BitDegree, a blockchain-enabled e-learning platform, has announced the Learnoverse, a crypto learning metaverse. The company aims to transform traditional learning methods with concepts native to the crypto community, such as Play2Earn, airdrops and ICOs. The first stage of the Learnoverse is scheduled for the second half of 2022.
“We use crypto-native tools and concepts to reinvent the learning experience. Imagine getting paid to learn about crypto or ICOs for new courses. The recent advances in Play2Earn and metaverses have shown how these concepts can be feasible in learning. Moreover, our expertise in EdTech applied to crypto learning has unlocked opportunities not possible in traditional education. The leading EdTech thinkers are toying with the “GPS for learning” well, we will build an entire collaborative world for learning simply because the crypto community is ready for it,” said Danielius Stasiulis, CEO of BitDegre.
Learnoverse is transforming BitDegree from being a “crypto udemy” into a “crypto-enabled world of warcraft for crypto learning.” While the complete transition can take up to three years, the Learn&Earn token economy, NFT-based avatars, course cards, and course maps will be available by 2022.
A gamified learning space
According to BitDegree, the Learnoverse will be a game-like virtual world centred on CryptoDegree City. It will be divided into topic-focused districts, and each building will represent a course.
Students will be able to roam the Learnoverse searching for exciting content, explore courses by entering buildings, and progress by rising through the buildings’ floors. They can earn tokens through learning and eventually obtain crypto-degrees, thus endowing them with work opportunities in web3.
Instructors will be able to purchase NFT land and construct standardised NFT buildings to represent their courses. Course material will be uploaded and managed through BitDegree’s e-learning platform. Inside the Learnoverse, instructors will be able to customise their facades to make them more attractive to prospective learners.
Crypto companies, brands, and influencers will have the opportunity to build their dedicated courses and buildings. They will also be able to use their tokens and NFTs to sponsor and promote particular courses and advertise themselves to attract users and talent alike.
Earn while learning
The Learnoverse will transform ‘Play2Earn’ into ‘Learn&Earn’ by paying out tokens to its users for their learning efforts. This concept is already successfully implemented by BitDegree. Crypto companies use “Learndrops” to raise awareness among the crypto community and provide token rewards for completing a course related to their products.
Learnoverse will use the same principle to compensate instructors. They will be reimbursed based on how people use their educational content, similar to the operations of Netflix. The more learners the course serves, the more the instructor will earn. Most online educators struggle to earn with paid content due to the marketing aspect involved, so this concept eliminates the friction.
This is all made possible thanks to the interest of crypto companies looking to acquire and educate users, sponsor learning, and present themselves to the crypto community. The goals of all parties will be aligned through the Learn&Earn token economy, which distributes rewards.
The Learnoverse provides opportunities for “status development” for all parties by allowing them to attain higher levels. Levelling up will enable students to upgrade their avatars with personalised NFTs acquired upon course completion. Instructors, influencers, and brands will be able to boost their courses-buildings.
Henceforth, this status becomes a condition for social interaction between learners, instructors, influencers, and brands. For example, course alumni can access special instructor-led events. In other cases, users could access particular hiring events upon reaching a specific level.
Towards the future of learning
Today, only a few startups globally offer crypto-native education. The most notable among them is on-chain “learn-by-doing” crypto educator ‘rabbithole.gg’, which raised $20m in February 2022 in a funding round led by Greylock. Other crypto metaverses, such as The Sandbox and Bloktopia, consider education one of their use cases, albeit minor, as gameplay always comes first.
BitDegree’s Learnoverse sits at the intersection of these two crypto-native education categories. It combines a blockchain-enabled EdTech platform with the metaverse, the gameplay of which is learning.
“BitDegree looks to follow in the footsteps of The Sandbox and Axie Infinity in user acquisition to become the number one crypto learning metaverse, helping the crypto community to onboard the next billion users in crypto-native, exciting ways”, said D. Stasiulis.
