EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published in the August issue of GCU Magazine, available in the purple bins on campus or digitally.
Imagine working on a doctorate in the remote Appalachian Mountains or in a barn on a Midwest farm.
You would think it would be challenging, but with a couple of clicks on your computer keyboard, you’re suddenly sitting in a classroom next to fellow students with a view of the scenic Grand Canyon University campus.
Welcome to the metaverse, a shared 3D virtual environment in which students and professors communicate through avatars.
Greg Lucas, faculty chair in GCU’s Colangelo College of Business, calls the metaverse the new third place outside of home (the first place) and work (the second place), where people meet to socialize and build connections.
“The next generation, they’re already there,” Lucas said. “They’re already using these. If you look at the industry that Roblox is, the industry that Fortnite is, as far as just the overall market that’s in there, how much money is spent inside those games is mind-boggling.
“But it goes back to if you’re in Indiana, Florida, Tennessee, you can’t physically come to GCU. Can we make you feel more connected, compared to just our standard HALO (learning management system app) we have now.”
The advent of the metaverse has fortified the College of Doctoral Studies and its learners from around the country.
During an introduction course, Dissertation Chair Dr. Renee Winter said one learner expressed a “sense of belonging” after using the metaverse. Another learner on campus for master’s commencement ceremonies could visualize “being successful on campus” while navigating through the metaverse.
In the second course, which included psychology and leadership, a 52-year-old learner said the metaverse is “the language of education in 2025” and “it made me feel like I was actually on a campus in the library.”
Beyond the doctoral college, GCU’s Career Services co-hosted an industry gathering in the metaverse for students and IT executives from Hawaiian Airlines, Discount Tire and Western Alliance Bank. Students met in a large group before moving into virtual rooms with representatives from the three companies.
Students wore virtual reality headsets that filtered background noise and required them to focus on operating their avatars to communicate with the companies. They thought it helped immerse them into the event without distraction, said Aysha Bell, executive director of GCU Career Services.
“The collaborative effort across the colleges and departments at GCU continues to provide opportunities for our students to gain hands-on experience and increase their comfort with technology, such as (VR), where AI is continually enhancing the user experience with greater opportunities for engagement,” Bell said.
Lucas, a gamer, was vacationing at Disneyland when the COVID pandemic shut down much of the country in March 2020.
While his K-12 principal wife continued to work during the pandemic, Lucas did not see his team for two years after being with them three times a week.
“I got very depressed during COVID, just at home by myself,” Lucas said. “So I put the headsets back on, but instead of looking for a gaming feature, I looked for more of the social aspect of it.”
He discovered Immersed, which allows you to work in a virtual cafe with avatars of other people who can chat with you. Lucas befriended people from all over North America who were working 40 to 50 hours a week.
This lit a bulb inside Lucas’ head. He made a 12-minute video for university President Brian Mueller that showcased a day in the GCU metaverse, with a class seen from professor and student viewpoints, to a stroll through campus leading to a basketball game.
The metaverse blended social presence with learning.
Lucas also discovered that students were more engaged learning in the metaverse than Zoom, the primary platform the university used during COVID. Some admitted they browsed Instagram and Snapchat during Zoom sessions.
With the metaverse, students are required to “walk” to their seats using their keyboard. During some presentations, Lucas will break up the class into different rooms.
“They say, ‘Yes, I paid more attention to you in this format versus Zoom, because I didn’t want my avatar to be dancing. I didn’t want my avatar to be the only one in the classroom. I had to physically walk over in the space,’” Lucas said.
The metaverse’s popularity has expanded to all age groups, with the potential to reinform students’ engagement.
“We used to have a clear divider – 17- to 18-year-olds on the ground, 34-year-olds online,” Lucas said. “That started to shift. And when COVID hit, I think it accelerated it because students said, ‘Well, I’m already online. I did school online. I did high school online. I’m going to keep going.’”
Lucas shared how he and his team are seeing more younger students in their online classes.
“So how are we keeping up the technology … the sense of belonging, that interaction, that real-time engagement that those students are craving right now? And I think people are craving it. I think it’s getting younger and younger, and I think that’s the opportunity we have.”
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