Virtual Museum Gamification for Discovery-Based Online Learning

in the Metaverse

Stylianos Mystakidis

, Penelope Theologi-Gouti

, Athanasios Christopoulos

2,3 b

and Chrysostomos Stylios

2,3 c

Science and Technology Museum, University of Patras, Rion GR-26504, Greece

University of Ioannina, Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, GR-45110 Ioannina, Greece

Athena Research Center, Industrial Systems Institute, Rion GR-26504, Greece

Keywords: Metaverse, Virtual Reality, Social Virtual Reality, Webxr, Gamification, Playful Learning, Informal

Learning, Online Learning, Museum Education, History Education, Science Museum.

Abstract: During the pandemic, museums were forced to deploy innovative methods and platforms to serve their

audiences, especially schools. Immersive technologies, such as social virtual reality environments in the

Metaverse, can enable the creation of online virtual museum exhibitions. Indifferent or tiresome educational

procedures can be transformed into appealing, enjoyable experiences with gamification. In this pilot

exploratory study, the perceptions of elementary education teachers on the gamified online exhibition “Out

of love for Greece” in the Metaverse are investigated. A qualitative research design is employed involving

interviews, observations, and post-test scores. Findings indicate that WebXR technology met the expectations

of participants, especially for asynchronous individual and group self-study. Gamification mechanics

enhanced the motivation of less-interested pupils and increased their interest and engagement with digital

content. This study provides useful insights and suggestions for the design of effective playful learning

experiences in the Metaverse.

1 INTRODUCTION

Museums and science centres aim to become

education excellence destinations where visitors and,

especially children and school pupils, can observe

scientific phenomena in practice and learn informally

by experience. Beyond visiting the museum spaces

and collections, students can participate in engaging

training programmes, interact with exhibits, become

curious, aware and interested in facets of human

cultural and scientific heritage.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all

classroom-based education activities involving

physical mobility (Kostas et al., 2023). While

emergency remote teaching was implemented out of

necessity in all levels of education, museums could

not resort easily to this method, as their exhibits and

programmes are usually of participative nature based

on active learning. Hence, new innovative methods

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9162-8340

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1809-5525

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2888-6515

had to be deployed in science museums to reach and

serve their regular audiences.

In response to these unprecedented disruptions,

the present study introduces and preliminary assesses

an innovative gamification method for informal

online learning within digital museum exhibitions in

the Metaverse. Specifically, it presents the design,

development and evaluation of the temporary

Metaverse exhibition “Out of love for Greece”. The

manuscript concludes by offering insights into the

potential of gamified learning environments to enrich

and transform the educational landscape especially in

view of the Metaverse and its impact in distance

education.

Mystakidis, S., Theologi-Gouti, P., Christopoulos, A. and Stylios, C.

Virtual Museum Gamiﬁcation for Discovery-Based Online Learning in the Metaverse.

DOI: 10.5220/0012756600003693

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2024) - Volume 1, pages 711-719

ISBN: 978-989-758-697-2; ISSN: 2184-5026

711

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 Immersive Technologies in

Museum Education

Immersive technologies include Virtual Reality (VR),

Augmented Reality (AR) and the Metaverse. Virtual

Reality allows the creation of synthetic, digital,

computer-generated spaces that can be used for

learning purposes in education. AR overlays digital

information in the physical environment that can be

accessed via mobile and wearable devices

(Koutromanos et al., 2015). Museums have used

immersive technologies mostly to engage learners

and visitors and offer informal learning experiences

(Fokides & Atsikpasi, 2018; Ng et al., 2018).

Museums have employed collaborative virtual

environments or virtual worlds to host virtual events

(Mikropoulos & Natsis, 2011; Vosinakis & Tsakonas,

2016). Moreover, immersive technologies can be

used to increase the accessibility to museum

exhibition; an action of mass communication with a

meaning making purpose (Lester, 2006).

Thanks to VR and the Metaverse, the concept of a

virtual museum, a museum without walls

(Schweibenz, 2019), has been extended to provide

virtual experiences that would be impossible in the

physical world. Digital exhibitions in VR enable

roaming in ancient cities, traveling across space to the

Mars surface and inhabiting art-inspired immersive

spaces (Shehade & Stylianou-Lambert, 2020).

