A systematic examination of metaverse technologies, with emphasis on second life as a pedagogical instrument

Abstract

This systematic review determines the impacts of the Second Life which is being used as a Metaverse environment. The primary objective is to identify and summarize the most recent research concerning the use of Second Life as a teaching tool in higher education. In this context, the PICO Framework was used to findj 24 articles published after the COVID-19 pandemic from peer-reviewed publications in the Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC databases between November 2019 and May 2023. The papers focused on Second Life as a teaching tool in higher education. The study assessed both the positive and negative aspects of Second Life's influence. The results indicated that the research on Second Life varied, with findings related to enhancing skills and creativity, positive effects on learning and engagement, subject-specific learning, language acquisition, perceived advantages of virtual reality, and the transition to virtual teaching. The review identified positive aspects such as improved radiological anatomy knowledge, enhanced creativity in art and design, better collaborative skills in chemistry, enriched cultural and language learning, and increased nursing practice readiness, alongside challenges like increased anxiety, technical difficulties, and usability issues. Additionally, limitations of the chosen databases, including potential biases due to their coverage were discussed. In future research, the use of metaverse technologies in education should be increased, technological and usability challenges should be addressed, and more research on different learning environments and user interactions should be done by educators and researchers.