Bitcoin. Ethereum. Online Currency. We have all heard these names before. We know that digital currency will revolutionize the face of our world. What we don’t know is that virtual currencies and blockchain technology has the potential to transform various industries, including the education sector.
From issuing online credentials to letting pupils share verified copies of their credentials with potential employers, the influence and effects of DLT are going to be everywhere. Educational blockchain and cryptocurrency are going to change the world of education.
Let’s see a few ways in which DLT is going to transform the sector.
Expand File Storing & Improve Record Keeping
The most promising use of the online ledger in higher education and schooling is record keeping. From degrees to diplomas and certificates, with the help of this tech, schools can make the credentials online and place them under the control of the learner.
This nullifies the need for intermediaries to verify the authenticity of the degrees. Moreover, it could also be used for the accreditation of various programs and institutes, which is a complex procedure in several countries.
Apart from this, it can be used for the verification of the qualifications of the teachers, professors, lab staff, etc. at the schools. Moreover, the technology can also solve many issues faced with intellectual property issues.
For instance, DLT can determine if an invention or idea is unique. It can also be used to register patents, copyrights, etc. When it comes to academic transcripts, issuing them is a time-consuming job, explains Dean Raven, data science analyst at papersowl.com. Each grade needs to be verified manually before the transcript or degree is issued. This can be solved if institutes turn to new tech.
Instead of asking for a paper diploma or degree, employers can get access to their online diploma through a link. This is not a new thing and is already being done. The famous MIT has been issuing digital diplomas to their pupils since 2017. They have also issued participation certificates using blockchain from the MIT media lab. This has reduced issues such as fake diplomas, fake CVs, etc. and replaced them with smart contracts.
Achievement Awards
University diplomas based on the blockchain are a gigantic leap forward, but with the help of this tech, a virtual transcript of individuals can be created. All the records and individual academic achievements of a person can be available and this verifiable document reduces CV fraud, amongst plenty other things.
This will help to streamline various student transfers between schools and will make moving from one state to another a lot less complex. Education blockchain initiative enables multiple institutions to use advanced educational technology and add individual academic achievements to a single open standard platform accessible to all using blockchain education techniques. Moreover, another issue arises when a pupil moves from one state to another. Let’s say that he was enrolled in the Algebra course in one state and now will be enrolled in the same course in the other state.
However, how would we know that both courses have the same course content? After all, algebra is a vast subject with loads of topics and sub-topics. At the K-12 level, comparing this is a tedious task.
You can only imagine what a nightmare it becomes when we compare courses at different universities and that too, manually. Blockchain is the savior here as well! You can use blockchains to create open source software and information accessible to people all around the globe.
Integrate Online Lessons and Courses – Teaching and Storage Space
Creating lessons, tests, quizzes, etc. is a lot of work for the teaching staff. With the help of DLT, all of this can be carried out on its own. A teacher can create a quiz, assign a task, and then use this tech to verify when the task has been finished, easily evaluating the performance of pupils.
Moreover, when it comes to storage space and media lab, distributed ledger technologies are very useful. Many institutes can’t afford to buy expensive cloud storage for all the learning data. Blockchain provides a seamless and affordable file storage option.From sony global education website that uses blockchain tech to store and share learning data safely, to a global math challenge using a blockchain platform to continue the innovation challenge, this tech is here to stay.
Make Studies More Accessible
When it comes to professional CVs, there is a lot of information that people leave out, but which can be useful for organizations. For instance, if you are a medical doctor, you will probably leave out the fact that you can easily set up computer networks, are a trained cook, or can write amazing short stories.
However, if you create an online profile, with all your information in it, it becomes very easy for the companies to vet out what kind of a person you are, and whether you are a fit for them or not.
This opens a lot of doors and opportunities for young folks out there looking for jobs in this tough job market. You don’t have to send out applications to thousands of companies – they will all come looking for you, if you have the required skill set!
Seamless payments
Processing student payments is a long procedure. It involves pupils, parents, several scholarships granting organizations, governments, financial institutes, etc. and DLT makes all of this complex process a whole lot easier.
With the help of blockchain tech, students will be able to create their own crypto funds that they can then use to make payments. Although this is going to happen in the days to come and not many schools are taking crypto as payment these days, it is going to be the wave of the future we are all waiting for in 2021.
No one can deny blockchain’s importance when it comes to the global education system. Ledger technology is providing opportunities to educational institutions and giving them an open challenge to move towards innovation and help their students achieve their lifelong learning goals.
