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Metaverse Education: How will it change the Future of learning?
Metaverse is a new trend that has shaken the digital world. The use-case of this emerging technology is in alignment with the concept of the virtual world and Web3. Technology is in an early phase and has also witnessed lots of criticism but there are many sectors that can benefit from it and Education is one of them. In fact, Education is one of the most important applications of the metaverse with great prospects in the coming future. Webbybutter believes that the presence of the metaverse can provide a new educational ecosystem. The recent pandemic also makes a strong case for metaverse education.
Let us get on the metaverse and education and lay out some of the benefits of the metaverse in education.
Benefits of Metaverse Education
The AR and VR technologies will help develop an immersive experience. Here are some pivotal benefits to watch out for:
Education via the metaverse can immerse students in a 3D world of imagination where they can view and interact with their peers and the 3D objects near them, the scenario will be just like in a physical classroom. Whether it is about the stone age or the modern age, metaverse learning can virtually transport students to different historical periods, eliminating the necessity for imagination
In general, students are taught statically or passively and actively in an engaging way, the latter is the most compelling as it can teach concepts better. Metaverse can accomplish the exact results for students through gamification, which is the process of integrating something with game elements to facilitate user participation. Gamification in a metaverse blends both entertainment and learning to boost student participation and engagement where they have to complete fun tasks. This motivates students to keep learning and finish their assignments on time.
There is no doubt that learning becomes easy with the use of the Metaverse. What’s a big advantage here is the opportunities to experiment, meaning, opens new ways for the teaching community as well.
Social interaction in realistic circumstances helps improve collaborative work environments and enhance problem-solving skills. Making avatars can efficiently explain the idea of utilizing a roleplaying technique to fetch into real-life scenarios. Making different scenarios for realistic situations can become feasible with the metaverse.
Knowledge is easily made open to a broader audience with internet-enabled plans. Once the curriculum is made, it can be used by many learners saving time and money. Personalized search results and more reasonable socially collective tools will deliver individualized learning paths in a way that is effortlessly understandable.
Unlike the orthodox education system that barely stimulates active communication and engagement among students, metaverse classrooms will offer life-like ecosystems that can inspire students to interact with their surroundings and peers. In a metaverse, educators can take learners to various life-like scenarios where they can participate in activities after which they can confer their learnings and findings.
While actions to boost school attendance continue to be tough, schools are betting on metaverse education to assist kids to engage with those near them. In fact, Japan recently revealed it will use Metaverse for tackling absenteeism in schools.
Applications of Metaverse in education
These were some noteworthy benefits of a metaverse in education, now let’s explore some of the applications of the same.
With the rise of online study in schools and colleges, students have started to observe the difference in the study between physical classrooms and virtual ones. The metaverse can fill this gap by making 3D virtual classrooms where students can virtually meet and interact with their classmates and educators. Students from any geographical location are a part of this metaverse-powered learning setup and do much beyond what a physical classroom permits.
As discussed earlier in the benefits, the learning is interactive in the metaverse. This suggests students can easily comprehend topics that are often boring or complex. For instance, students can easily explore the human body’s anatomy virtually or solve math problems in a creative way or use the role-playing concept to recreate a historic event, the possibilities are endless. In short, it offers a hands-on experience without involving physical attribution.
Now as students read about a country or any specific place in the classroom there is an immediate thought to visit that place. With metaverse education, you can actually help students to virtually go to that place. Will this not be a unique experience? This situation is not feasible in the real world, and the metaverse authorizes such possibilities by offering virtual worldwide tours. By letting students travel to any place of their preference in a virtual establishment within minutes, the metaverse helps extend their knowledge regarding the places.
Educational institutions face challenges while arranging Expert Sessions for students due to tight schedules, geographic constraints, and other factors. With Metaverse institutions can conduct virtual sessions with experts scientist with ease.
Metaverse features in Education
The Metaverse Space is still in the development phase and its difficult to project precise features, especially for education. Still, here are some features of the metaverse in education,
Metaverse enables users to create their avatars and virtual IDs. This authenticated the users and allow them to navigate the virtual classroom without any concerns.
