Metaverse Education: Immersive VR Exploration of Mountain Heritage and Culture

The rapid technological progress has led to a profound digital overhaul across sectors, notably in education. VR technologies and the metaverse offer novel avenues for disseminating knowledge, promising immersive, flexible, scalable, diverse, and interactive learning environments (Baynat and Lopez, 2020; López-Belmonte et al., 2022). Incorporating gamification within the metaverse enriches learning experiences, providing engaging content delivery methods (Khan et al., 2022). This study assesses the metaverse's potential in VR applications to enhance learning outcomes and user engagement, emphasizing content accessibility and immersive educational experiences through gamification. Authors created an open virtual platform within the metaverse, inviting users to explore a mountain area blending historical, cultural, and environmental elements. The experience unfolds within an interactive three-dimensional reconstruction of the valley, featuring a virtual mountain trail walk and a tour of a historic mountain village. Application development involved data acquisition for modeling and interaction design using Unity3D, with online deployment facilitated by the Spatial Creator Toolkit. For project evaluation, users complete a post-experience survey, providing quantitative data on engagement, motivation, content understanding, and interaction quality (López-Belmonte et al., 2022). Survey results indicate high engagement and positive feedback, implying enhanced accessibility via the metaverse. The project fosters real-time interaction, dialogue, and collaboration on educational topics, promoting community involvement. This dynamic virtual environment transcends traditional limits, allowing diverse users to actively interact, share knowledge, and engage.