Metaverse improves the learning experiences rather than learning outcomes: Evidence from an experimental study in higher education

One of the most barriers in online learning is lack of interaction, and the metaverse has emerged as a potential solution to address this challenge. However, empirical research is lacking to verify the actual effectiveness of the educational metaverse. This study an undergraduate class in the Virbela metaverse platform was designed and a quasi-experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of the metaverse on learning outcomes and experiences. The study results showed that the metaverse learning environment could improve students’ learning experience in terms of cognitive and behavioral engagement as well as perceived sociability. The performance of students in the metaverse classroom was, however, inferior to that of students in the face-to-face classroom. The research findings both support and question some previous investigations of learning in virtual reality and thus extend our understanding of metaverse as an innovative online learning space.