Iowa City, Iowa — The president of the University of Iowa cut a virtual ribbon during an online ceremony yesterday (Thursday) afternoon to open what’s known as a digital twin replica campus.
The so-called “metaversity” will be used for online learning as well as campus labs for residential students. Steve Grubbs is the founder of VictoryXR, a Davenport-based tech company that creates 3-D immersive educational environments.
Most online remote learning today is accomplished through a tool like Zoom, where you can’t use your hands, but Grubbs says most learning requires us to be hands-on.
The launch of the Metaversity of Iowa will only make a couple of courses available, for starters.
Other Big Ten schools are using virtual reality for this type of distance learning, but Grubbs says the UI is going a step further.
He says 40 percent of today’s students are already taking classes remotely.
