A Systematic Literature Review of the Use of Metaverse Platform in Educational Contexts

Objectives The purpose of this study was to review the empirical research on the use of metaverse platform in educational contexts through systematic literature review. Among the empirical studies where metaverse platform was used in educational contexts, detailed research contexts, results of the studies, and limitations of the studies were analyzed, and implications for using metaverse platform for educational purpose were examined. Methods A systematic review of literature was conducted where empirical studies in the past 10 years that were published in KCI indexed journals were examined using a list of selection criteria. A total of 14 empirical research studies were selected and analyzed. In this study, 3 researchers developed the research questions and determined the selection criteria for the review. The search and selection process was from March 4, 2022 to April 1, 2022, and the selected studies were systematically analyzed and the results were derived. Results The research context, platforms and their functions used, main constructs examined in the studies were examined, and research findings as well as limitations from the studies were summarized. The result showed that university setting was the most studied context and Gathertown was the most popular metaverse platform. As for the functions used, metaverse was used as communication/collaboration tool, emotional supporting tool, and knowledge formation tool most frequently. The most studied constructs include learning presence, satisfaction, immersiveness, 4C competencies, interaction, affective state, media efficacy, understanding, and intent to use metaverse. Conclusions The use of metaverse in educational contexts can enhance students’ self-directed leanring and can bring positive influence on collaboration as well. However, there has been little research conducted examining the effect of metaverse use on learning performance in instructional contexts. More research is needed in the area where metaverse environments are designed based on specific learning objective in specific subject matters to examine the effec of metaverse use. In addition, instructors need to fully understand the functions and characteristics of metaverse so that the learning environments can be designed in a way that learners can feel learning presence. More research is needed to advance the knowledge of design and development of guidelines for incorporating metaverse in educational contexts.