Mohammad Vahedian-Shahroodi - Associate Professor of Health Education and Promotion, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Khatereh Shariati - MSc of Medical Education, Department of Medical Education, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Fatemeh Behzad - MSc of Health Education and Promotion, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Mohammad Saeedi - MS of Software Engineering, Information and Communication Technology Unit, Mashhad Municipality Fire and Safety Services Organization, Mashhad, Iran.
Azam Mansourzadeh - Paris Nanterre University, Paris, France.

Introduction: The experience of virtual education in the COVID-۱۹ created conditions for educational institutions that made it possible for them to accept new educational environments. We aimed to review the existing research into the metaverse in the educational field. Materials and Methods: In this overview, online databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, PyscINFO, ERIC, CIVILICA, and Google Scholar search engine were searched for related systematic reviews up to Feb ۲۰۲۳. Results: Learning using the metaverse has many advantages such as it helps to visualize materials and make learning more interactive, easier, and interesting for students, and help educators in the learning process. By using Metaverse, students can practice difficult activities through virtual simulation environments that are difficult to produce due to various reasons such as high-risk activities, high-cost activities, and even doing something impossible in the real world. However, there are some limitations, such as the cost of the device needed to support the metaverse, and it is not accessible to everyone student. Also, the metaverse, is a pathway; it cannot be considered a goal. So, the physical school and all its activities will not be completely supplanted by the metaverse. Nevertheless, the risks of the metaverse, including privacy breaches and security risks, as well as possible addictions and the development of mental health issues, should not be ignored. Conclusion: There are pros and cons of using the Metaverse in education. The metaverse will simply be a tool to make services even better without completely replacing the real world. Future development is needed to maximize the metaverse’s advantages and handle the limitations of the metaverse as a learning platform.

Metaverse, Education, pros, cons