Considering the above, the Tarbiyah21 team sat for an interview with Dr. Mona Nabhani, Associate Professor Emeritus of Education at the Lebanese American University (LAU) and UNESCO Education Consultant to discuss how AI and metaverse technologies are transforming education.

The metaverse of the future – which will combine Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into one immersive virtual world – has an enormous impact on improving the future of education in a variety of ways.

These technologies can, for example, enable remote learning, allowing learners to access educational content from anywhere in the world. While AI can help create more personalized learning experiences, following a learner-centered approach to adapt learning contents and instruction to each learner’s individual needs, VR can be leveraged to create immersive learning experiences that allow learners to explore virtual worlds and interact and engage with educational contents in ways never experienced before.

Additionally, these technologies can be employed to create more collaborative learning environments, that promote interaction among learners and their teachers in a virtual space. These technologies can also be harnessed to improve inclusive access to educational content, making it more accessible to people with limited resources and to persons with disabilities.

Considering the need to improve the required infrastructure in some Arab countries, UNESCO can work with these countries to create a strategic plan to incorporate emerging AI technologies into their educational systems.

UNESCO’s support can include initiatives to develop and implement digital learning platforms, and provide access to digital learning resources and materials, such as eBbooks, online courses, and learning management systems.

The Organization can also focus on capacity development efforts to train educators, administrators, and other stakeholders on the usage of these technologies, and provide resources and implementation support.

Another area of support revolves around encouraging Member States to invest in research and development to create innovative solutions and tools in view of improving the quality and outcomes of education.

In addition, UNESCO can promote collaboration and the exchange of best practices between countries to ensure that all countries can benefit from the usage of emerging technologies in education.

Making technology inclusive and expanding digital readiness is a key component of UNESCO’s goals, but, while acknowledging the growing presence of Artificial Intelligence in daily life, it is crucial to uphold the fundamental principles of ethics regarding Artificial Intelligence – and bear in mind that our ultimate goal is to enhance learning and learning outcomes so that education can fulfill its transformative role.

From my perspective, these technologies present a variety of challenges and opportunities for learners and educational institutions alike.

On the one hand, they offer the potential to revolutionize the way learners access, learn and engage with course material. In fact, many instructors across the Arab world have applied AR/VR in education. These immersive technologies were used to create Chemistry, Science and Physics virtual Labs to conduct experiments that would not otherwise be possible to perform due to the high cost of out-of-school field trips, as well as safety and material constraints. By wearing a VR Headset, learners could explore virtual destinations, visit historic places, travel through time and space, and enter a variety of computer-generated environments.

These technologies provide educational institutions with an opportunity to enhance learners’ experiences, increase engagement, create a shared educational space where learners from different countries can collaborate and learn together and reach out to a wider audience. AI can be also used to analyze and track learners’ progress and deliver personalized feedback, providing an invaluable tool for teachers to help them better assess and monitor learners’ performance. However, these institutions must ensure that the virtual environment is secure and protected from malicious actors, and to that learners are adequately protected from potential online predators, in addition to considering the cost of implementing metaverse technology and the cost of maintaining and managing the virtual environment.

At the same time, these technologies also raise security and privacy concerns, and emphasize the need to understand and manage the complexities of virtual worlds and assets. As clarified in UNESCO’s 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, all discussions relating to AI in Education need to revolve around the values and human dimensions of Artificial Intelligence and its purpose to serve the common good. And last, but not least, we should not forget about the importance of developing foundational skills; and the need of providing a good balance between what is considered “traditional” approaches in education and the new possibilities technologies offer.

Yes, it is possible to ensure that these technologies are used in an equitable and inclusive manner in education, and UNESCO can play a significant role.

This can be achieved by taking several measures, such as ensuring that said technologies are accessible to all learners regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds; providing training and support to teachers and learners on how to effectively use these technologies; and creating equitable learning environments by addressing any biases. Moreover, it is important to ensure that technology is used to support the educational needs of all learners, which can be done by tailoring learning experiences to meet each learner’s needs and ensuring that any potential risks are minimized.

At the same time, efforts need to be further made to ensure a good balance among different education modalities, i.e., in-person/face-to-face, online/remote, and hybrid/blended learning.

The best advice I give to educators is to build their competencies for technology-enhanced pedagogy. Capacity building initiatives have the potential to foster values, knowledge and competencies to ensure ethical, safe, and equitable usage of technologies, thereby intersecting with information literacy and global citizenship education.

Through this action area, learners will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to use emerging technologies from a lifelong learning perspective. Educators should continuously update their knowledge and be open to new ideas and approaches to keep up with the dynamic nature of technology in the education sector.

I also believe that it is crucial to teach and learn soft skills in the era of AI because these skills are essential for success in the workplace. Soft skills such as communication, collaboration, problem solving, leadership, and critical thinking, cannot be replaced by technology.