NFTs In Education
The Early Renaissance
We are currently experiencing a new renaissance in the art world, and it goes by the acronym ‘NFT’. And just like the European Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries included radical shifts in the art world, so too, is the art world at the center of another cultural phenomenon.
But what makes an NFT so revolutionary?
As Kevin Kelly likes to say, the internet is largely a big copy machine. Everything online is copied and shared, and artistic integrity is often murky. But for the first time, creators of digital assets can accurately price and distribute their work, and consumers can purchase and own a digital asset. More importantly, this digital exchange is being driven by smart contracts, laying the foundation for a new kind of digital economy.
Essentially, NFTs are making digital assets valuable by classifying the originality and rarity of the asset — defining it as distinct from digital copies.
What is an NFT?
An NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a unique, immutable digitized, and encrypted token that is created and stored using blockchain technology. Therefore it is not owned or distributed by a tech company, but by digital content creators.
If you want to read a good primer on NFTs, I would recommend this article by OpenSea:
https://blog.opensea.io/guides/non-fungible-tokens/
Today’s NFT use cases
Right now, the NFT space is booming with digital collectibles. Millions of dollars (in crypto-currency) are being earned by artists, fashion designers, game developers, filmmakers, photographers, and sports enthusiasts via selling their work in NFT marketplaces.
But crypto-collectibles are not the only area of interest around NFTs, here is a interesting diagram from 101Blockchains that details some current use cases:
Click here for a larger view
While this is all in the very early stage right now, it’s interesting to speculate how NFTs will mature in the coming years. The area that is most interesting to me is the learning and education space, so I’d like to throw out some thoughts, really just sketches of what is possible.
NFTs in Education
Micro-credentials
Micro-credentials are a form of certification earned by proving competence in a specific skill. While certificates are generally offered in printed form or as a digital badge, the biggest challenge has always been verification, as well as assessing the value of the credential.
But what if Universities, schools, and/or online programs can offer certificates in the form of tokens (NFT)? This would in many ways substantiate the achievement and make it easier to validate the claim.
Eventually, all forms of credentialing like diplomas, degrees, and PHDs can also be tokenized, and likely stored in some kind of digital wallet that serves as a person’s educational profile.
Transcripts and Records
Not just awards or certifications, but school transcripts can be captured in tokens, which can also include grades, reports, and yearly achievements. Right now, if an employee or school wanted to see my college transcript, I would have to call the school and pay a fee to have it sent to them. In the US, Highschool seniors pay fees to have SATs, and/or ACTs sent to each college of interest.
It’s not so much the fees that are the problem, the issue is that student accomplishments in the form of transcripts, grades, reports, achievements should really be owned by the students, not the institutions. They should be part of the student’s educational profile, and with NFTs, this is now possible.
Scholarships and Entitlements
Tokens can also be used for utility purposes, so for example, a University could provide NFTs that include entitlements like a free online course, tickets to events, access to resources, tutoring sessions, etc..
The NFTs can also be tied to options around scholarship opportunities, or discount offerings. So buying University-based tokens could put them in a pool for available scholarships.
I think this area needs to be explored, but I can envision an academic marketplace that includes top universities and colleges where educational offerings are available as NFTs.
Masterclass and Content Creation
Content creators who are interested in offering courses, lessons, video lectures, etc.. can really benefit from NFTs. If a content creator develops a course and sells it to a marketplace or university, they can add-in options that include royalties from secondary sales.
For example, today, after the first sale of a textbook to a student, that textbook then enters a secondary marketplace where it continues to be resold, but the publisher or author never get a cut from the secondary sales. NFTs make it possible by providing royalty options, as every transaction is recorded in a blockchain ledger.
Learning Experiences
This may be sound strange, but with an NFT, it is also possible to own ‘moments’ in time. This is what NBA top shot is doing by selling moments in basketball games; CNN has also jumped on this by selling moments in history:
https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2021/06/16/cnn-makes-moments-from-history-available-for-purchase-with-nfts/
Learning as we know it, is not just about passing grades or accrued knowledge but is as its core ‘experiential.’ The first time a mechanic takes apart an engine and puts it together again is when he/she has really learned how an engine works. The first time a surgeon operates; a dancer completes a routine on stage; a fireman takes out a fire, a salesman makes his first sale, etc… These are learning moments.
What if these moments can be captured as NFTs?
What if I can look at a person’s digital profile and in the form of tokens, get a full picture of his/her learned history. Is this the true value of lifelong learning?
In Conclusion
We are at the very beginning of the NFT renaissance, and it is likely that NFTs will radically shape the landscape of a new digital economy. I have just touched on some potential use cases for NFTs as applied to education, but it will be really interesting to see how that evolution progresses.
