Blockchain for Education
Education is one of the most important areas needed in human life, and the improvement in this area has always been the focus of many researchers. After the pandemic of COVID-19, online education became popular, and different countries turned to electronic education to prevent the spread of this deadly virus.?Today, many institutions around the world has adopted?e-learning and thus e-learning?has expanded dramatically over the past two decades.
E-learning is an educational approach for rapid learning and content distribution that transcends geographical limitations and provides learning opportunities for students at any time and in any place. In an educational network, a lot of data is exchanged, and factors like document authenticity, transparency, trust, and immutability are key benefits. Therefore, the information of students, including documents, certificates, transcripts, courses, personal information, etc., must be kept safe.?
On the other hand, one of the most important components of education is evaluation. High-quality education is possible only with a transparent evaluation system. In addition, the issuance of certificates in many educational institutions still depends on traditional methods. In addition to being time-consuming and costly, these methods increase the possibility of security risks such as tampering or data loss due to the use of centralized storage (Gr?ther et al., 2018). Therefore, with the realization of e-learning, the need for a secure educational system is felt.
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Blockchain Technology
Initially recognized as the foundation for digital currencies like Bitcoin, blockchain technology has evolved significantly, finding applications in various sectors, including education. The advent of smart contracts has further expanded its potential, providing a robust infrastructure for diverse applications. This article explores the benefits of integrating blockchain technology into the educational sector.
A blockchain functions as a secure, immutable database where records cannot be deleted or altered (Armani, 2023). The network operates based on a protocol that ensures identical copies of data are maintained across multiple locations. New records can only be added following this protocol, ensuring data integrity and security. In a blockchain-based educational system, data about each student is stored securely, and integrity and immutability are maintained.
Due to its decentralized nature, there is no single authority that controls or fully owns the blockchain. Instead, all nodes in the network have a complete copy of the blockchain and work together to verify and store data. This makes the blockchain not easily forged or tampered with and allows any transaction to be made directly between two parties.
The use of blockchain technology is a viable alternative to centralized educational record keeping and can provide protected and reliable access to all stakeholders. By leveraging blockchain technology, the educational sector can achieve greater security, transparency, and efficiency, addressing long-standing challenges and paving the way for innovative solutions in records management, evaluations, and administrative processes.
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Features of Blockchain Technology for Education
1. Immutability:?
One of the critical challenges in education is the forgery of documents. Blockchain’s chronological data storage and cryptographic methods make data immutable, ensuring the originality and security of educational documents. This feature is crucial for maintaining the authenticity of transcripts and certificates, which often contain confidential information.
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2. Reliability:?
Blockchain’s decentralized nature enhances security by eliminating a single point of failure. This contrasts with centralized networks, which can suffer from accessibility issues and denial-of-service attacks. A blockchain-based educational network offers higher reliability and resilience.
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3. Transparency:?
Data stored on a blockchain is highly transparent. This transparency improves the quality of education by enabling reliable and clear evaluation processes through smart contracts.
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4.? Availability:?
?The distributed nature of blockchain ensures that data is replicated, stored, and accessible efficiently across the network. This constant availability is a significant advantage for educational networks.
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5. Trust:?
Blockchain technology removes the need for trusted third-party intermediaries, facilitating direct and secure peer-to-peer communication.
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Applications of Blockchain in Education
Blockchain technology can revolutionize various aspects of education, particularly in records management, evaluation and assessments, digital certification, and university admissions.
1. Records Management:
Blockchain can securely store and manage student records and transcripts. This technology offers a robust alternative to traditional, time-consuming, and error-prone paper-based record management systems. By utilizing blockchain, institutions can ensure the secure, immutable storage of students’ credentials, which are essential throughout their academic and professional lives (Mishra et al., 2021). Keeping long-life records is useful to monitor the grades and academic progress of students. In addition, this data is used to identify the educational qualifications to continue higher education or to be hired. Therefore, it is possible to update or add academic data transparently, and with the completion of courses, students' records are updated easily (Qin et al., 2023).
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2. Evaluation and Assessments:
Smart contracts can automate the creation of tests and evaluation plans. These contracts can ensure a transparent and unbiased grading process by automating the correction of exam papers based on predefined logic, thereby enhancing the fairness and accuracy of assessments.
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3. Digital Certification:
The purpose of certification in education is to measure a person's skills in a specific field. By issuing a certificate, it is possible to prove the ability of people in various fields to educational institutions and employers, which, as a result, leads to recognition of abilities and improvement of job opportunities.
Although in traditional systems, the process of issuing certificates is expensive and time-consuming, in a blockchain-based network, certificates are stored in a decentralized database, which is faster to access (Karamachoski et al., 2020).
Blockchain technology plays a vital role in validating digital documents and certificates. Blockchain-based applications allow students to control their credentials, reducing reliance on third-party intermediaries. This decentralized approach eliminates many of the traditional administrative challenges associated with obtaining and verifying educational certificates (Awaji et al., 2020).
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4. Facilitating University Admission:
Blockchain can streamline the university admission process by maintaining the authenticity and validity of educational documents. This technology can automate the administrative processes involved in document delivery and admission, saving time and reducing the need for third-party verification. For instance, blockchain can securely transfer certified student documents between educational institutions, ensuring a transparent and secure process (Guustaaf et al., 2021).
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References
2018, W. Gr?ther, S. Kolvenbach, R. Ruland, J. Schütte, C. Torres, and F. Wendland, “Blockchain for education: lifelong learning passport” In Proceedings of 1st ERCIM Blockchain workshop 2018. European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies (EUSSET).
2020, B. Awaji, E. Solaiman, and A. Albshri, “Blockchain-based applications in higher education: A systematic mapping study” In Proceedings of the 5th international conference on information and education innovations.
2020, J. Karamachoski, N. Marina, and P. Taskov, “Blockchain-based application for certification management”, Tehni?ki glasnik.
2021, E. Guustaaf, U. Rahardja, Q. Aini, H. W. Maharani, and N. A. Santoso, “Blockchain-based education project”, Aptisi Transactions on Management.
2021, R. A. Mishra, A. Kalla, A. Braeken, and M. Liyanage, “Privacy protected blockchain-based architecture and implementation for sharing of students’ credentials”, Information Processing & Management.
2023, Daniel Armani, “Blockchain: The Quiet Revolution,” PaperScore .
2023, M. Qin, C. W. Su, O. R. Lobon?, and M. Umar, “Blockchain: a carbon-neutral facilitator or an environmental destroyer?”, International Review of Economics & Finance.
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Author: Maryam Fattahi