Notable studies in the history and heritage fields

include the Picts & Pixels exhibition (Cassidy et al.,

2018) and an immersive experience around the

Antikythera mechanism, the first analog computer of

the world (Chrysanthakopoulou et al., 2021). VR can

be instrumental in visualizing objects and structures

of historical significance that do no longer exist in the

physical environment (Morsman et al., 2022).

However, as VR efforts in museums were based on

stand-alone immersive VR systems providing single-

user experiences, the lack of social interaction was

identified as the primary limitation and challenge

(Shehade & Stylianou-Lambert, 2020). This gap can

be addressed with virtual museum exhibitions in the

Metaverse, an open and persistent multiuser

environment merging physical reality with digital

virtuality (Mystakidis et al., 2024).

2.2 Gamification

Playful attitudes and approaches towards teaching

and learning informed by game design have been

summarized in literature under the umbrella concept

of gamification (Christopoulos & Mystakidis, 2023).

In education, gamification can be used to transform

an indifferent or tiresome procedure into an

appealing, enjoyable experience. Game mechanics,

dynamics and aesthetics, when applied effectively,

can enhance user motivation and produce satisfying

experiences (Hunicke et al., 2004).

Immersive technologies have been used widely

for the design of serious games in education such as

escape rooms games (Voreopoulou et al., 2024).

Escape room games have been used effectively to

provide skill building opportunities and to facilitate

deeper learning around science topics (Vontzalidis et

al., 2024). Multiuser, social VR environments can be

used for lighter, technically less-complicated

gamification strategies to amplify learner motivation

(Craig et al., 2016). According to the TANC model, a

playful design strategy can be implemented with

activities inside of a narrative story within a common

semiotic domain, a theme (Mystakidis, 2021).

2.2.1 Discovery-Based Online Learning

Exploration is an inherent mode of human learning

experienced in the preschool age. Discovery- or

Inquiry-based learning is based on a constructivist

epistemological foundation; it facilitates the social

construction of knowledge. Inquiry-based learning

places the context of education within a quest;

learners become the protagonists of their learning and

decide their path towards a set goal or deliverable

(Mamun et al., 2020). Exploration is one of the most

popular game design elements. It activates the

players’ agency and grants them the freedom to

choose their own adventures (Christopoulos &

Mystakidis, 2023). Discovery-based methods have

been applied in immersive VR environments and

virtual worlds effectively in science education

(Jacobson et al., 2016; Tsivitanidou et al., 2021).

3 MATERIALS

The Science and Technology Museum of the

University of Patras (STMUP) bridges the interaction

and communication between the academic

community and the local society, especially primary

and secondary schools, by providing research-based

scientific knowledge dissemination related to cultural

tradition. This goal is achieved through various

actions including ‘temporary exhibitions’ (i.e.,

exhibitions on contemporary topics with a limited

lifespan).

ERSeGEL 2024 - Workshop on Extended Reality and Serious Games for Education and Learning

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3.1 Temporary Museum Exhibition on

Greek Revolution

The temporary exhibition “Out of love for Greece”

was planned to be hosted by STMUP in 2021 to

commemorate the 200-year celebration since the

Greek war of independence (or Greek revolution)

against the Ottoman occupation (Figure 1). As the

COVID-19 pandemic prevented school visits, its

digitalization was decided to make its materials

accessible to all interested via the Internet. The virtual

museum exhibition was based on a digital exhibition

initiative by the Institut Français of Greece and

RetroNews on the same topic. Materials were

modified and transformed into forms that were

appropriate and optimized for primary and secondary

school audiences.

Figure 1: The poster of the exhibition “Out of love for

Greece”.

Based on historical evidence in various museums

around Europe, in this exhibition, an attempt was

made to convey the impact, the various views, and the

common feeling caused in Europe by the Greek

revolution. Since 1821, everywhere in France,

England, Germany, the message of the revolution

which was inspired mainly by the ideas of the French

revolution, was spreading and expanding. A

philhellenic trend was mobilizing public opinion to

support the rebellious Greeks. Romantic youth and

veteran soldiers were rushing to fight for the Greek

cause.

