How Blockchain Will Change Education — Disrupting the Current Education Model

A blockchain is a distributed ledger system that stores data in permanent blocks of information, secured by advanced cryptographic functions. With blockchain being used across industries ranging from manufacturing to medicine, banking to logistics, it is only fair that its use in the education sector is being scaled up. The incorporation of blockchain in the education sector is expected to disrupt the current model we’re living with .

Change in the Quality of Education Involved

Implementation of blockchain technology will popularize educational institutions beyond the conventional brick-and-mortar schools and colleges. While modes of learning like MOOCs, online seminars and workshops are popular, a lot of learners do not pursue these sources seriously. A lot of people do not place high importance on learning from non-conventional sources. Blockchain technology should change that and facilitate peer-to-peer learning. Like-minded people will be able to form communities and share resources, knowledge and reviews for others to learn from a common platform.

This will not only accelerate learning tracks for people but will also improve quality of education from such sources. People will now be able to use the information in more practical scenarios. Since most of the learning today happens to be more theoretical and generic, a focussed platform that allows users to experiment with the knowledge they have gained and apply it to real-world problems will benefit all industries and the personnel involved. Furthermore, since data on a blockchain is widespread and can be accessed with minimal costs involved, education so provided will reach a wider audience, expectedly at a lower cost. Additionally, this will also increase the credibility on the scores offered by these online learning resources. Due to implementation of blockchain technology in the field, affordable good-quality education will become more feasible for a wider audience.

Source: http://www.fintechnews.org/10-ways-blockchain-could-be-used-in-education/

Disintermediation and Disaggregation of Higher Education

One of the main characteristic features of the blockchain technology is that it is distributed, decentralized and lacks a central authority. The current model of education is run by central governing bodies like universities, schools and education boards. These authorities are responsible for grading students on their academic performance, record and store their academic credentials and issue certificates validating their learning tracks when required.

With the advent of blockchain in this space, the blockchain ledger system will be used to store a students’ academic records. These records can then be viewed and validated by any organization like employers or universities across the world. This will not only reduce chances of malpractice and forgery of records, but will also reduce costs involved in getting documents like validated certifications, degrees and transcripts.

Besides verifying the credibility and authenticity of certificates, blockchain technology will also ensure there is no loss or theft of documents. The European Commission says, “Even if the institutions that issued the certificates were to close down, or if the entire system of education collapses, those certificates are still verifiable against the records stored in a blockchain.” Micro-accreditation (validation of credentials gained from non-conventional institutions) will be possible since blockchain will facilitate transfer of skills and credentials within the academic community. This will allow a novel model of education where learnings obtained from any source are not disregarded.

Summary

The incorporation of blockchain technology will help education to overcome regulatory barriers and the bureaucratic intricacies of the current model. While the exact scope of the tech in this space is unclear, it is claimed that blockchain will revolutionize all aspects of the education industry viz. teaching, learning, grading and transfer of documents. It is only a matter of time that the effects are visible at the grassroot level.

Originally published at peerbuds.