The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a profound reconsideration of our approaches to teaching and learning. The metaverse, blending 3D digital realms with the intersection of reality and the virtual landscape, has emerged as a prospective frontier in education, offering substantial promise. Despite its potential, scant attention has been devoted in current research to examining the metaverse through the lens of education, marking it as a relatively unexplored domain. In this article, we commence by presenting the conceptualizations of the metaverse, delving into its inception, definitions, and common attributes. Subsequently, a precise delineation of the metaverse in an educational context is articulated, accompanied by an elaborate framework that undergoes thorough exploration of its distinctive features. We expound upon four conceivable applications of the metaverse in education, elucidating the rationale and providing illustrative cases for each: blended learning, language acquisition, competence-based education, and inclusive educational practices. Our primary discoveries indicate that the terms "education," "application," and "metaverse" appeared with the highest frequency and demonstrated interconnectedness. Upon analysis, it becomes evident that concepts like "challenge," "teaching," and "knowledge" have not received exhaustive research attention. Concluding our exploration, we put forth a spectrum of research topics that are pertinent to the intersection of the metaverse and education, serving as potential avenues for future scholarly investigations.

By Md. Alimul Haque, Moidur Rahman, Md. Faizanuddin, Danish Anwar

The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education marks a significant shift in how students learn, teachers teach, and educational institutions operate. This research delved into the knowledge and views of Library and Information Science (LIS) educators regarding the use of AI in library schools in Rivers State. The study employed a survey approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. A total of 44 LIS educators from various institutions in Rivers State participated, selected through random sampling, and data were collected using an online survey. The study found that while many LIS educators are aware of AI and have integrated it into their teaching and research, there remains a considerable gap in formal training and professional development in this area. Despite this, there is a clear understanding among educators of the value of AI in library and information science education, in line with broader trends in education and industry. The research also identified positive attitudes towards AI as a tool to enhance education quality and prepare students for careers in librarianship and information science. However, several barriers hinder the integration of AI into curricula and practices, including lecturer attitudes, credibility of information sources, internet connectivity, negative institutional perceptions, and low lecturer competency in AI. To address these challenges, the study recommends that Nigerian library schools fully implement AI technologies like chatbots, barcodes, RFIDs, and robotics to enhance teaching activities. It also suggests that higher education institutions develop specialized training programs and workshops on AI for library schools, covering both basic and advanced concepts. This would enable educators to effectively integrate AI into their teaching and research practices.

By Solomon Olusegun Oyetola, Bolaji David Oladokun, Kudu Dogara

In today's digital world filled with information overload, preventing the rampant spread of fake news has become an urgent task. Discover the Fake News Prediction System (FNPS), which uses advanced machine learning and technology to provide innovative solutions and powerful methodologies. Natural language processing methods. FNPS uses sophisticated feature engineering from diverse, curated datasets to identify underlying patterns in fraudulent content and significantly improves the ability to recognize authenticity. FNPS achieves outstanding performance using a combination of classifiers combining TF-IDF vectorization, deep learning architecture, and sentiment analysis, demonstrating its ability to accurately predict the legitimacy of news articles. Beyond simple forecasting, FNPS provides an intuitive user interface for evaluating news content in real time. This not only increases accessibility but also promotes media literacy and responsible consumption of information. Provides additional information and promotes robust public discourse. FNPS essentially demonstrates the revolutionary potential of advanced technology in ongoing combat. This will further the important public goal of ensuring the reliability and integrity of information in the digital age.

By Patakamudi Swathi, Dara Sai Tejaswi, Mohammad Amanulla Khan , Miriyala Saishree, Venu Babu Rachapudi , Dinesh Kumar Anguraj

Education is one of the essential foundations of the sustainable development of societies, in particular, the objectives SDG4 of the UN General Assembly. Extended Reality (XR, so-called Metaverse) enables multisensory interaction with virtual environments, computer-created objects, and avatars. Also, the dynamic development of Head Mounted Displays (HDMs) allows for an increasingly deeper experience of the virtual world, especially through the development of depth perception, including the rendering of several modalities like vision, touch, and hearing. This creates a unique opportunity to revolutionize the higher education system by adding a new dimension of cognition and making it accessible to more people, especially those living in hard-to-reach areas. It is also a perfect complement to the process of educating students during a pandemic, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, based on the literature and our experience, we provided an overview of the possibility of the Metaverse application in higher education taking into account the advantages and limitations of the systems. It turned out that XR-based solutions can be successfully applied in medical education, chemistry courses as well as in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Moreover, the XR-based systems are useful for learning spatial skills such as navigation, spatial reasoning, and perception. In the case of remote learning, XR enables easier adaptation to the educational formula. Also, during lockdowns, an XR-based application can be considered a tool to promote socialization in the event. Thus, it enables to implementation of open and inclusive learning and teaching space, namely Edu-Metaverse. In the current social context, the obtained results provided valuable insights into factors affecting the users during the application of Metaverse in education processes, including remote learning. Finally, this paper suggests a research direction for the development of effective Metaverse-based educational solutions.