The digital exhibition was enriched by the digital

deliverables of transdisciplinary 9-month projects

called “thematic networks”, in cooperation with K-12

schools, around a relevant, common, topic

(Mystakidis et al., 2024).

The exhibition included the following units:

 Philhellenic committees and the mobilization

in France and in Europe.

 Portraits of philhellenic volunteers.

 Art joins the battle.

 The educational dimension of the philhellenic

movement.

3.2 Development of VR Exhibitions in

the Metaverse

The digital museum exhibition was implemented by

STMUP in the Metaverse. It was hosted in the free

Mozilla Hubs social VR platform based on WebXR

technology which allows flexible accessibility

through popular web browsers in computers, mobile

devices or immersive VR headsets (Maclntyre &

Smith, 2018).

Figure 2: Layout of the VR museum exhibition using a

WebXR authoring tool (Scene Editor or Spoke).

The exhibition was hosted in a custom virtual

space that was created using the platform’s authoring

tool. Specifically, Mozilla Hubs provided a free, web-

based authoring tool named Scene Editor or Spoke

which can be used to create 3D environments, add

objects and program custom actions and behaviours.

The created museum space was developed by

modifying the template “Modular Art Gallery” that is

provided in the Scene Editor. It was configured as a

symmetrical H-shaped structure, consisting of four

main gallery rooms that are connected through two

central corridors (Figure 2). Whole parts of the

environments such as entire sections or separate

elements such as walls can be edited or replicated

(Figure 3). Once the environment is ready it can be

published so that it is accessible on the web.

Moreover, in the Scene Editor pre-made 3D

objects can be inserted and 2D multimedia materials

such as images, pdf files, audio and video can be

embedded. However, Hubs also allows the easy

creation and manipulation of these digital resources

directly from the actual virtual world and their precise

placement in desired locations e.g. on the walls.

Virtual Museum Gamiﬁcation for Discovery-Based Online Learning in the Metaverse

713

Figure 3: Editing elements of a scene in the WebXR

authoring tool (Scene Editor or Spoke).

3.3 Gamified Instructional Design of

Exhibitions in the Metaverse

Multiuser Metaverse platforms allow the

simultaneous participation of up to 50 users in a 3D

environment. Visitors can select and modify a

persona or avatar to express their name and identity

(Figure 4). This feature is essential to maintain either

a desired proximity to users’ real identity or to ensure

their full anonymity, if it is desirable. Moreover,

avatars can roam the place freely, explore and study

the materials. Materials included multimedia such as

posters, images, presentations, audio and video.

Figure 4: Two personas (avatars) visiting an exhibition of

STM in the Metaverse.

The purpose of the virtual exhibition was fulfilled

with the digitalization of materials and their online

provision, illustrated in Figure 5. However, an

additional gamification layer was employed to

improve user experience and enhance learners’

motivation and engagement. Specifically, a second,

playful visiting mode was offered based on the game

mechanics of curiosity, discovery and competition.

Avatars were spawn at the virtual entrance of the

museum where they encounter a surprise

communication. A non-player character in the shape

of a monk welcomed visitors and invited them to

explore and seek to access a hidden room, a hide-out

Figure 5: Entrance of one gallery room in the VR museum

exhibition with portraits of philhellenic volunteers.

of the revolution’s heroes (Figure 6). There they

could participate in a puzzle game and compete to

join the museum’s leaderboard.

Figure 6: Playful ‘call to action’ and invitation to seek the

hidden room and gameful challenge.

The hidden room was dedicated to general

Kolokotronis, one of the moral and military leaders of

the revolution and the long road to freedom after 400

years of occupation (Figure 7).

Users could access it behind an artificial wall.

They could discover it based on the symmetrical

layout of the overall space. An additional hint was

provided in the form of a spatial audio cue, an

instrumental music in low volume with sudden sound

effects that was echoing from the hidden room.

Figure 7: The hidden room – hideout of Kolokotronis.

Inside the hidden playful room, an optional puzzle

game was offered to players. The game consisted of

questions based on the materials of the exhibition.

The game was conceived as a self-evaluation activity

on the comprehension and critical thinking skills of

participants.

