🌱我們不斷變化的本質：混合世界中的教育

⭐關鍵點

• 教育數位化進程加快。隨著元宇宙、虛擬實境及沈浸式體驗的實現，我們將研究它們如何影響我們的課堂。
• 能夠於教育中使用元宇宙之潛在積極因素，包括在不同環境及體驗中的動手學習，有助於提升教育之包容性。
• 安全、隱私及包容性，仍然是沉浸式體驗教育全面應用之關注點。

「我們將能夠感受到存在感——就像我們就在身邊，無論我們實際上相距多遠。」Facebook 創始人馬克·扎克伯格 （Mark Zuckerberg） 說完這番話，宣告公司更名為Meta，描繪其構建「元宇宙」之未來計畫，即物理世界與虛擬世界，透過擴展的力量，實現碰撞的地方。

元宇宙這個詞聽起來可能很未來主義，早在1992年，科幻作家尼爾·斯蒂芬森 （Neal Stephenson） 在他的小說《雪崩》（Snow Crash） 中就已創造這個詞。這本書講述Hiro的故事，他是一名駭客，亦是披薩送貨司機，他大部分時間都在一個電腦組成的世界中，戴著護目鏡及耳機進入這個世界。

這象徵著未來十年的人類互動，將如何發生本質性的變化。沉浸式體驗實際上已在改變我們的日常生活，從我們的社交方式，到我們選擇衣服及家具的方式。這些新興技術的力量，對教育的未來提出質疑。虛擬實境 （VR） 將如何改變學習空間及基礎設施？這對多樣性及個性化學習有什麼影響？教育品質與公平性呢？仔細研究經濟合作暨發展組織《2022 年塑造教育趨勢》報告中的這些問題，透過分析影響當今社會主要大趨勢，該報告旨於調查不同社會現象如何改變教育，並特別關注數位體驗。更具體地說，它詢問這些體驗如何改變我們交流及實現體驗的方式，最重要的是，教育如何適應。

🌳生活於物理及虛擬之間

戶外教學與學習，例如：森林學校或學校花園，是幫助學生瞭解及重視自然之關鍵。除了有益於學習及總體健康外，兒童與大自然的經常接觸，還與環境敏感度的提升有關。確保為兒童遊戲活動提供高品質之戶外空間及健康的學校設施，正迅速成為核心政策領域，尤其是人口最密集的城市中心。

但是，隨著我們投注於網路的時間越來越多，問題出現了：我們能否在虛擬環境中體驗自然？還是這始終是矛盾的？倘若可以，虛擬版本是否會達到與真實版本相同之結果？沉浸式體驗實際上可能會徹底改變我們與自然世界的連結方式，因為它們越來越能夠重現，自然保護區或海灘等自然區域。

無論自然是否可於虛擬空間中真正複製，事實仍是這些沉浸式體驗，具創造引人入勝的學習環境，以及巨大潛力，例如：虛擬教室、虛擬實地考察，讓孩子無需遠行，即可對不同的國家或歷史時期有更多的感官體驗，從而節省時間及金錢。除此之外，研究表明VR（以及其他數位體驗）可成功地應用於診斷患有過動症之兒童，並可為有特殊教育需求的學生，提供創新之方案，以解決學習問題。

然而，關於沉浸式體驗對兒童發展之影響，仍有許多懸而未決的問題。例如：有人擔心沉浸式體驗可能會使兒童難以區分虛擬與真實之物理體驗。除此之外，世界的數位複製，亦可能於現實空間中引發衝突，包括其高度商業化之風險。

這些演變導致需要於虛擬化世界中，保護與規範公共空間。與此同時，圍繞安全、隱私及包容性之問題亦已出現，例如：當一名程式設計師創建一個增強現實 （AR）應用程序，來查看「沒有」無家可歸者的舊金山之過濾版本時。教育是減輕擴展現實可能導致之有害內容及環境的關鍵，透過將電子安全納入課程，學校可幫助孩子們進行更積極之線上行為，並教導他們同理心及隱私權。

🌈接下來是什麼？

如果虛擬宇宙成為現實，就會出現許多其他問題。孩子們會在虛擬宇宙中上學及學習嗎？那會是什麼感覺？學生是否能夠像身臨其境與同齡者進行情感交流？似乎，真正與他人在一起的感覺，將是元宇宙之象徵，是它的內在革命。但是，虛擬世界真的能夠克服物理及社會的鴻溝，重新定義距離與社會空間的概念嗎？

