IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY FOR HIGHER

EDUCATION

Having highlighted the key trends accelerating and the significant challenges impeding
technology adoption in higher education, the panel proceeded to forecast the technological
developments, about six of them, which they believed to have potential relevance to teaching,
learning and creative inquiry in the future and also the time of adoption of these technologies.
Some were estimated to be adopted one year or less, some two to three years and the last four to
five years. Many of the technologies considered by the panel were not developed specifically for
education, but the panelists believed and agreed that they could be of great help in providing
solutions to problems in education practice.

BLOCKCHAIN

This is one of the technologies predicted by the panelist to have relevance to teaching, learning
and creative inquiry. Its time of adoption is forecast to be within four to five years.

WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN?

It is a growing list of records or data called blocks that are linked using cryptography principles
(i.e. chains). Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and
transaction. Cryptography is the art of protecting information by transforming (encrypting) it,
into an unreadable called cipher text. Only those who possess a secret key can decipher the
message into plain text. Cryptography is used to protect email messages, credit card information
and corporate data.

Blockchain is a distributed ledger, that provides a way for information to be recorded, verified
and shared by a community. A distributed ledger is a consensus of replicated, shared, and
synchronized digital data geographically spread across multiple sites, countries, or institution. A
blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for
internode communication and validating new blocks.

By design, a blockchain is resistant to modification of the data. Once recorded, the data in any
given block cannot be altered retroactively without alteration of all subsequent blocks, which
requires consensus of the network majority. The blockchain network has no central authority or
administrator. Since it is a shared and immutable ledger, the information in it is open for anyone
and everyone to see. Hence, anything that is built on the blockchain is by its very nature
permanent, transparent and searchable, which makes it possible for community members to view
transaction histories in their entirety.

Blockchain is just a simple way of passing information within a setting in a fully automated and
safe manner. It is best known for its connection to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.

TYPES OF RECORDS STORED ON BLOCKCHAINS

Blockchains are typically used to store records of:

1. Asset transactions
2. Smart contracts
3. Digital signatures and certificates

IMPLICATION FOR EDUCATION

According to the panel, the relationship between higher education and blockchain extends
along at least two dimensions. Colleges and universities are developing uses of blockchain that
can serve the administrative and educational functions of the institution. In higher education, the
legacy of blockchain might be what the technology inspired rather than the broad adoption of
blockchain technology itself.

Blockchain is seen as a general technology, one that will likely influence many
disciplines and business models. As a result, the demand for academic courses on blockchain
comes not only from computer science students but also from those studying business and law,
among others. The panelist believed that, blockchain could provide the means for individual
students to maintain an accurate record of their knowledge and skills. This could be invaluable,
particularly for students who transfer among several institutions or those who want to transition,
for example, from military service into higher education and the civilian workplace. Blockchain
can also support the growing list of ways that learning and skill acquisition are recognized, such
as badges, stackable credentials, MOOC certificates, and industry certifications. Its area of
application includes:

STUDENT RECORDS AND CREDENTIALISING

The use of blockchain in education will increase the possibility of personalizing education and
making formal education a lifelong activity, by making access to student’s certificates and
records very easy for potential employers interested in verifying the credentials. And since the
blockchain of the credentials are accessible anywhere, institutions do not need to travel or send
delegates to verify credentials, students can provide the details of their block and institutions can
carry out their verification process, while of course, not modifying the content of the block,
because it is immutable. An example of institutions that have used the blockchain technology is
MIT; Metropolitan State University of Denver developed FlexchainEdu, a flexible
credentialising system, connected to learning outcomes, mapped to relevant job skills verifiable
regardless of degree completion. BADGR and Mozilla Open Badge are also being used to
provide digital certifications to students in some prestigious academic institutions.

PARTNERSHIP PLATFORM

In the era where universities are collaborating and forming consortiums, Blockchain afford these
institutions the ease of transferring and sharing information amongst one another, reduces cost of
travelling around except on very important occasions, increases the speed and ensures
transparency of information processing; as it makes transfer of information very secure and fast.
Blockchain technology helps institutions who are members of a consortium to have access to the
data they need from other institutions once they have fulfilled the stated requirements. Smart
contracts are “self-executing” small computer programs stored on a blockchain, which will
perform a transaction under specified conditions

COURSE CURRICULA

Blockchain which is an emerging technology skill that employers will look out for over the
coming years, therefore, it will become imperative that students have the knowledge of
blockchain programing and as such, should be incorporated into the curriculum.

Other areas it is being used are;

 Copyright and digital rights protection,

 Innovation learning platform.

REFERENCES

Kevin R. (2019). 5 ways Blockchain is revolutionizing higher education. Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2019/01/02/5-ways-blockchain-is-revolutionizing-
higher-education/#3441572b7c41

Schmidt P. (2015). Certificates, reputation, and the blockchain. MIT Media Lab. Retrieved from
https://medium.com/mit-media-lab/certificates-reputation-and-the-blockchain-
aee03622426f