According to trademark applications, one of America’s major public institutions, Arizona State University, may be preparing to provide virtual classrooms through the metaverse. ASU and the official Sun Devils logo officially placed their trademarked icons on the blockchain.
ASU One of the First Universities to Embrace Metaverse
The Arizona Board of Regents filed seven applications on behalf of Arizona State University for various forms of its name — ASU, Arizona State, and the terms of its football team and Sun Devils — and a virtual environment in which to use them.
In addition, the number of people taking online courses at Arizona State University has increased by more than 42 percent since 2014.
While the university has not confirmed that it will offer courses in the metaverse, the trademark applications strongly indicate that ASU is preparing to embrace this new technology. The university’s filings state that the trademarks will be used for “providing online non-downloadable software for use in virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and simulations.”
The ASU website currently has a page dedicated to virtual reality, which includes a link to the university’s VR/AR Hub. According to the website, the hub is “a community of students, faculty, and staff exploring how VR/AR can be used across disciplines,” according to the website.
ASU and Other Universities’ Plans with Blockchain
According to the trademark applications, ASU is looking into using NFTs to verify various documents, including degrees and tickets for campus events.
The University of Nicosia, for example, has employed blockchain technology for several purposes in the organization, including monitoring COVID-19’s spread in November 2020 and transferring data from its students’ academic records.
Although the first MetaMask wallet is still in its early stages, several schools have announced comparable plans to “go meta” in 2022.
For example, in May, the University of Sao Paulo will study the efficacy of virtual and augmented reality technologies and how their use might change human behavior. It’s not just colleges and universities looking to the metaverse for education and training. Companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft also invest in this new technology. Clearly, the metaverse is quickly becoming a major part of our lives, and Arizona State University is leading the way.
