Benefits of Blockchain Technology in the Education System

Education is an integral part of our lives. It is also the foundation to newer technologies. Blockchain Technology is an example of such technology that can benefit the educational ecosystem. With the rise of the internet, educational materials are right on our fingertips: in our phones and computers. As such, two methods of education are such as eLearning (electronic) and mLearning (mobile learning) are gaining traction.

A Reuters report suggests the size of the global eLearning market is expected to grow from $176.12 billion in 2017 to reach $398.15 billion by 2026 with a CAGR of 9.5% (source). Emerging mLearning market USD37.60 billion by 2020 (source). Both the growth in global eLearning and mLearning can tell us that the demand for education is increasing. The internet has provided plenty with easy access to educational material in most topics today. Talk about the age of information.

Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions is forecast to be nearly $2.9 billion in 2019, an increase of 88.7% from the $1.5 billion spent in 2018. With a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 76.0%, IDC expects blockchain spending to grow over the 2018–2022 forecast period and total spending of $12.4 billion in 2022 (source).

“Implemented well, emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and process automation can help reduce the levels of university administration, cut costs and improve security and resilience.” KPMG

Why Blockchain Technology?

Blockchain technology will accelerate the end of a paper-based system for certificates. Educational Organisations can issue any kind of certificates such as qualification or records of achievement permanently and securely. Furthermore, a possible automation issuance and storage of the awards, recognition and transfer of credits. Storing and verifying a complete record of formal achievements throughout lifelong learning are also possible with the blockchain.

Learners can store their own evidence of formal or informal learning, share it with a desired audience, and ensure instant verification “Lifelong Learning Passport”. Institutions can also begin using Blockchain-based cryptocurrencies to facilitate payments involving grants and other types of funding as well as students paying for their education.

Digital smart contracts can securely expedite transactions between parties. As such, Blockchain’s distributed, peer-to-peer model can be a perfect complement to pool their resources for education. Managing and protecting digital intellectual property (IP) is another advantage with blockchain technology. This makes it ideal for researchers looking to create systems for schools, government organizations and companies. Thus, controlling the exposure of important information. Blockchain can allow educators to publish content openly as well as tracking any re-use, without putting limitations on the source material.

With Blockchain, the agreements of automatic transfer of credits can be written as smart-contracts. Upon fulfilment of the conditions of the contract, the credits would automatically be transferred. Learning activities could be registered on the Blockchain can become that much more interactive — and reputations built on more tangible matrices.

Who is Already Involved using Blockchain in Education?

In November’18 the Ministry of Education (MoE) of Malaysia announced the plan to use Blockchain technology to combat degree fraud. Thus, preserving the reputation and the integrity of Malaysian Universities as well as the rights of students. (source)

OpenCerts was co-developed by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Government Technology Agency (GovTech), as well as national educational movement SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and higher learning institution Ngee Ann Polytechnic. (source)

The University of Nicosia, Cyprus is the first school which uses Blockchain technology to manage students’ certificates received from MOOC platforms. (source)

Sony Global Education use the blockchain technology to create a global assessment platform to provide services for storing and managing degree information. (source)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Learning Machine company cooperated to design a digital badge for online learning education based on blockchain technology. (source)

The European Union has also expressed interest in using blockchain for education. The Special Commission believes that the technology is promising, and blockchain will be able to solve many problems. (source)

King’s College in New York already allow students to use bitcoin to fund their education. (source)

Education for Everyone (EFE) is an on-demand live-streaming service provider for knowledge transfer and education. It addresses United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 4, for quality education. To achieve quality education, they are providing affordable and accessible software to ensure equitable and inclusive quality education for lifelong learning.

Education For Everyone

According to Ambient Insight’s Analyst, spending on mobile learning (mLearning) in China will start to outpace US by 2019 (source). 195 million people in China use their phones to access mobile learning content on a monthly basis (source).

Schools, teachers and students can make the most of mobile internet accessibility and connect seamlessly over dispersed locations to achieve both income and learning outcomes with Education for Everyone (EFE). EFE thereby addresses the constraints of eLearning with a platform where learners can connect with educators in a seamless and intuitive ecosystem. As a result, EFE capitalising the rapidly growing demand of mLearning and enhances learning outcomes.

Disclaimer: This article above is purely for educational purposes. Therefore, it should not be used as financial advice or an indication that Moonwhale supports the aforementioned companies.

About me:

Iliya Zaki is the Head of Business Development and Marketing Officer for an STO Advisory Firm based in the U.S — Moonwhale Ventures.

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Benefits of Blockchain Technology in the Education System was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.