在 COVID-19 大流行之後，教育部門的數位化正在以更快的速度推進。於此情況下，評估學生對網絡物理領域學習之態度，將變得越來越重要。而成功的關鍵，可能是讓學生及教師，積極參與集體思考，並就混合世界中的學習情況，建立共同願景。

👍原文網址：請點選

🌏Our changing nature: Education in a hybrid world

Key points:

– Digitalisation of education is accelerating. As the metaverse, virtual reality and immersive technologies become a reality we look at how they might impact our classrooms.
– Potential positives of being able to access the metaverse in education include hands-on learning in different environments and technologies helping to improve inclusion in education
– Safety, privacy and inclusion remain concerns for full application of education in immersive technologies

“We’ll be able to feel present – like we’re right there with people no matter how far apart we actually are”. With these words, Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg announced the company rebranding as Meta, sketching his futuristic plan to build the “metaverse”, a place where physical and virtual worlds collide through the power of extended reality.

Futuristic as it may sound, the term metaverse was coined already back in 1992 by science-fiction writer Neal Stephenson in his novel ‘Snow Crash’. The book narrates the story of Hiro, a hacker and pizza delivery driver who spends a great deal of his time in a computer-generated universe, which he accesses by wearing goggles and earphones.

This is emblematic of how human interactions could radically mutate over the next decade. Immersive technologies are in fact already transforming our everyday life, from how we socialise to how we choose our clothes and home furniture. The power of these emerging technologies raises questions for the future of education. How will virtual reality (VR) transform learning spaces and infrastructure? What kinds of implications could this have for diversity and personalised learning? What about education quality and equity? The OECD report Trends Shaping Education 2022 takes a closer look at these issues. By analysing the key megatrends affecting society today, the report aims to investigate how different societal phenomena are transforming education, with special attention paid to digital technologies. More specifically, it asks how these technologies might alter the way we communicate and experience reality – and, most importantly, how education could adapt.

Living between the physical and virtual

Teaching and learning outdoors – for example in forest schools or school gardens – is key to helping students learn about and value nature. As well as being beneficial for learning and general well-being, children’s regular contact with nature has been linked to increased environmental sensitivity. Ensuring high-quality outdoor spaces for children’s play activities and healthy school facilities are fast becoming increasingly crucial policy areas – especially in the densest urban centres.

But, as we spend more and more time online, a question arises: Can we experience nature in a virtual environment, or will that always remain a contradiction in terms? If we can, will the virtual version achieve the same outcomes as the real thing? Immersive technologies might actually revolutionise the way we relate to the natural world since they are increasingly able to reproduce natural areas such as natural reserves or beaches.

Whether nature can be truly replicated in a virtual space or not, the fact remains that these immersive technologies have great potential for creating engaging learning environments. For example, virtual classrooms and virtual field trips allow children to have a more sensory experience of a different country or historical period without the need to travel, thus saving time and money. Moreover, research has shown that VR (in addition to other digital technologies) can be successfully used to diagnosis children with ADHD, and can offer innovative learning solutions for students with special education needs.

Yet, there are still many unanswered questions about immersive technologies’ influence on child development. For instance, there are concerns that immersive technologies may make it hard for children to distinguish between virtual and real physical experiences. Moreover, digital reproductions of the world may open the possibility of conflict in real spaces as well, including the risk of their heavy commercialisation.

These evolutions give rise to the need to preserve and regulate public spaces in a virtualised world. Issues around safety, privacy and inclusivity are emerging already – for example when a programmer created an augmented reality (AR) app to see a filtered version of San Francisco without homeless people. Education is key to mitigating the harmful content and environments that may result from extended reality. By incorporating e-safety in the curriculum, schools can help children engage in more positive online behaviour and teach them about empathy and privacy.

What next?

If the metaverse becomes reality, many other questions will emerge. Will children go to school and learn in the metaverse? What will that feel like? Will students be able to engage emotionally with their peers as if they were physically together? It seems that feeling truly present with another person will be the hallmark of the metaverse, its intrinsic revolution. But will the metaverse really be able to overcome the physical and social divides, reconceptualising the notions of distance and social space?

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the digitalisation of the education sector is advancing at even a greater pace. In such context, assessing students’ attitudes towards learning in a cyber-physical realm will become increasingly crucial. The key to success may be to actively engage students and teachers in collectively thinking and building a shared vision of what learning will look like in a hybrid world.