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4 METHODS

In this exploratory study, we employed a qualitative

research design approach to evaluate participants’

perceptions of the gamified VR exhibition in the

Metaverse. The main goal is to uncover the meaning

of the studied social procedure. Specifically,

qualitative research designs aim at describing,

analyzing and understanding in-depth the acceptance

and repercussions of the current intervention (Flick,

2018). The guiding research question was the

following: What were the perceptions of teachers on

a gamified Metaverse museum exhibition in social

VR?

The main data collection method was semi-

structured interviews with primary school teachers.

Secondary data collection instruments were students’

observations, students’ performance in a post-test,

and their comments during a debriefing session.

The teachers’ interviewing protocol included a

series of questions on the intervention where the

exhibition was used during their classes and is

provided in the Appendix. Teachers also observed

their students’ behaviour during the virtual visit to the

exhibition. The post-test included eleven questions

based on the content of the virtual exhibition and

could be found in the hidden room as part of the

gamified mode of the exhibition visit. Questions had

the form of multiple-choice items, e.g. “How did

women become a driving force of the philhellenic

movement in Europe and the U.S.A.?”, “Why did

Eugène Delacroix got involved in the Greek quest for

independence?”.

Participants in this pilot research were three

female teachers from local primary (elementary)

schools in Greece that visited the virtual exhibition

with their sixth-grade students. The educators were

selected based on their expressed interest in the topic

of the exhibition and prior work. Detailed instructions

on how to access the VR exhibition were provided to

educators in advance, as well as the possibility for

private one-to-one tutoring sessions for problem-

solving. Teachers visited the virtual exhibition during

one lesson period (forty-five minutes). Teachers held

a short, guided tour with a group of 16 students for

approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Additionally, the

exhibition’s link was provided to students for

additional exploration if they wished to. After the

visit, teachers held a short reflective debriefing

session to collect students’ impressions and overall

feedback.

Individual interviews with teachers took place

online one month after the visit. During interviews,

notes were taken and were subsequently analyzed

thematically, through the systematic coding

approach, to identify common recurring themes

within specific categories (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

5 RESULTS

Data analysis of qualitative data revealed several

themes that can be organized and classified into the

following three categories. Findings are illustrated in

Figure 8.

5.1 Insights into Teacher and Student

Behaviour

All participants, teachers and students, accessed the

WebXR museum environment either via computer,

desktop or laptop, or a tablet. They encountered no

notable technical problems as the platform was robust

with an adequate response time to user movements.

Both teachers and students appreciated the ability

to customize their digital representation in the virtual

world. This was a feature of interest to almost all

students and generated a rich, social, dynamic form

of communication and exchange of practices.

The participating teachers were receptive to

integrating innovative educational materials into their

practice. They were willing to use new forms under

the following conditions; learning materials, digital

platforms or environments should have: (i) a high

degree of usability (ii) low technical complexity and

(iii) high pedagogical usefulness, related and

supplementary to taught topics. All these conditions

were met by the studied VR exhibition according to

the study’s participants. However, they expressed

their wish to have tools in their arsenal that could

mitigate eventual problems generated by the total

freedom of users. For example, they would like to be

able to mute students in case they forgot their

microphones open during the online meeting.

Moreover, teachers would like to be able to assemble

and teleport all users to their location.

Students accepted this type of 3D environment

and declared that they would be positive to

experience them more often. Students’ motivation

was dynamic and more diverse. The initial drive when

accessing the digital exhibition was to see if and how

their own relevant work had been included in the

collection and how. It is worth reminding here that

participating students had completed a group project

on a related historical topic. During the debriefing,

around half of students reported that they visited the

exhibition again with friends and their parents.

Virtual Museum Gamiﬁcation for Discovery-Based Online Learning in the Metaverse

715

5.2 Student Preferences About VR

Exhibition Design

According to the participating teachers, their students

offered specific suggestions for the layout of similar

exhibitions. Some students with high, inherent

interest in the exhibition’s topics were satisfied with

the layout of the exhibition and appreciated the

wealth of presented materials.

