Flood preparedness module for Malaysian Higher Education students via Metaverse Environment

Abstract

In Malaysia, the severity of natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and earthquakes have increased in recent years, making disaster preparedness a crucial aspect of students’ lives. In the context of flood preparedness, accessibility to materials on flood is still in deficit and a future-ready learning approach is required. This is parallel to Sustainable Development Goals Goal 4 in promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. The objective of this research is twofold: to study flood preparedness among Malaysian higher education students and to propose a flood preparedness module for Malaysian higher education students via Metaverse environment. The module is developed using Spatial.io, an immersive shared AR platform. For this research, the module addresses flood which is presented via a 3-D virtual learning space. This beta version will opt for multiple-stage sampling method via a focus group comprising 10 PPSSAAS students. Then, UX Testing, and post-test are conducted to gauge the module usability and latent potentials. Based on the research, the use of metaverse for the flood preparedness module shows significant impact amongst the respondents. The finding from this research is hoped to enhance students’ knowledge and awareness of flood preparedness so students can care for themselves and be of help to others during an emergency.

Students’ Perception of Metaverses for Online Learning in Higher Education: Hype or Hope?

“…In the case of elementary schools, we only found one work, from Shu et al [54], who implemented a use case leveraging VR in South Korea. However, more implementations exist in the case of higher education; these involve several different countries, including South Korea [55][56][57], the USA [58], Indonesia [59], Pakistan [60], China [61], and Malaysia [62]. The studied course topics are diverse, and include health [58], engineering [55], physical education [57], humanities and languages [56,61], and even transversal topics such as flood preparedness [62].…”

“…However, more implementations exist in the case of higher education; these involve several different countries, including South Korea [55][56][57], the USA [58], Indonesia [59], Pakistan [60], China [61], and Malaysia [62]. The studied course topics are diverse, and include health [58], engineering [55], physical education [57], humanities and languages [56,61], and even transversal topics such as flood preparedness [62]. We would highlight here how several of these studies embrace the classification of four types of metaverses [57], and that others mention the concept of VR sickness [58], which was mentioned in the surveys referenced above.…”