Metaverse technology is being adopted by educators in Asia

SOUTH KOREA'S POHANG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WANTS TO BECOME A "METAVERSITY" WITH DIGITAL CLASSROOMS. PHOTO: POHANG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Metaverse technology is being adopted by educators in Asia to enhance the learning experience, even as doubts remain over the technology's mass adoption from South Korea to Taiwan. Meanwhile, a 2022 global survey of executives from technology, media, and telecommunications by KPMG International found only a third of respondents feel their firms are prepared with platforms to create applications for the metaverse. Pohang University of Science and Technology is investing $500,000 to build classrooms that tap the metaverse. South Korea's science ministry plans to invest $166M to foster a metaverse ecosystem. Japanese PM Fumio Kishida has said the country will promote various technologies, including the metaverse, to spur digital transformation. Singapore has a national digital literacy program to equip students with digital skills. Nonprofits such as the Syin-Lu Social Welfare Foundation in Taiwan are using metaverse technology to raise autism awareness. In a paper by the Brookings Institution, Hirsh-Pasek et al. presented the value of playful learning for enriching a suite of skills called the 6Cs.