Blockchain has been a holy grail for the global economy. Built on transparency, safety, and convenience, blockchain has molded the success roadmap for many sectors, including education. Stakeholders of blockchain firms believe that blockchain can be a vital fuel to foster improvements in the education systems worldwide.
In an endeavor to follow these instincts, blockchain consulting company BlockchainArmy founder Erol User & Istanbul Aydin University earlier entered into a partnership to create a Blockchain Academy and Center in Turkey.
Chairman and Co-founder Erol User accepted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in June from the president of the Board of Trustees of Istanbul Aydin University, Dr. Mustafa Aydin, for this blockchain initiative. Such undertakings are being cultivated to serve several different purposes.
Digital certificates are the first breakthrough that educational institutions can undergo with blockchain.
A digital copy of the certificate will do away the problems of losing them and getting them reissued. Other obstacles, such as transferring credits, can also be eliminated with the help of blockchain.
Also, once the information is stored, it will be immutable, and hence it will be immune to any theft or modifications.
Blockchain can considerably lower the cost of obtaining an education. EIU.AC’s Dr. Edward insists on the ability of blockchain applications to change the face of the industries. The digital Tokens can do away with issues of transferability & affordability.
Blockchain can also be cost-efficient and scalable. Education universities and Institutions can save a load of money that they currently spend on data management and the legal formalities that accompany it. Blockchain can also enable the participants to have individual possession of the open-source data, cutting down expenses of digital systems.
Blockchain can even be employed in smart contracts. It can help execute agreements after set conditions are fulfilled. It can reduce the paperwork to a great extent.
The use case includes validating the presence of students through classes, gauge assignment completions, etc.
With blockchain, several courses can gain legitimacy with universally accessible documents and certificates. This can fuel the microtransactions based on courses.
The Massive Open Online Courses have already been on a substantial rise. Udacity, the MOOC provider, has a paying user base of 50,000 users. On the other hand, Coursera, in 2017, saw a 70% rise in its customers. These numbers will increase exponentially once digital legitimacy reaches the courses.
Another expense that education entails is the expense of credential management. OSUs let you stock all your credentials safely and credibly, making room for affordability and alternative education methods acceptable by the employers.
Also, OSUs build their affordable courses. By stocking certificates as well as credentials earned through OSUs on a decentralized Blockchain database, data credentials could be easily validated and made accessible. Hence, eliminating the possibilities of corruption in the education industry.
Talent management is another area where institutions tend to spend a lot. This includes training expenses as well as the expenses that are involved in maintaining records of achievements. As they are to be maintained forever, their management becomes a tough task.
Also, contemporary technologies tend to be more prone to cyber thefts. The blockchain hence offers a system that is open source and secure for this purpose. Students can keep them accessible lifelong even after their graduation.
While are just some unprecedented ways blockchain can transform the educational sector, there are going to be more as technology evolves. Hence, we can expect the phenomenon to go mainstream soon, followed by striking disruptions within the industries.