Metaverse as a Platform for Student Engagement in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)have been found to be one of the major technologically supported virtual communication that provides lifelong learning. Being free, although a large number of students register for the course, the drop-out rates are very high in MOOC courses, due to lack of engagement of students. Facilitators have applied various Digital Learning Technologies in online courses to enhance student engagement. However, the lack of immersion and socialization poses a huge challenge in adoption of these technologies. Metaverse has been acclaimed and recognized as an immersive and engaging technological platform that could be explored as a potential resource for student engagement in MOOCs. This research paper tries to explore the role of Metaverse for student engagement in MOOC courses. The research was conducted among teachers or instructors in Tier I cities in developed countries. Purposive sampling was done to identify the instructors to be interviewed. The data was analyzed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The results indicated that Metaverse can act as a resource to increase student engagement in MOOCs. However, immense training of instructors as facilitators is required. Moreover, maintaining the privacy of information shared by users is an area of concern to be addressed. The research is valuable to Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), companies building Metaverse platforms and government bodies at large.