Blockchain, the ledger on which cryptocurrency transactions are made, is going to change the world in many ways. Because transactions and data on this electronic ledger technology can be completed and stored, respectively, in a way that’s fast, global, secure, and transparent, it can revolutionize almost any process. The same goes for cryptocurrency solutions. Already, Fr8 Network has created a blockchain in trucking alliance that’s going to change the way freight is shipped around the country, and Nanovision has created a blockchain health system that has the potential to solve many of the world’s health problems. And education is next.
If you want to learn about the many ways blockchain and cryptocurrency can potentially change education, here’s how:
More access
These days, unless your child is attending an overly-expensive private school that can accommodate many kinds of learning needs, it’s unlikely that there’s much access to education. By this, we mean a schools that can accommodate different learning styles, disabilities (both physical and mental), and students from different educational backgrounds (for example, foreigners) or different economic backgrounds. And this is only in the US; worldwide it’s even worse, without general access, with 150 million children worldwide working in child labor instead of attending school.
Brian Magierski, a blockchain expert who has a variety of articles published on Medium, is going to make education more accessible by designing “a cryptocurrency based system that will incentivize a global community and IP-based system to deliver the expertise, content and capital to expand inclusion education worldwide.”
Instead of education being restricted to a group of people in a specific locality, it’s going to now be available globally–all because of the incentives delivered by this new technology. Our current educational model is going to change completely, and it has already a bit because of the Internet, but blockchain is the final step in making it more easily accessible than ever before.
Logistical processes will be simpler
If you’ve ever had to contact your undergrad university to try to get your transcript so you can apply for graduate school, or you need a new copy of your diploma to apply for a job, you know just how stressful it can be to get these very important–and often costly–documents. Storage of data is a complicated thing, whether you’re someone being educated waiting to receive a newly-earned certificate, or you’re a university administrator who’s worried about the hassle of transferring credits from one university to yours.
With blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, however, this is going to change. According to the European Commission as explained on the Open Colleges website, it’s going to be easier to (1) store permanent records (“degree and course certificates can be secured and verified regardless of whether a user has access to an institution’s record-keeping system”), (2) verify identities and secure information (“the organisation no longer needs to manage the complex systems for access rights, and only needs to secure the device or network where the verifications initial verification is taking place”), and (3) allow for multi-step accreditation by automating the process.
Additionally, payments worldwide will be much simpler with the use of cryptocurrencies. Instead of having to pay exorbitant exchange fees anytime you’re studying abroad, a foreigner is studying in the US, it’s all simplified. The exchange of credits will be simplified, too.
Considering more than one-third of the US population had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2017 according to the US Census Bureau, it’s about time we updated these logistical processes to reflect the needs of such a large percentage of our population.
More incentive to learn
Already, many young people are learning independently, watching Youtube history vloggers like John Green to learn about history, and makeup tutorials, too. This is why LiveEdu is working on a Blockchain-based learning platform that directly incentivizes both creators and learning. According to HackerNoon, it works like this:
“You can purchase EDU tokens from LiveEdu. These tokens can be used for various purposes like downloading course materials, requesting custom projects, getting replies from the content creator, etc. The more you learn, the more you earn…LiveEdu incentivises its content creators. They receive EDU coins for creating content.”
It’s no surprise, then, that the blockchain market is likely to be worth $20 billion by 2024.
As you can see, blockchain and cryptocurrency are changing not only the economic landscape but the whole of our world as we know it.
What changes are you excited for blockchain and cryptocurrency to bring about? Share the applications you’re watching develop in the comments.