The Convergence of Formal Education and Self-Directed Learning with Blockchain

I ponder the future of education a lot. Areas my mind goes to range from how education has emerged to what will the future of education looks like. A core component of education is tied to the economic flourishment opportunities that arise due to having an educated workforce. With that being said, this article examines the economic implications of the blurring boundaries between formal education and self-directed learning, highlighting how lifelong learning is becoming an essential component in adapting to the rapidly changing global environment. On top of that, I cover how a new system can be introduced by using blockchain. I've analyzed the driving forces behind this transformation and the potential benefits for individuals, businesses, and society. We must start building new systems for lifelong learning as it is crucial for maintaining competitiveness in the labor market, fostering personal growth, and contributing to overall economic development and social progress.

In recent years, the traditional demarcation between formal education and self-directed learning has grown increasingly indistinct, with the emergence of online learning platforms, immersive experiences, and peer-to-peer networks. This trend has significant implications for individuals, businesses, and economies, as it shapes how human capital is developed, maintained, and utilized in the face of rapid technological advancements, a dynamic job market, and growing globalization. A big reason for the fusion is the commoditization and accessibility of information due to the internet.

The widespread availability of the internet has democratized access to educational resources, enabling self-directed learning at an unprecedented scale. Developments in virtual and augmented reality offer the potential for highly realistic simulations, enhancing the effectiveness of the learning process.

The modern workforce has created a demand for workers with adaptable skill sets that can keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology. The internet is the savior for the modern workforce to educate themselves. This has led to an increased emphasis on continuous skill development beyond the scope of formal education. However, the issue is that there is no system to validate life-long learners' new learnings. All the effort of the world of learning enters an abyss of missing data.?

Adding to the innovations of the modern workforce, the growing interconnectivity has facilitated the sharing of knowledge across borders, creating a demand for globally competent individuals. This necessitates engaging in cross-cultural learning and adapting to the ever-changing global landscape.

The reason people focus on continuous education for skill development is due to the reason that individuals can increase their competitiveness in the labor market, improve career prospects, and increase overall lifetime earnings. In parallel, a workforce engaged in lifelong learning is better equipped to adapt to technological changes and maintain productivity, ensuring a firm's competitiveness and long-term success.

Perhaps one of my favorite advances in education is that it fabricates a well-educated population that is more likely to address pressing global challenges, drive innovation and sustainable economic development, and contribute to social progress. In my opinion, educational institutions, policymakers, and perhaps most importantly, markets should prioritize developing flexible learning opportunities that blend traditional instruction with self-directed initiatives. This is where I believe blockchain can provide the solution, read my thoughts here.

Education is entering a new paradigm because educational activity can have a shared source of truth for people to proof of knowledge and skill. The data that is sent to the blockchain now carries a specific context that can allow people to rationalize sentiment. People can now see the transparency of the educational activity people are doing. For example, say someone gets Lirts (data for proof of knowledge/skill) for educational activity people can trust the process was done in a legitimate manner. This leaves a lot of room for innovation in the opportunities for education. A clear case of this would be if employers demand people to have specific Lirts to even apply for their open roles.

Here is how a new system for education can be created and adopted. The base principles will be an accessible meritocracy, trust mechanisms, and decentralized prestige. In essence, the elements of these principles exist in the current education system but fall short. Let me elaborate further by beginning with the concept of meritocracy. By definition, meritocracy is a system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement. In the context of education, if you study hard and develop your knowledge and skill in a certain domain, you earn a level of achievement based on your individual ability. The next step in meritocracy is how achievement is dictated. For example, if only a few people can have a chance to gain that achievement in the first place then there is exclusion. Another example is if the achievement selection is biased through nepotism of other forms, such as selecting a winner of achievement because of their socioeconomic background. Academia is not an accessible meritocratic system in regards that you need to go through a vetting process and pay high tuition to obtain access to the curriculum. We can build this open system of achievement on the internet because the world wide web is an open protocol that allows anyone with an internet service provider to join. If you don’t live in a censored country (other conversation) then you have access to the information and platforms existing on the web.

