that will help!
How to teach your students about the Metaverse:
Mark Zuckerberg created a detailed keynote video where he explained this new virtual world in more detail and how he imagines it will be used. You can watch it below and if you have time, make some notes on some of the key points which catch your attention and your reactions to them. You can then use this video to create some discussion prompts to have with your students. However, it is a long video to wade through, and some of it can get a little too complicated and overwhelming to take in all at once!
Fortunately for you, I have already laboured through the entire video, made notes on all of it, came up with discussion prompts and tied it all up with a neat bow in the form of a ready to go guided PowerPoint lesson! So if you don’t fancy doing the leg work yourself, you are welcome to download the full lesson below, which has all the breakdowns of the video summarised for you:
| Metaverse lesson includes: • 26 slides PowerPoint on the Metaverse • 4 graphic organizer printables • 4 possible Metaverse scenarios to analyze • 24 discussion cards about the Metaverse Students will learn: • What the new Metaverse by Facebook (now Meta) is • Break down the elements of the Keynote video on the Metaverse • To analyse the different features of the new virtual world • To discuss the impact of what it would be like living in a virtual world • To reflect on how technology can impact humanity, for better or for worse • ...and more! |  |
The dangers of the Metaverse for your students:
However you might feel about the Metaverse and students spending more and more time in their own little virtual worlds, the technology is coming and is likely to have a huge impact on our young people: cyberbullying, social skills, disassociation, and vitamin D deficiencies are to name but a few. The more prepared we can ensure our students are, the better informed they can be to learn to critically think for themselves whether this is indeed something they want to get involved with, or at least be prepared for the challenges and develop the emotional intelligence to handle them.
Help prepare your students for the Metaverse today:
| If you are even considering teaching your students about the Metaverse, you are miles ahead of most. This is such a new technology, and we won’t have any idea of the true impact it will have on peoples’ lives until they start using it. But by helping your students be prepared for the challenges and dangers, they can at least enter this virtual world with their eyes open and mind clear, all thanks to your guidance and care! Download the full lesson here from TpT or here from the TRF store. |  |