Students who had a stronger gaming attitude

would prefer less text-heavy materials in favour of

audiovisual and more interactive materials. Several of

them asked to have the right to download or share

exhibited materials. This sparked discussions on the

concept of intellectual right of digital creations. In

this context, the degrees of freedom granted from

creators to the public to allow the sharing, reuse and

modification of their work through appropriate

licences were discussed. The exhibition of student

work was instrumental in raising awareness around

sharing and copyright in a creative economy.

5.3 Insights into the Gamification of

VR Exhibitions

As mentioned, students had a varying interest in the

theme of the digital exhibition. The gamification

layer provided an additional incentive that intrigued

more than half of the less motivated students to

engage with the digital materials and play the game.

Locating the hidden room was not straightforward

but most of them were able to locate it thanks mainly

to the audio hint. In the knowledge challenge inside

the hidden room, mean post-test scores of

participating students were 83,3 points out of 110 or

75,7%. This result can be interpreted as very good,

reflecting a good command of the presented

materials. No notable differences between boys and

girls were observed. Interestingly, students reported

that they were motivated to revisit the materials and

inquire about the facts behind questions to get the

answer right. Several users opted spontaneously to

play the puzzle multiple times and increased their

academic performance.

Several students commented also on the game

design of the online exhibition. They advocated for a

more complex structure of the 3D environment, e.g.

inside of a castle and wished that the gamification

layer would have more characteristics of an elaborate

game with more levels, challenges and even an

adventurous plot. Several children expressed their

willingness to learn, experiment and practice with

social VR to create their own environments within

educational projects.

6 CONCLUSIONS

This exploratory study attempted to capture primary

teachers’ perceptions about a gamified museum

exhibition in the Metaverse. Exhibitions in social VR

constitute an alternative and very attractive tool for

museums to interact with school groups, pupils and

teachers. Moreover, they empower museums to

expand and diversify their audience and engage

actively with remote visitors. It has supported

STMUP to stay in touch with its audience during the

pandemic and build new contacts with remote

audiences ever since.

This research presents a series of notable

limitations. First, the sample of convenience is not

generalizable. Second, the studied environment

constitutes a proof of concept, not a fully developed

solution. However, it offers a series of insights with

useful implications for practitioners that can inform

the instructional design of educational WebXR

spaces.

Social VR platforms are a viable solution for

using 3D immersive environments in education as

they allow flexible access from multiple devices.

Specifically, they are highly appropriate for flexible

individual and group study in an asynchronous mode

of learning. Synchronous online learning in younger

ages can be effective with teacher-centric moderation

tools that can minimize eventual distractive effects

and behaviours (Rau et al., 2019).

Gamification and playful design can attract young

learners’ attention and interest to explore with digital

content. Game challenges and playful quizzes of

appropriate degree of difficulty and complexity can

sustain a high degree of engagement. Finally, future

efforts and studies can be focused on placing students

in the role of producers of immersive content utilizing

the potential of 3D virtual reality environments.

Museums can explore and implement more procedures

to engage pupils and teachers as co-creators of WebXR

exhibitions and immersive experiences.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research has been financed by the European

Union: Next Generation EU through the Program

Greece 2.0 National Recovery and Resilience Plan,

under the call RESEARCH – CREATE –

INNOVATE, project name “iCREW: Intelligent

small craft simulator for advanced crew training using

Virtual Reality techniques" (project code:TAEDK-

06195.

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716

Figure 8: Visual summary and organization of research findings.

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APPENDIX

Teachers’ Interview Protocol

1 Ice breaking: Welcoming of the participant,

explanation of the aims of the interview and

the research.

2 Demographic questions

2.1 Age

2.2 Highest degree of education

2.3 School

3 Main questions

3.1 Total number of participating students

3.2 When did the virtual visit take place?

3.3 What was the visit’s duration to the VR

exhibition?

3.4 What devices were used by the teacher and

students?

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3.5 How would you describe the students’

behavior and why?

3.6 Did you or students encounter any technical

issues or difficulty?

3.7 When did the debriefing session take place?

3.8 What was the approximated duration of the

debriefing session?

3.9 What were their impressions of the virtual

exhibition?

3.10 Did students have any comments or

suggestions for improvements?

4 Epilogue

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