The teacher and student communication will improve in Metaverse. The avatars of learners can interact with teachers and peer avatars, acquiring and delivering real-time feedback, socialization, expert help in concept learning, personalized support, and so on.
It is a known fact that teachers play a fundamental role in successful education and bringing about educational reform. Teachers’ professional development in relation to the metaverse will bring in different methods of teaching and in turn deliver better learning to students.
The customary learning setup allows the creation of an environment with boundaries for practical learning, like labs, workshops, etc. Screen-based learning is dull and at times boring as it primarily backs theoretical learning methods. On the other hand, Metaverse can make realistic scenarios, allowing the learners to partake in real situations and learn in a practical yet secure environment.
With the backing of interaction technologies, learners can mobilize their bodies to take part in different exploratory learning activities, collaboration, and socialization, to stimulate different sensory organs and fetch real-time feedback. To some extent, the metaverse can even provide learners with authentic and exemplified learning experiences.
The learning analysis module in Metaverse aims to use massive data to examine and display learners’ performances and achievements by unit or in all. More particularly, it can make assessing students’ performance more manageable, and equip faculties with reliable proof to execute personalized services for pupils.
Challenges of Metaverse Education
Similar to crypto, there is no specific regulator or government entity formulating rules. This presents different types of challenges for Metaverse in Education.
- The foremost challenge is to decide on the curriculum i.e. Who will outline it?
- Standard teaching methodology- Even with traditional teaching methods there is a variance in methodology according to subjects and faculty, so simplifying a standard teaching methodology for metaverse education will pose a massive challenge
- Tackling Social Isolation- If students start spending excessive time in the metaverse there is a high chance that they will avoid social interaction and won’t meet up in the real world. Social media is the best example depicting such a situation and Metaverse schooling may end up making it worse.
- Cost- presently, there are not many companies providing the necessary equipment for accessing the virtual world and the ones offering them are not exactly affordable in a general capacity.
- Psychological Dysfunction- There are studies revealing signs of psychological dysfunction among people using VR Headsets for a longer time.
The vision of the metaverse is just inching into the academic field, its prospects in the education sector are yet to be fully unleashed. However, there are several startups and firms that are actively investing in the idea of metaverse education. So, if you are looking to optimize your learning experience you can contact us for taking the next leap.
Future of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that executes the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network. Blockchain Technology eliminates the need for a centralized management entity such as a bank. However, it is an emerging technology whose future is uncertain. So, it becomes challenging to discuss the future of such technology. Regardless, we can anticipate some of the aspects and by the time you finish reading the blog, you shall have a glimpse of the Future of blockchain technology.
What is blockchain technology?
As mentioned earlier, Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger technology that facilitates a decentralized system. The fact that the ledger is distributed across each section of the network helps to boost the security of the blockchain.
Why does a decentralized system make it more secure?
The blocks and the contents within them are protected by powerful cryptography, which ensures that prior transactions within the network cannot be forged or destroyed. In this manner, blockchain technology lets a digital currency maintain a trusted transaction network without depending on a central authority. This is the significant reason that digital currencies are comprehended as decentralized.
You have a basic idea of the concept of Blockchain technology. Now, let’s see what the future of blockchain technology looks like.
Future of Blockchain Technology
The idea of decentralization is going to thrive in the forthcoming future. However, no one can predict the exact time frame in which it may be generalized or say acknowledged globally. So, here are some of the possible use cases or rather say predictions or domains that will play a crucial role in the Future of Blockchain Technology.
Cryptocurrencies are basically digital currencies which are leveraging blockchain technology. They offer secure transactions and operate without any government interference. The trend of the cryptos was at its peak during the pandemic and despite the current downtrend and global scrutiny, there is optimism amongst financial institutions and investors that it will thrive in the long run. The main reason for such a belief is Blockchain technology.
As blockchain technology is only going to get better with time Government also realizes the potential use cases and benefits it could offer. In fact, many governments have started implementing Distributed Ledger Technology. This system replaces the old-school methods for data transfer which involve physical documents or even an outdated system. The main benefit of the implementation is the data encryption and security that comes with such systems.
In the future, blockchain system implementation will help maintain a single system among many industries. This means sharing information there will be more secure and easy. This will also make it more accessible publicly.
