Blockchain in education has a plenty number of possibilities, applications, and limitations

Blockchain has been widely debated as the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, and more recently as a data storage option that has the potential to have a large, positive influence in untapped areas including manufacturing, healthcare, and education. Blockchain is a decentralized, unchangeable database made up of a series of “blocks” that record data such as transaction dates, timings, amounts, and/or participants. There are three segments of this technology— blockchain for teachers, blockchain for students and blockchain in education.

Possibilities: Using blockchain in education, maybe enhanced in a variety of ways.

Learners’ empowerment

The data connected with a student’s identification is owned by the student, not by a central administrator such as a university. Students may save their lifetime learning data, completely own it, and decide who gets access to it. Learners may then show that the qualifications on their resumes are correct and have greater control over what prospective employers can see. Even when students benefit from digital “wallets” where they can store and share all of their learning data with various parties, they still benefit from the support of their professors, ensuring that they are not alone in their learning journeys.

Enhancing security and efficiency for educational institutions, companies, and students

Blockchain for students can protect students’ data by ensuring their identification, privacy, and security. Blockchain provides security and validity by assuring immutability through its hash chain. Students, for example, cannot change prior educational certifications recorded on the public ledger, but they may do so simply with paper records. Furthermore, because blockchain in educational institutions does not store data, but rather a hash of it, anonymity is maintained. Before being stored on the blockchain in educational institutions, the data might be encrypted if desired.

Integrating trust and transparency

Employers can be certain that job applicants have the required abilities to thrive in the industry since blockchain in education assures that students cannot modify their grades, degrees, or certifications. As a result, blockchain is transformed into a trust anchor of one truth for credentials. Additionally, this anchor gives job seekers and companies the ability to make better connections.

Uses:

Identity management and certificates

Students’ academic records become public and freely shareable with companies and institutions for further personal development possibilities thanks to this transparent platform. In this approach, based on individual student learning histories, the certified educational timeline may be utilized to generate forecasts of future potential. Blockchain in educational institutions offers accredited courses through verifiable certificates and issue their students’ bachelor’s or associate degrees in a digital format on the blockchain alongside a traditional paper format are examples of certificates and identity management blockchain applications.

Improving and encouraging lifelong learning

Blockchain for teachers may potentially be used in the educational process to make teaching and learning more interesting and enjoyable. Many private efforts attempt to use blockchain in education to improve the effectiveness and engagement of learning and teaching processes for both learners and content producers. Blockchain for students can help in improving and encouraging lifelong learning.

Limitations:

Protection

Though one of blockchain‘s distinguishing characteristics is security, this does not imply that it is impenetrable. Because the data kept on the ledger is so sensitive – students’ educational records and academic credentials – institutions must be careful what data they keep and how they preserve it. It might be difficult to comply with state and federal data protection requirements. Universities may need to use private or permissioned blockchains, or encrypt data on the blockchain, to incorporate tighter privacy protections.

Scalability

Educational institutions have a lot of data about their students and graduates, which might make blockchain scalability a problem. Because each transaction requires peer-to-peer verification, the number of blocks required grows as the breadth of data included grows. This slows down the pace of transactions on the blockchain. This can be a severe hurdle if implemented widely. Permissioned blockchains, on the other hand, have a greater transaction rate per second than permissionless blockchains.

Rate of adoption

Blockchain, like other technology before it, can only function if enough institutions and employers trust it; graduates will only profit from ownership of their credentials if the schools or firms to whom they are applying recognize their legitimacy. However, with hundreds of institutions now issuing and recognizing blockchain credentials, as well as a network of job sites like Upwork and ZipRecruiter encouraging their use, they may soon become the norm rather than the exception.

Cost

Although it can save money in other areas, adopting and deploying new technology is expensive. The cost of processing power and the cost of upgrading current infrastructure may quickly mount up. Furthermore, many institutions may lack the expertise and skills required to handle student data on a blockchain platform, necessitating the expenditure of both money and time in training school administrators on how to utilize the technology.

It’s difficult to say whether or not blockchain will have a substantial and long-term influence on education. Unless major multinationals and/or governments begin to utilize and respect digital credentials shortly, academic digital credentials may go extinct in five years. The demand for a trustworthy, immutable record of learning accreditations will be driven by the notion of lifelong education, or continually acquiring new skills and upgrading existing information. In a world characterized by rapid technological advancement, lifelong education is becoming increasingly important, and the need for blockchain-based credentials may grow.