Buzzword Decoder: How Blockchain Affects eLearning

Blockchain technology is commonly associated withcryptocurrencies—the best known of which is Bitcoin. However, the technologyhas applications that extend far beyond the financial realm, and blockchain isincreasingly seen as a potential game-changer in education, especiallyeLearning. Understanding what blockchain is can help eLearning professionalsunderstand how blockchain affects eLearning.

Blockchain powers distributed ledgers

Blockchain technology is the foundation of a distributedledger system. A distributed ledger is a record of transactions or contractsthat is maintained in a decentralized format.

Throughout human history, records, deeds, financialtransactions, and more have been recorded in ledgers. Though paper ledgers havegiven way to computerized ledgers, the central control aspect has generally beenmaintained. Blockchain could change that. With blockchain, it’s possible todecentralize control of a ledger, which offers numerous benefits relevant to educators,learners, and educational institutions.

In a blockchain-based distributed ledger system, records ofa transaction are maintained—and simultaneously updated—in multiple,potentially thousands of, locations. Each member maintains a copy and participatesin validating changes. Changes are tracked: Each update of a record adds a“block” to the “chain” of information that makes up the record, forming the“blockchain.” The blockchain is a permanent, searchable record of the entirehistory of the entry or transaction.

Unlike a centrally controlled ledger, though, more than oneperson can work on or make changes to a record in a distributed ledger. And,depending on the rules set for the ledger, multiple users can work on a ledgersimultaneously, which can both increase accountability and enhancecollaboration. Individuals’ names are not associated with records, furtherenhancing security.

The distributed nature of a decentralized ledger makes ithard to create fake records or gain unauthorized access. If the ledger ishacked, all copies, around the world, would have to be compromised at the sametime and in the same way, which is extremely unlikely. Illicit or unauthorizedchanges can easily be detected, since each change creates a new block, and allindividuals with access to the ledger can see when and how a change was entered.

A distributed ledger can be open to anyone, or it can be setup with strict access criteria. A middle-ground option would allow more peopleto see records while permitting fewer credentialed members to make and validatechanges. Data are protected using cryptographic signatures and secure keys,which regulate access. This takes control and the power to make changes out ofthe hands of a single individual or entity.

Using distributed ledgers for eLearning credentials

Job applicants, students pursuing advanced education, andimmigrants, among others, often need to prove that they have the educational orskills-based credentialsthey claim. In the era of centralized, paper-based credentials, this has meantprocuring an “official” transcript of one’s educational accomplishments andproviding it to the requesting organization. If a person’s university has beendestroyed or a school has closed, if a refugee is fleeing a war-torn country,if the registrar’s office is closed—the credentials might not be availableimmediately, easily, or ever. However, if the credentials were available on adecentralized system, a distributed ledger for example, the learner couldalways access them. The learner’s employer could easily verify that the learnerhas completed coursework as claimed—and could verify that the educationalinstitution providing the credentials is legitimate and is itself accredited.

A distributed ledger system has the potential to transformthe world of academic credentials as it opens up the possibility of a robustglobal system of secure, accessible, and verifiable credentials for skills,coursework, and other forms of knowledge. These credentials include academicdegrees, badgesor certificates, or even peer-awarded assessments of a skill.

Corporations and governments are already using blockchainfor non-financial purposes. For example, the national identity card program inEstonia is based on blockchain, and Kodak is using the technology to trackintellectual property rights.

Use cases for blockchain in education

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission released a study inSeptember 2017 that explains blockchain technology and assesses its potentialeffects and uses in the educational realm. The report includes several usecases, while also emphasizing that the use of the technology is in its infancyand that many more use cases are likely to emerge as educators gain a deeperunderstanding of how to apply blockchain in education.

Proposed use cases primarily center on awarding,transferring, and securing digital credentials, as well as on verification of alearner’s or an institution’s credentials. Describing the plethora ofskills-based digital credentials available via social media, corporations, and“e-portfolio companies” as “a digital counterpart to a box full of papercertificates,” for example, the report cites the advantages of an instantlyverifiable blockchain of digital credentials that the learner could access andany potential employer could verify. The report also describes the use ofsimilar blockchains in scenarios such as transferring credits betweeneducational institutions; accessing these credits to assess the skills oflearners, employees, or instructors; and using blockchain to verify institutionalaccreditations.

The potential use cases for blockchain in education extendbeyond credentialing, though, and include collaboration on and tracking ofintellectual property, ranging from music to academic research and more,according to the report. Publication of a work, such as a research paper, couldinclude verifiable blocks that record references used to develop it, forexample. In addition, authors or artists scattered globally could collaborateon and share access to creative works. Other suggested use cases hearken backto blockchain’s origin as a technology for validating financial transactions:Student tuition payments, as well as funding grants to students or to educationinstitutions, could be made using blockchain, for instance.

The future of blockchain in education

 The JCR reportconcludes with a key finding: The future of blockchain relies upon openness.“Only ‘fully open’ blockchain implementations can reach the real goals andpromise of blockchain in education.” The report stipulates three criteria ofopen implementations.

• Recipientownership: The learner, rather than the educational institution, owns hisor her credentials—by controlling the private keys—and can manage and share thosecredentials without needing to call upon the educational institution.
• Vendorindependence: A record owner can share, move, or verify a record withoutcalling upon a vendor. MIT Media Lab and Learning Machine have developed anopen standard, Blockcerts, forissuing and verifying credentials. The goal of Blockcerts is to avoid astandards war that could lock educational institutions and other organizationsinto using particular digital credential vendors and their proprietary standards.
• Decentralizedverification: Taking ownership, control, and security from an individual orinstitution and placing it in a decentralized ledger makes counterfeitingcredentials difficult or impossible because cryptographic algorithms—notindividual humans—guarantee that approved transactions or ledger entries cannotbe altered once they have been validated.

Naturally, some institutions and corporations—those withproprietary certification schemes, for example—might oppose these goals. Thereport states that “blockchain-based ledgers have the potential to disrupt thekey technology that underpins an industry currently worth $2.7 billion.” Thusthe future of blockchain in education is as yet undetermined and open both toinnovative ideas, including further development and adoption of an openstandard—and to the efforts of organizations and companies seeking to protectvested interests and maintain their leverage in this lucrative market by“creating ‘partial’ and hybrid implementations which allow them to retaincontrol of the ledgers, while still offering other advantages of the technologysuch as cost savings.” A key goal of the report is to encourage widerparticipation in the discussion—and determination— of how blockchain affectseLearning.

References

Driesen, Ger. “What does blockchain mean for learning?” ANewSpring. 17 October 2017.

Grech, Alexander, and Anthony F. Camilleri. Blockchain in Education. JointResearch Centre, European Commission. 2017.

Investopedia. “Distributed Ledgers.”

Rosic, Ameer. “What is Blockchain Technology? A Step-by-Step Guide For Beginners.” Blockgeeks. 2017.

Tsukayama, Hayley. “How the technology behind bitcoin could change your life, even if you never buy a single coin.” The Washington Post.10 January 2018.