Fifteen Years of Metaverse in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review

The application of the metaverse poses important challenges for the field of education. The aim of this article is to analyze the evolution of the development of the metaverse experiences in Higher Education and thus identify the key aspects of its application as a virtual environment for teaching and learning. To this end, a systematic literature review of articles published in Web of Science and Scopus since 2007 was carried out. In the selection process, 115 articles were identified, of which 34 deal with the metaverse in the field of Higher Education. The analysis shows that the educational metaverse follows a growing trend, since 23.5% of the publications are concentrated in the last year of the analysis and, furthermore, how the metaverse can be analyzed as a virtual learning environment from its three dimensions: technological, pedagogical, and content. Educational practices are identified in multiple areas of knowledge, with the educational metaverse being used in the learning of second languages and the simulation of professional environments, both of which are key to HE teaching. The experiences have had mostly positive results, especially due to the immersive potential of the metaverse and the active role of the learner, who becomes the protagonist of the action. Another key element identified in the development of educational strategies in the metaverse is interaction, not only within the techno-educational context, but also with the learning community itself and the communicative and interactive options that arise in this space.