4 Ways Blockchain Can Be Used In the Education System
The blockchain is the new buzzword in the IT sector for the past few years now. The amazing success of Bitcoin might have made you develop your interest in the blockchain technology. It is indeed a completely new, different as well as practical usage of cryptography and mathematical techniques. If we talk in further technical terms blockchain is it distributed database or you can say an online repository that can be accessed by anybody who can connect to the internet. This open, decentralized database can be used in handling any kinds of a transaction involving value, money, goods, property or even votes. This means that anyone with an internet connection can take part blockchain transactions without the need of any third party.
The innovative Blockchain Technology
You might have heard of Bitcoins before but this distributed database or blockchain is available in many other services also such as credits, badges, and qualifications. The uses of this technology are endless. In fact, a lot of researchers believe that the blockchain will soon be used for collecting taxes. Sending and transferring money across countries will become so easy with the blockchain technology.
Every transaction will be recorded in a public distributed ledger or a decentralized database thus the possibilities of a transactional fraud will also minimize to a great extent. The blockchain technology holds the potential to become a global, decentralized source of trust as it promises more secure, efficient as well as transparent methods of handling transactions.
The real estate, the stock exchange, cloud storage technology, messaging technology and authenticated voting are some of the bright possible fields in which the blockchain technology can be used. Another major sector where block chaining holds tremendous applications is the education industry. The rest of this article will highlight how the introduction of blockchain technology in the education sector will be advantages for the students as well as the educational institutions.
The various possibilities of blockchain Technology in the education field
- Creating a strong and better peer network
No matter how many educational forums or communication platforms may arise, a well-ordered system where tutors and students can connect with each other is still lacking in the education sector. The blockchain technology can bridge this gap and establish a better and transparent peer to peer network. That network will be much trustworthy and authentic.
The technology experts can create a network where students can connect with tutors from all over the world directly. The payments and interaction will be backed up by the blockchain technology. Hence we can expect it to be a much secure and reliable platform.
This may also take e-Learning to better horizons and new possibilities. Students will be able to interact with the tutors and seek online dissertation help easily with such a platform. They can learn new disciplines, advanced topics and basic concepts, everything on the same platform.
The students and teachers can connect for tutoring sessions and can decide their duration, fee, assignments and other terms there only. Block chaining can be used to keep the smart records of those agreements safe. This will completely eliminate the need for any third party in between thus saving cost, money and time of both the parties.
2. A solution to more credible credentials
Online education has become a part of the academic career to a great extent now. The educators are coming up with more online courses on various subjects and disciplines. With a rise in online education, the scenario of fake certifications and degrees has also increased. No matter how careful the educational institutions are there can be cases of fake credentials.
Block chaining can prove to be a good solution to this problem. The degrees that the learners would receive can also be saved virtually using the blockchain technology. This will thus reduce any chances of forgery of the original degree or the certifications that are issued by various educational institutions.
3. A global assessment system
You can consider this as a further enhancement of the above application of block chaining technology. Creating a virtual copy of the degrees and certifications can also be useful for the learners if they want to take admissions in a university or switch their jobs or even if they want to move in a new country. The blockchain technology will provide a secure way to save the documents online. Since the documents would be available online it will be much easier for the employers, immigration officers and the educational institutions to assess them thereby, enhancing the assessment process.
The Sony Global education has already made an initiative in this direction. They have developed a technology using block chaining for open sharing of academic records and other credentials. The University of Texas is developing a technology called Chainscript. Its main aim will be building an indisputable portfolio for students with the help of blockchain technology. The e-portfolio will contain a record of all the academic achievements of the students such as e-credits, micro-certifications, degrees and other competencies. This will cut down a lot of cost and paperwork involved at the universities during the issuing and verification of the certificates and degrees.
4. The introduction of cryptocurrency
The universities and educators are getting serious about making provisions to accept Bitcoins in terms of tuition fees. In fact, the King’s College in New York and the University of Nicosia has already begun to accept cryptocurrency as a method of payment for the tuition fees. Although there are a very few numbers of students in this category who have paid their fee via Bitcoins yes we can expect this to be the future of transactions in the education sector as well.
From the above application of block chaining technology in the education sector, it might be a little clear to you how vast possibilities this technology holds. This innovation will be relevant in all the sectors of the education industry whether it is students, institutions, schools, universities, online learning, corporate, apprenticeships, and knowledge bases. Introduction of the blockchain technology does not mean that the role of institutions will completely diminish from between the teachers and the students. It can always enhance the learning as well as teaching process but in the end, education will still be a matter of trust.
In other words, the reputation of a particular school or college will matter. The teaching style and knowledge of teachers will still be crucial no matter how transparent the learning platforms become. Moreover, the traditions and cultural stereotypes in education may still be a barrier to this innovation. The introduction of blockchain technology demands funds and that completely depends on a particular institution if they can invest accordingly or not. Therefore, we can say that the development is happening in the education sector but not at a very fast pace. What do you think? Can blockchain revolutionize the education industry?
