Prospettive del metaverso. Questioni pedagogiche sull’universo digitale che verrà

The metaverse is presented as the next big thing in the digital revolution. This is mainly due to the large investments that big companies in the sector and European policy-makers are making. However, the concept of the metaverse is not entirely new: In the past, experiences such as Second Life, or certain video game ecosystems such as World of Warcraft or Fortnite, or even certain social platforms strongly based on para-social interactions (e.g. Twitch) have already provided glimpses of what could be the future scenario of an internet enriched by the metaverse. Thanks to past experiences, it is possible to solicit questions and reflections in this exploratory phase that affect the educational, training and didactic dimension of the project. What changes can the metaverse bring to the world of education? In particular, what are the next kinds of digital divide that need to be addressed? How could the concept of educational relationship and educational presence change? The contribution intends to answer, with a pedagogical perspective, these, and other questions that the new immersive project proposed by Meta necessarily raises.