By Agnieszka Pregowska, Magdalena Osial, Aleksandra Gajda

The study examined ethical use of data in the metaverse for corporate social responsibility (CSR). The study noted that Metaverse, is an emerging technology with vast potential for businesses, social interactions, and entertainment. Nevertheless, with the increasing use of data in this digital realm, it is crucial to ensure the ethical use of data and prioritize Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Thus, metaverse has garnered a lot of interest recently. It describes a group virtual shared environment that is produced through the combination of virtual, augmented, and physical reality settings. The metaverse can be conceptualized as an immersive, persistent, and networked virtual environment where users can explore different virtual environments, interact with one another, and take part in a variety of activities. Consequently, in the metaverses, CSR plays a crucial role. These elements consist of safeguarding user privacy and data security, battling false and misleading information, encouraging diversity and inclusion, addressing the impact on the environment, supporting moral business conduct, and enhancing stakeholder trust. The study concluded that Corporate social responsibility is crucial when it comes to the moral use of data in the metaverse. Companies can foster trust with their users and help the metaverse succeed as a whole by making sure that user data is gathered, stored, and used ethically. It was recommended that firms should consider the environmental impact of the metaverse and adopt sustainable practices to minimize negative consequences on the environment.

By Samuel Ejiro Uwhejevwe-Togbolo, Ubogu Festus Elugom, Nelson Iguemedere Ofomaja

In today's rapidly evolving information landscape, library professionals are pivotal in helping individuals and communities access, evaluate, and utilize digital resources effectively. As technology continues to reshape how information is accessed and disseminated, library professionals must embrace digital literacy as a critical competency. This essay explores the importance of digital literacy in the context of emerging technologies and how library professionals can leverage it to achieve self-sufficiency in their roles. The paper concludes that digital literacy empowers library professionals to navigate the digital landscape, harness AI and data analytics, curate digital resources effectively, teach online information evaluation, and promote digital inclusion. Given the ever-evolving digital information landscape, librarians are entrusted with the critical task of providing access to knowledge and guiding patrons through a complex web of digital resources. From the paper, it is believed that leveraging digital literacy is the key to achieving self-sufficiency in these roles. As information navigators in the digital age, librarians must continue to cultivate their digital literacy skills and adapt to emerging technologies. The paper recommends that librarians should invest in continuous training and professional development programs focused on digital marketing, e-commerce, and content creation, libraries should allocate resources strategically to invest in the necessary digital tools and platforms for income generation, and libraries can implement change management strategies to address resistance to digital transformation and foster a culture of innovation.

By Oyighan Diseiye, Sandra Ejiro Ukubeyinje, Bolaji David Oladokun, Venatus V Kakwagh

In the field of education, new technologies have given rise to innovative teaching methodologies to cater to digital natives. Among them, the metaverse and its emphasis on multimodality allow students to embody avatars to explore replicas of the physical world. This phenomenon democratizes access to cultural and social experiences through teleportation, challenging the limitations of the physical world. For all this to be possible, the avatar, central to this dynamic, acts as an intermediary between the metaverse and the real world, fostering three-dimensional cooperation and global interaction through automatic translation and accessibility features. Specifically, in the realm of language teaching, the avatar represents an alter ego that promotes the ideal and polysemic self, reducing social pressure and providing security to the student. On the other hand, in the learning process, the avatar promotes student autonomy, allowing for a constructivist and communicative approach. The recreation of diverse linguistic and extralinguistic contexts in the metaverse enables students to develop language and cultural competencies in an immersive manner. Furthermore, the sharing and sensory aspects of scenarios and teaching materials contribute to richer feedback, strengthening the sense of learning and student security in this three-dimensional, barrier-free environment.

By Rubén González Vallejo