This leads to the next component being the trust mechanisms. Blockchain created a novel system of rules to validate the authenticity of digital money and?state machine changes. If money, which is one of the most complicated products in human existence, can be trusted through protocols, then we can do the same for education. This is the key area, the Lirt can provide utility value by creating trust in proof of education. Since the blockchain is an open ledger of immutable activity we can openly see the added information on the chain. By looking into the transactions that are added into the blockchain, we can get further context. The onchain data tells us who initiated the transaction, the value amount, transaction cost, who the transaction is going to, and most important piece, the payload (the smart contract code). The reason the smart contract is the most important piece of information is that we can take a look at the data within the smart contract itself. Most of the time some of the code will be publicly available and you can see the execution logic. This is vital because you have an open look at what is happening under the hood when information is added to the blockchain. In the context of a Lirt, you see the mechanism of what needs to be done to obtain a Lirt. The Lirt is specifically coded to only be obtainable when a user completes an educational act that proves they have knowledge or skill. Just as a person has to go through a process to obtain a degree, we can create protocols to earn a Lirt. A quick example of this would be someone earning a Lirt after passing a multiple choice test. All logic can be programmed onto the blockchain to make it work. Now, the difference between earning a degree and passing a multiple choice is obvious but since we are focused on making the Lirt the anatomical unit, we can make modularity outcomes. We can build a process to require someone to obtain 20 specific Lirts to open specific parameters.

Taking this thought experiment further, employment is a great example. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons society gets educated is to enter the workforce. Universities educate their students to have the necessary knowledge and skills to help advance a company in its objective. The Lirt can be an alternative signal for proof of education and it can provide new vetting processes for employers. Let’s say an employer needs someone that has knowledge and skill in the domain of Solidity programming. Traditionally, employers would look for someone’s education level to see if they’re an ideal candidate for the role and then interview them. The Lirt solution can automate the process by allowing the employer to require specific Lirts to be a prerequisite to even apply for the job in the first place. Since the Lirt was earned through a trusted open protocol and could not have been sold nor transferred, the candidate truly has proof of education and will be specifically vetted even before interviewing. With blockchain capabilities, the employer can create a Dapp (decentralized app) and require a user to log in with their wallet to submit their application. Since the Lirt is tied to the user’s wallet this entire process can be automated by pure software. It’s worth mentioning that employment is just one area that will be disrupted by the Lirt and proof of education being on the blockchain. Other areas can range from social dynamics, token-gated access, prestige to teaching, legitimacy in information, and many more.

This leads to the last principle the Lirt is disrupting with decentralized prestige. On the polar spectrum, academia(in specific Ivy League academia) carries all the epitome of prestige of what it means to be educated. In all fairness, these institutions have created a strong system that has earned them their reputation. However, it is not a perfect solution and is exclusive to a minuscule amount of the population. One of the main reasons academia has a helm on prestige is not necessarily because of the meritocracy of education but rather the pedigree of esoteric individuals. Statistically, it is families of wealth and higher socioeconomic status that attend these ivy league institutions that leverage the pedigree of academia and earn the prestige of being the most educated. As we’ve seen with the?Mathew Effect, wealth (resources) tend to be owned by a vital few. The Lirt wants to create a paradigm shift obtaining the equivalent signal of being educated from an ivy league level but through an alternative manner. To achieve this, it would take generations due to the reason that these institutions have been embedded at the core of society. Just as Bitcoin is trying to obtain a market cap bigger than the US Dollar, it needs to provide enough value to get there. The USD is a multi-century engineered product, so overcoming it will be a near-impossible feat but there is a possibility. Bitcoin is for the world, not just a government. Regardless, we shouldn’t shy away from attempting the shift because macro changes like this are ripple effects that compound positive change for the world beyond a measurable scale. What Bitcoin did to the money, we want the Lirt to do for education.

Education is the invisible fabric that progresses humanity forward and we are at a point in history to disrupt it. People around the world will now be able to partake in a more open educational system that will be more meritocratic and objective. Location will no longer be an issue, for if the learner wants to educate themselves they will have a system that validates them. The reigns of esoteric elitism and privilege that academia has wrangled are coming to an end. This will solely be possible by building a new education system powered by the blockchain.