December 15, 2017 at 11:16Educational blockchain
With the increasing popularity of Bitcoin, everyone is hearing such words as “blockchain”, “cryptocurrencies”, “smart contract” and others. Everyone who is not lazy opens their ICOs (initial offer of coins). However, you should not treat cryptocurrency and blockchain only as a way of earning and currency.
Today, the distributed blockchain database is increasingly being integrated into document storage and control systems. The advantage of this technology is the lack of practical ability to manipulate data recorded in the system, due to the fact that information can only be added to the database, but not overwritten. At the same time, the truth of the document is easily traced, since everyone sees who it was written to on the blockchain. Along with the identity card and the banking sector, “Cryptorevolution” did not bypass the education system.
2017 was the starting point of cryptolization of education. The first to officially use the blockchain to store their diplomas and certificates was the University of Nicosia . Importantly, it also became the first university to accept Bitcoin as payment. Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC) of the University of Nicosia are available in 83 countries around the world. He is also a member of the European Universities Association (EUA) and the European Association of Higher Education (EURASHE). This means that his diplomas and certificates are recognized worldwide.
The baton was also picked up by such organizations as “ Open University (Great Britain) ”, “Sony”, “Massachusetts Institute of Technology” and others.
The prospects for using blockchain technology are not limited to a distributed database. Its dynamism and transparency also has the potential to revolutionize the education system as a whole (through the development and legitimization of online learning). The popularity of Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC) is constantly growing, as they provide the opportunity to gain practical knowledge from anywhere in the world, and also have a lower cost of training. Based on the ability to combine individual courses into course blocks, it is possible to propose various training strategies for narrowly targeted specialties. Also, blockchain allows you to standardize certificates and diplomas of universities and online educational portals, which in the future will legalize them for all countries of the world.
What development opportunities will we get if all educational organizations record their certificates in one global blockchain?
Certificates and diplomas confirm the presence of certain skills and knowledge of the candidate. Storing data in one system allows you to distribute them between companies, creating a system of dynamic personnel search for a set of specialist skills for specific enterprises. In turn, this will create a demand for certain skills, which, in turn, sets the trend for the study of certain courses in real time. The candidate will see what exactly needs to be studied to obtain the desired position. Educational organizations, adjusting to new trends in the labor market, will offer “dynamic blocks of courses”, where the student chooses only what he needs for further professional growth.
Such a vector of the development of the educational system also fundamentally solves the problem of quick deactivation of curricula, which was formed in the course of accelerating the development of Information Technologies.
Every year, labor market trends are becoming ever more volatile. The speed of technology development is growing exponentially, and with it the requirements for specialists in all areas of work. The relevance of educational programs that offer classical educational systems sometimes decreases even at the beginning of the school year and require adjustment. The presence of dynamic monitoring of companies' requirements for candidates, as well as the growing popularity of Mass Open Online Courses and online education in general, will allow educational organizations to easily adapt to development trends in the field of education, as well as establish relations without intermediaries between them (specific universities, educational organizations, students and enterprises, working as a single system thanks to the blockchain register.
Today, the distributed blockchain database is increasingly being integrated into document storage and control systems. The advantage of this technology is the lack of practical ability to manipulate data recorded in the system, due to the fact that information can only be added to the database, but not overwritten. At the same time, the truth of the document is easily traced, since everyone sees who it was written to on the blockchain. Along with the identity card and the banking sector, “Cryptorevolution” did not bypass the education system.
Pioneers
2017 was the starting point of cryptolization of education. The first to officially use the blockchain to store their diplomas and certificates was the University of Nicosia . Importantly, it also became the first university to accept Bitcoin as payment. Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC) of the University of Nicosia are available in 83 countries around the world. He is also a member of the European Universities Association (EUA) and the European Association of Higher Education (EURASHE). This means that his diplomas and certificates are recognized worldwide.
The baton was also picked up by such organizations as “ Open University (Great Britain) ”, “Sony”, “Massachusetts Institute of Technology” and others.
Perspectives and Standardization
The prospects for using blockchain technology are not limited to a distributed database. Its dynamism and transparency also has the potential to revolutionize the education system as a whole (through the development and legitimization of online learning). The popularity of Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC) is constantly growing, as they provide the opportunity to gain practical knowledge from anywhere in the world, and also have a lower cost of training. Based on the ability to combine individual courses into course blocks, it is possible to propose various training strategies for narrowly targeted specialties. Also, blockchain allows you to standardize certificates and diplomas of universities and online educational portals, which in the future will legalize them for all countries of the world.
Globalization
What development opportunities will we get if all educational organizations record their certificates in one global blockchain?
Certificates and diplomas confirm the presence of certain skills and knowledge of the candidate. Storing data in one system allows you to distribute them between companies, creating a system of dynamic personnel search for a set of specialist skills for specific enterprises. In turn, this will create a demand for certain skills, which, in turn, sets the trend for the study of certain courses in real time. The candidate will see what exactly needs to be studied to obtain the desired position. Educational organizations, adjusting to new trends in the labor market, will offer “dynamic blocks of courses”, where the student chooses only what he needs for further professional growth.
Such a vector of the development of the educational system also fundamentally solves the problem of quick deactivation of curricula, which was formed in the course of accelerating the development of Information Technologies.
Forecast for the future
Every year, labor market trends are becoming ever more volatile. The speed of technology development is growing exponentially, and with it the requirements for specialists in all areas of work. The relevance of educational programs that offer classical educational systems sometimes decreases even at the beginning of the school year and require adjustment. The presence of dynamic monitoring of companies' requirements for candidates, as well as the growing popularity of Mass Open Online Courses and online education in general, will allow educational organizations to easily adapt to development trends in the field of education, as well as establish relations without intermediaries between them (specific universities, educational organizations, students and enterprises, working as a single system thanks to the blockchain register.