Smart Contracts are executed when every condition is met. These contracts are decentralized and are not interfered with by any other entity. As there’s no third party entangled, and because encrypted records of transactions are transferred across participants, there’s no necessity to question whether data has been altered for private benefit.
Blockchain transaction records are encrypted, which makes them extremely difficult to hack. Moreover, because each record is linked to the prior and subsequent records on a distributed ledger, hackers would have to change the entire chain to modify a single record. Hence, smart contracts on the blockchain will be useful in safeguarding the efficacy of medications, making international trade more rapid and efficient, increasing trust in retailer-supplier relationships, and so on.
The majority of industry leaders have been open-minded to the possibilities of public blockchains in enterprise contexts concerning blockchain’s future. Regardless, the introduction of DeFi has the prospect of diverting attention away from public blockchains toward permissioned blockchains.
The total value of cryptocurrencies funded in smart contracts in the early part of 2020 was high i.e. in billions. Although this figure does not indicate the amount invested by people in DeFi stakes, it shows users’ curiosity about the bets. Thus, one can clearly catch a glimpse of the continuously and steadily accelerating curiosity in DeFi.
In the future, the number of transactions beyond traditional mechanisms and mediums would rise substantially. So, blockchain transactions can approach a certain inflection point where businesses, regulators, and political leaders would concentrate on DeFi.
Because of the global inflation and rising costs of money transfers between financial intermediates. Many financial experts believe that developing countries will adopt cryptocurrencies soon.
Also, the low profits and fixing edges have restrained banks to adjust and progressively meet their client’s requirements in a growing digital world. The adoption of Fintech and blockchain creation, empowers them to smooth out their tasks and update their activities. This may instigate a firm development in contactless exchanges and redesigned financial benefits. The banking and financial sector is mandated to show intense development in blockchain adoption in the future. As a result, this area will hold the biggest market size in the worldwide forum for blockchain technology in the coming years.
In banking, JP Morgan currently utilizes blockchain for automated margin payments. Northern Trust is leveraging the technology to test the trading of fractional bonds for retail investors. Santander has redeemed a $20 million-worth bond given on the blockchain. Most significant of all, HSBC has achieved 2 letters of credit transactions on a blockchain between companies in the Gulf. This shows how the banking sector is exploring the prospect of blockchain technology.
Blockchain is useful in the medical sector. It can be helpful in building apps to manage patient data, control drug supply, automate medical examination and treatment transactions, and much more. Specifically, situations about the production and distribution of bogus vaccines have been fixed. We can see this happen as blockchain will be an adequate tool to confirm the authenticity of vaccine shipments and follow vaccine distribution. IBM is one of the pioneers when it comes to leveraging blockchain to design a vaccine delivery system.
In addition, using blockchain in the medical field can help in the protection of healthcare data, personal health record data management, point-of-care genomics management, and electronic health records data management.
The future of Blockchain is promising when we think about integration with other technologies.
Combining technologies with blockchain will enable things that haven’t been accomplished before. More reliable data from the blockchain will better notify and strengthen underlying algorithms. Blockchain will assist in keeping that data secure and audit each and every step in the decision-making process, allowing sharper insights driven by data that network participants trust.
Many IoT firms are considering using this emerging technology. The premise for this is that blockchain technology can deliver a safe and scalable framework for interaction between IoT devices. As modern security protocols are already appearing to be exposed when executed with IoT devices, blockchain has supported its high resistance to cyber-attacks.
The blockchain will let smart devices make automated micro-transactions. Because of its distributed nature, it will execute transactions much faster and cheaper. To allow the transferring of money or data, IoT devices will use smart contracts which will be known as the agreement between the 2 parties.
These were some of the prospects that seem promising when we think about the future of Blockchain. However, there are a few domains that are new but make a solid case for a sustainable future of Blockchain Technology. Let’s see a few of these domains.
Metaverse is a new trend, especially in the crypto world. The idea of a Metaverse/Virtual world existing without blockchain is almost impossible. The concept of digital experience in the metaverse blends many emerging technologies such as VR, AR, and blockchain.
