Do you wish to understand how Blockchain will change the directions in the education industry? Here is what you need to know.
Blockchain is a technology that does not need much of an introduction in the present age, but I will still give one for those who do not know much about this unconventional invention that took place almost a decade ago.
Blockchain technology is a publicly accessible ledger that is trustworthy, transparent and eliminates the need of a central authority which enables the members of the network to transmit the ownership of components of value with the help of public-key encryption in addition to proof of work methodologies. It is basically a chain of blocks that are connected by cryptography. All the blocks contain the cryptographic hash of the last block, besides transactional data and a timestamp.
The distinctive characteristic that makes Blockchain a technological marvel is that it doesn’t allow the data to be monkeyed around as it endorses a peer-to-peer network that collaboratively follows a protocol for authorizing new blocks and inter-node communication.
Through, this innovative technology was invented to create an immutable system of transactions for the popular cryptocurrency called Bitcoin, Blockchain is rapidly breaking into multiple sectors of the economy. Businesses are projected to invest $2.9 billion on this revolutionary technology which is a 90% hike from last year, as per a report of IDC.
Blockchain in Education
With its initial public image attached to the popularity of bitcoin, blockchain’s application was perceived to be most appropriate for the field of finance, however, entrepreneurs have begun to believe that this creation has the power to change the face of various other industries.
In this article, I will discuss the positive transformation that blockchain credentialing can bring to the education sector. It is quite evident that schools are adopting newer ways to record the data of students. Now, they don't rely on paper documents and are starting to move towards digital records.
But, one handicap that still remains with this whole system is that the school is still the primary record keeper for student’s academic information and in case, a student needs to access their official records, they are required to get involved in a complex, slow and expensive procedure. This is exactly what blockchain credentialing can help the education industry to get rid of by enabling students to keep as well as share their data directly with other people in a tamperproof, reliable and secure manner. Now, they don't rely on paper documents and are starting to move towards digital records. This is exactly what blockchain credentialing can help the education industry to get rid of by enabling students to keep as well as share their data directly with other people in a tamperproof, reliable and secure manner.
The Birth of Blockchain-Enabled Mobile Apps
There has been a rise in mobile apps that can manage crypto keys in the background. Like you add friends in any other app, you can add students in these. This activity will provide the school with their names, email IDs and public key to establish a strong bond between them. When the school begins to issue certificates, a record of the transactions is stored in the blockchain enabling the student to access the certificate within the mobile app. This ensures that the copy of the certification is not only with the school, but also is held by the student.
Now as the student attempts to apply for jobs, they can just send the prospective employer a link to their certification and the company’s HR system can utilize a different Blockchain verification service for confirming the claim made by the student. By using a separate verification service, the company can ensure that the blockchain certificate is not a fake. In this case, the verification process will be free from the involvement of any school, certifying institution or vendor.
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