STEAM Project Exhibition in the Metaverse for Deaf High School Students’ Affective Empowerment The Power of Student Museum Exhibitions in Social Virtual Reality

Abstract

The Metaverse is the three-dimensional iteration of the Internet, a perpetual open web of persistent, networked environments merging physical reality with digital virtuality. Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics (STEAM) education bridges two knowledge domains often perceived as disjointed: science and technology with art, humanities and social studies. This paper presents the design and development of a multi-school transdisciplinary STEAM project orchestrated by the University of Patras Science and Technology Museum. The deliverables of the project were analog and digital artifacts produced by K-12 primary and secondary school students on digital literacy and future citizenship. These were presented in an innovative virtual reality exhibition that was open and accessible in a web-based 3D online environment. The study employs an exploratory case study design involving deaf high school students and teachers. Data was collected from observation and semi-structured interviews. Results showed that the exhibition of deaf student creations in a multiuser platform in the Metaverse produced a series of social ripple effects around the students themselves, school peers, with and without hearing difficulties as well as educators. Its main contribution is the practical demonstration of the social affordances of the Metaverse in educational projects for children and adolescents with hearing disabilities.