As part of the 15th anniversary of the Oportunidades program of the Gloria Kriete Foundation and through an alliance with the NGO InnovaSpace and weSpark company, El Salvador will have the first Metaverse science school on Mars. A place called "Oportunidad-X" where students will be able to explore the educational possibilities of the Metaverse.
Through the metaverse, Oportunidad-X aims to take immersive education to a higher level and promote new ways of learning to stimulate the minds of young people and foster their curiosity for the careers of the future.
In this groundbreaking virtual educational universe, visitors will be able to move around and interact with others through their avatars. This parallel world will provide a highly agile and almost life-like level of communication and interaction, making distance learning more accessible and human for students.
"With Oportunidad-X, we want to revolutionize the way students learn by providing them with a realistic and immersive environment to explore. Such a space will allow them to develop problem-solving skills and enhance their creativity. With the educational tools of our Oportunidades program and the educational and technological support of our partners, we are offering the first science school in the metaverse, an invaluable asset for educators and students alike," said Juana Jule, General Director of the Oportunidades program and Executive Director of the Fundación Gloria Kriete.
The use of technology in education, including online classes, virtual reality for educational purposes, and other related resources, has grown rapidly because of the pandemic. "Thanks to technology, it is possible to give students the feeling that they are studying and exploring another planet," explains Jorge Zaun Koberl, the weSpark engineer and developer who implemented much of the School on Mars.
In recent years, the Gloria Kriete Foundation has been innovating education in the country, introducing online educational platforms, and promoting STEAM and technological learning. The Metaverse is the next step in this process, and in Oportunidad-X, the students of the Program will be able to show their progress in technology and their STEAM projects. Science, technology, or mathematics will undoubtedly become much more understandable and accessible.
"Have you ever dreamed of studying on Mars? You could be one step closer with Oportunidad-X, the first metaverse science school simulated on Martian soil at the touch of a button. InnovaSpace is proud to be part of this groundbreaking, creative and high-tech scientific space project. This is a giant leap for the future of education," added Thais Russomano, MD, MSc, PhD, InnovaSpace founder and FGK partner.
The metaverse does not refer to a particular technology with a specific use but rather to a wide range of technologies that could have new uses and purposes never seen before. Eric Ravenscraft, product writer for Wired magazine and content generator for The New York Times, suggests a mental exercise to help us better understand this idea. "If you mentally replace the term metaverse with the term cyberspace, ninety percent of the time the meaning will be the same." Ravenscraft explains that we refer to the metaverse as a way of trying to name or understand what the next step will be in what we know as cyberspace, or the set of technologies we rely on most and that help shape our experience and the reality we create.
"Websites will stop being flat pages and transform into immersive 3D worlds. The people who decide today to start creating these worlds will be the ones who build the metaverse of tomorrow," explained Nelson Inno, founder, and CEO of weSpark, who led the design and modeling of the first science school on Mars, which is currently being launched.
Learning through innovative technologies is a key objective of the Oportunidades program, with a focus on using cutting-edge technologies to strengthen and diversify education through relational, immersive, and inclusive experiences. Technology will engage students in new and unique ways, providing them with the opportunity to access live virtual classrooms with other students.
“Throughout the pandemic, our online training courses successfully ensured that our students never missed a day of learning. We believe that the use of online and virtual reality technologies can enrich the educational experience we offer, and that hybrid learning is here to stay. We will continue to embrace new technologies and find innovative ways to enhance and improve the learning experience for our students," added Juana Jule.
The Gloria Kriete Foundation created the Oportunidades program 16 years ago with the mission of creating integral citizens through free, quality, and innovative education. Young Salvadorans who wish to apply for Oportunidades can do so at: https://seleccionoportunidades.org/
Oportunidades is a program that has developed a unique philosophy that combines vocational-professional orientation with “CRIARSE” values, citizenship training, and employability certification, a formula that has benefited more than 3,600 young people in El Salvador and continues to impact lives, families, communities, and society by transforming education in the country.
About the Gloria Kriete Foundation:
Over the past 17 years, the Gloria Kriete Foundation has become one of the most impactful philanthropic initiatives with the greatest social impact in El Salvador, with a unique focus on working for the most vulnerable populations through education and health care. The Foundation accomplishes this through a combination of its own initiatives and by supporting other organizations dedicated to improving the well-being of Salvadoran families, with the mission of building a more caring society. Established in December 2004, the Foundation has impacted more than 3,200,000 people through its four pillars: Education, Vocational Training, Community Development, and Health. Its vision is to go beyond altruism, and through initiatives such as the Helping Those Who Help Award, it magnifies the impact of various social initiatives, spreading hope and promoting gratitude, solidarity, integrity, sustainability, cooperation, and transparency, hand in hand with our team and our strategic allies.
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Information about weSpark:
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The Oportunidades team provides these young people with all the necessary tools to set them on a path of excellence that begins with a comprehensive education and lasts throughout their lives.
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