Non-Fungible Tokens i.e. NFTs were mainly hyped back in 2021. The recent market situation may not justify the inclusion but with proper use-case and utility in NFTs that leverage blockchain technology for transactions, there is ample scope in the future.
Baas is one of the trending concepts. In fact, companies like Microsoft are already using it. Blockchain-as-a-service will act as a cloud service where users can make digital products operating blockchain fundamentals.
Hyperledger Cello is one such BaaS undertaking. It is a forum that has tools and applications that promote the creation of digital products founded on the blockchain.
Future of Blockchain in social networking
According to statists, by 2025, there will be roughly 4.4 billion social network users globally. Utilizing blockchain on social networks will assist in solving inherent problems such as solitude breaches, data control, or content authenticity. That is why this emerging technology utilized in cryptocurrency, is a future trend in social networking.
So, just like the above-mentioned prospects, many other domains such as Real-Estate, FinTech, eCommerce, etc. will benefit from the blockchain.
Conclusion on the Future of Blockchain
By now you may get a sense that Blockchain is certainly one of the most advanced technologies that deliver better security, transparency, accessibility, and immutability of data. And as we have noticed throughout this blog, the blockchain industry will continue to develop at a stunning pace. Also, it has moved past its initial use case of cryptocurrency and is now being operated by different enterprises and sectors.
Comprehensive guide on Cloud Security
Cloud security is a subset discipline of cyber security that focuses on securing cloud computing systems. This means keeping data private and secure across different online-based infrastructures, applications, and platforms. Securing these systems also involves the efforts of cloud providers and the clients that operate them, whether individual, small to medium business, or enterprise users.
Let’s understand Cloud Security in detail.
What is Cloud Security?
Cloud Security is a collection of technology, protocols, and best practices that safeguard cloud computing environments, applications executing in the cloud, and data kept in the cloud. Securing cloud services starts with understanding what precisely is being made secure and what system aspects must be handled.
The backend development against security exposures is primarily within the hands of cloud service providers. Apart from picking a security-conscious provider, clients should concentrate mostly on proper service configuration and safe use habits. In addition, clients must ensure that any end-user hardware and networks are properly secured.
Cloud Security protects the following components- Physical Networks, Data Servers, Data Storage, Computer Virtualization Frameworks, Operating Systems, Run time Environments, Middleware, Data, apps, and so on. However, the ownership of these components is in co-relation with Cloud Computing.
The components are safe based on two perspectives i.e. Cloud service types and Cloud Environments.
Cloud Service Types
These services are offered by third-party cloud providers and are used in dealing with cloud-based infrastructure.
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- The core of any third-party cloud service
Cloud Environments
These are the deployment models in which more than one cloud makes systems for the end user.
- Public Cloud Environment
- Private Cloud Environment
- Multi-Cloud Environment
- Hybrid Cloud Environment
How does Cloud Security work?
Cloud security mechanisms bear two forms: those provided by Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) and those executed by customers. Also, it is crucial to note that managing security is rarely the complete responsibility of the CSP or the customer.
To clarify, Cloud Security operates in the following environments –
1) Public Cloud Services– hosted by CSPs
2) Private Cloud Services- for single organizations
3) Hybrid Cloud Services- for both public and private networks
Purpose of Cloud Security
The primary intent behind cloud security in any of these environments is to achieve the following goals:
This aspect deals with the technical side of threat prevention. Tools and technologies allow providers to block access and visibility of sensitive data. Among such tools, Encryption is one of the most robust tools available. Encryption scrambles your data so that it’s only readable by the individual who has the encryption key. If your data is lost, it will virtually become unreadable and pointless. Data transit protections such as VPNs (virtual private networks) are also highlighted in cloud networks.
IAM tools and services let businesses deploy policy-driven enforcement protocols for all users who try to access both on-premises and cloud-based services. The main functionality of IAM is to make digital identities for each user so they are actively monitored and restricted when crucial during all data interactions.
The main priority is on policies for threat prevention, detection, and mitigation. With businesses, aspects like threat intel can assist with tracking and focusing on threats to maintain crucial systems secure. Individual cloud clients could profit from valuing safe user behavior policies and training. These apply largely to organizational environments, though rules for safe use and response to threats are useful for any user.
