Originally announced in spring 2024, the Meta for Education program has begun rolling out gradually to teachers, schools, and educational institutions across the US and UK. This initiative helps schools leverage XR headsets, such as the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S, along with cutting-edge software built specifically for educational environments.
Similar to the “Meta Quest for Business” model introduced last year, the training solution is intended to help administrators, trainers and teachers gain access to the specific XR experiences and applications they need to transform the future of learning.
In addition to being able to experiment with a variety of inspirational and academic applications, the Meta Horizon platform also gives teachers access to device management tools and resources to help strengthen device security and keep firmware updates up to date.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Meta for Education program.
What is meta for education?
Meta for Education is a beta program that combines cutting-edge software, artificial intelligence, and extended reality to improve learning in the modern world. The program is gradually being introduced to participating institutions in the Meta community, including San Diego State University and Imperial College London.
This program combines access to Meta’s latest headsets, such as the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S, with custom applications and software. Although the program is still in ‘beta’ stage, Meta has already launched a number of professional development and training courses designed in collaboration with technology leaders.
For example, we have the Meta Immersive Learning Academy where creators can develop their skills on Meta Spark. Users can leverage Unity software to build new apps and tools. Additionally, Meta is currently in the process of building its own app library with over 50 resources tailored to a variety of educational use cases.
As mentioned above, perhaps the most important feature of this program is that it includes specialized device management software for educational leaders. Just as businesses can use Meta for Business to onboard users to headsets, track device status, and remotely apply software or firmware updates to headsets, education groups get a similar experience.
The inclusion of endpoint device management software makes it easier for teachers and education providers to deliver unique XR experiences to large audiences, manage hardware, and keep security risks to a minimum.
Why did Mehta create this program?
Education and training providers represent an important market in the XR environment, according to Nick Clegg, President of Global Operations at Meta. Many organizations are already using XR software (e.g. Metaverse as a Service) solutions and headsets to immerse students in unique educational experiences related to art, science, development, and more.
Mehta believes that future learning must be social and experiential. According to a blog post shared by Meta, extended realities and the metaverse open the door to more interactive and collaborative learning, which could be the key to making education more powerful and accessible in the future.
Meta also says that by making XR experiences easily accessible, it will provide a more convenient way for educators to break through the barriers of traditional classrooms. Instead of telling students what happened during a specific historical event, teachers can have learners “live” a moment in history and experience it for themselves. They can take field trips to the world’s best museums without huge travel costs or unnecessary risks.
Of course, Meta is not the only company that sees the value that XR provides in education. As the company noted in a blog post, innovators like Morehouse University have already found that VR learners achieve better test scores than other learners. Research from the XR Association also shows that these technologies can improve engagement in the classroom.
However, in the past, many early adopters have had difficulty introducing immersive systems into classrooms at scale. Leaders had to invest separately in hardware, applications, custom software, and endpoint management solutions and manage them all independently.
With Meta for Education, XR leaders aim to provide educational institutions with a simpler and more convenient way to experiment with immersive technologies.
How are educators using meta for teaching?
In November 2024, Meta announced that it had already begun “beta testing.” The Meta for Education program includes more than a dozen universities across the US and UK. The group is currently testing VR and XR prototypes and programs in its own classrooms and providing Meta with the feedback it needs to improve the program before it is “generally” available.
These universities aren’t just leveraging Meta’s software and headsets. They also benefit from Meta’s ongoing partnership with VictoryXR to develop Europe’s first digital twin “metaversate”.
The Meta headset allows teachers and students from the University of the Basque Country in Spain, the University of Hannover in Germany, and the University of Leeds to dive into a unique Metaverse environment from anywhere. They can remotely explore virtual versions of campus and classrooms, socialize with other students, and complete tasks in the digital world.
According to Meta, these digital twin universities represent a significant leap forward in educational technology, offering new ways to make classrooms and experiences more accessible to the public. The University of Leeds is currently using the technology for performing arts and theater-led classes, while the Basque university is hosting physiotherapy and anatomy classes.
Meta works with European partners to provide educators with access to new XR training resources. For example, France Immersive Learning worked with Meta to create an English-language guidebook covering tips and best practices for deploying XR systems in educational environments.
Challenges of XR in Education
Meta and many other XR innovators believe that immersive experiences are critical to the future of education. Numerous studies have shown that virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality can help make educational experiences more enjoyable, memorable, and effective. Moreover, these technologies allow remote learners to seamlessly experience a unique classroom environment wherever they are.
Morehouse College also found that attendance increased by an average of 10% and grades improved by 11% when it began using the XR solution.
However, there are still challenges to overcome. First of all, Meta, for example, hasn’t released much information about how much the program costs. For example, Meta Quest for Enterprise costs an average of $14.99 per month per device. This may mean that, depending on their budget, the Meta for Education program may not be an option for all institutions.
Second, Meta will not offer this program to all schools. The company said the plan would only apply to schools serving students aged 13 and older. Additionally, it is only accessible in regions where Meta’s Quest for Business solution is already supported. Of course, this may change in the coming years.
Meta’s approach to building the future of education
The Meta team recognizes that many educational institutions already recognize the benefits of extended reality. However, Nick Clegg pointed out that adoption of these technologies has been rather slow for a number of reasons. This isn’t just because some XR devices and software have been prohibitively expensive and complicated to access in the past.
According to Clegg, extended reality cannot become a common component in future classrooms until teachers have full visibility and control over the experience. Ultimately, educational leaders must ensure that students are safe and protected when they are in the metaverse. This is especially true as the risks associated with cyberbullying and misinformation continue to increase in the digital world.
Meta hopes to “normalize” and simplify the use of immersive technologies in educational environments by developing an all-in-one solution that gives educators more control over the apps and experiences users get from XR. They believe their technology will help make XR a ubiquitous part of the learning experience, like laptops or computers.
It remains to be seen whether Meta’s educational experiment will be able to address and resolve all the concerns that schools, educational institutions and universities have about the Metaverse. But Meta’s efforts have the potential to have a major impact on the future of learning. Soon, the “metaverse” could provide a more immersive academic experience for everyone.