SXSW 2019: Blockchains in the Educational System
One of the technologies that have taken the hardest hit since last SXSW is the Blockchain area and especially the case of Cryptocurrencies and ICO´s. But this doesn´t mean that the technology behind Blockchain solutions is not maturing and that development has stopped. In fact, it has been quite interesting to hear how this technology is being utilized and tested to solve some of the larger issues in the educational area.
Andrew Linford from Novo Ed and Tyler Samstag from Allegheny Intermediate Unit both touched on the area in their presentations at the SXSW EDU conference.
Tyler highlighted six reasons why this technology is relevant for the Educational System:
- It gives room for self-sovereignty
- It creates Transparency
- It´s Immutable
- It Disintermediates
- It creates trust
- It allows for new ways of collaboration
One way to use this technology is for distributing certificates or exam papers. When they are delivered in a Blockchain format, you will not be able to change them or to tamper with them and neither will it be possible to make false versions of exam papers.
MIT is already doing this today
Another example is the platform called GreenLight that allows students to store and share their evidence of lifelong learning achievements.
A similar platform has already been developed for programmers to show their skills, it is called Indorse
The future of Blockchain in education
Three interesting future scenarios where highlighted during the presentations:
Schools as dynamic learning ecosystems
- where achievements are updated in my personal record dynamically, so I always have a place where my data is stored in a trusted, secure but sharable way.
Creating a professional learning passport for teachers
- so they can store and show their track record when moving from one school to another or even between states or countries.
Creating room for collective decision making
- supporting decentralization by allowing for new ways of collaboration through the use of smart contracts.
If you want to read up on why Blockchain technology is still extremely relevant and important, then IDEO´s article called Why Designers Need to Start Thinking About Blockchain is a great place to start.