Regardless of security measures and top-notch cloud infrastructure, there is a high risk of a data breach in any organization. Businesses must have a redundancy plan to sustain such data breaches or external threats. They should quickly act on the discovered vulnerabilities or significant system outages as soon as possible. Doing so helps in maintaining stability and minimizes the risk of a major loss in terms of data and business. However, this is only possible if you have set up the Firewall for monitoring the Cloud Network for your organization.
It is important for organizations to abide by the legal guidelines set by government entities for safeguarding user privacy.
Cloud Security Tools
Now we have a glimpse of how cloud security operates let’s have a peek at some tools. Here are some specific Cloud Security Tools,
CWPP is a security mechanism that discovers workloads that exist within an organization’s cloud-based deployments and on-premises infrastructure. Once these workloads have been located, the solution will execute a vulnerability check to identify any potentially exploitable security problems with the workload based on specified security policies and known vulnerabilities.
CASB is an on-premise cloud-based policy between the service providers and the customer. This tool protects both service providers and customers by enforcing the network regulations that comply organization’s policy. CASB safeguards data, and cloud application use across different platforms is visible to consumers. In addition, potential threats are recognized, so that the threat of security violations can be managed along the way.
CSPM helps in finding and handling risks through security assessments and automated compliance monitoring. The tool automatically and continuously checks for misconfigurations that can lead to data breaches and leaks. This automated detection enables organizations to make critical changes on a constant, ongoing basis. But, it’s not the sole responsibility of the cloud hosting to deliver security. Organizations have to actively monitor and improve security as well.
Cloud Security Issues
🞛Lack of visibility- difficult to monitor how the data is being accessed and by who
🞛 Multitenancy- multiple client infrastructures under the same cloud environment often get targeted by the hackers
🞛 Access management & shadow IT- to manage and restrict access points across on-premises systems, administering these same levels of restrictions is tough in cloud environments.
🞛 Compliance – is a source of confusion for enterprises who use public or hybrid cloud deployments. In general, accountability for data privacy and security still rests with the company, and heavy dependence on third-party solutions to handle this component can lead to costly compliance problems.
🞛Misconfigurations- leaving default administrative passwords as it is, or not creating appropriate privacy settings leads to security issues.
How to secure the cloud?
If you are wondering how to secure the cloud security issues, here are some ways you can do it,
Encryption can help you provide cloud security. The encryption is either offered by a cloud provider or by a separate cloud security solutions provider. You go with encryption communication, sensitive data encryption, and end-to-end encryption.
However, if you are using encryption, keep in mind that the safe and secure management of your encryption keys is important. Keep a key backup and avoid keeping it in the cloud. You might also want to alter your encryption keys frequently so that if someone has access to them, they will be locked out of the system when you make the change.
- Use strong passwords and a password manager
- Protect every device used for accessing cloud data
- Backup data on a regular basis
- Change permissions to avoid giving full access to a specific individual or device
- Don’t use public Wifi for accessing the data
- Use Anti-virus and anti-malware software
Configuration is a vital practice in cloud security. Majority of the cloud data breaches come from basic vulnerabilities such as misconfiguration. By proper configuration, you are broadly decreasing your cloud security risk.
Here are some configuration tips you may want to consider,
- Alter the default settings
- Don’t leave the cloud storage bucket open
- Cloud vendor provides you with security controls that you can switch on
Cloud computing security risks have impacts on every individual consumer and business. For instance, consumers can utilize the public cloud for storing and backing up files (with the help of SaaS services like Dropbox), for services like email and office apps, or for doing tax forms and accounts.
If you operate cloud-based services then you may have to decide on how you share cloud data with others, especially if you work as a consultant or freelancer. While sharing files on Google Drive or another benefit may be an easy method to share your work with clients, you may require to check that you are managing permissions properly.
Security is a prominent aspect to think about when it comes to picking a cloud security provider. This is because your cyber security is no longer just your responsibility: cloud security organizations must do their part in making a secure cloud environment and share the responsibility for data security. You check for the reliability of the service provider by asking for details regarding Security Audits, Data Segmentation, Customer Data Retention, Encryption, User Data Retention, and Access management.