Broad sense and narrow sense perspectives on the metaverse in education: roles of virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and pedagogical theories

There are different definitions of the metaverse. Some are from technical perspectives, which emphasise multiple criteria for identifying a metaverse system, such as being persistent, shared, and decentralised. On the other hand, some researchers consider metaverse as a virtual learning environment, which enables people to interact with others or experience authentic contexts. Owing to the diverse notations of the metaverse, educational researchers might feel confused and wonder how the metaverse can be used in educational settings and whether the systems they have used can be called the metaverse. In this paper, we address this issue from different angles, the broad sense and the narrow sense. In particular, the broad sense definition is proposed from the perspective of educational objectives and needs. Moreover, research design modes regarding the metaverse in education are discussed by considering the roles played by emerging technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and mobile technologies.