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Today, it seems like everyone is talking about blockchain technology. & Nbsp; News on & nbsp;bitcoin& nbsp; and other cryptocurrencies are hard to resist, especially when their value increases and everyone wants to know how the blockchain can make them rich. But the real value of the blockchain is not necessarily just the alternative currency component. It is also found in the way this technology could transform and simplify transactions and record keeping in all fields – especially education.
Blockchain for beginners
If you are not familiar with & nbsp; how & nbsp;blockchain technology& nbsp; it works, it's useful to compare cryptocurrency with the way your regular bank does business. Banks have virtually all of your account information on a digital spreadsheet to track your transactions. All right, but a highly centralized data system is vulnerable to hackers and you can not send money to a family member without going through an intermediary (the bank). Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, depends on a totally decentralized network of users to store information on all transactions. There is no bank as a gatekeeper, but information (the block) is added to a permanent chain that no one can change. It's safer because everyone in the network has access to information at all timesso, if someone is trying to change the record, everyone can see what's happening and stop it.
An educational revolution
Last year, MIT delivered its first & nbsp;blockchain diplomas& nbsp; to graduates – on their smartphones. It was more than just a digital certificate: unlike a paper diploma, which could easily be lost or falsified, blockchain guarantees that this important data is never lost. Furthermore, the university or the traditional clearing house is cut off as an intermediary necessary to issue the transcripts. Instead, students have direct access to their educational documents directly on their phones. If their house burns or moves around the world, their diploma is safe.
This is more than just a matter of convenience. If other credentials like & nbsp;certificates and badges& nbsp; they are also stored on the blockchain, it will become much easier for students to move between universities and dictate their educational trajectory because the obstacles to the transfer of credits will begin to decline. & nbsp; In this world, & nbsp;MOOCs& nbsp; it could also be more easily completed for a significant credit & nbsp; this leads to a degree. You can access the entire educational document of a person at the touch of a button.
If the individual educational documents were coded in this way, I believe that the K-12 evaluations could be better coordinated. Instead of annual high stakes tests that vary according to status and level, one could imagine another & nbsp;longitudinal evaluation system that has tracked the results over time. For example, if an eighth grade student passed a tenth grade geometry test, she would bring that result into her records wherever she went, allowing her to continue her mathematical education at the level appropriate for her as an individual, rather than having to resume the same test for the next few years. In this way, blockchain could help to revolutionize personalized education.
Blockchain integration into the STEM instruction
If blockchain is the wave of the future (as it seems to be certainly), it seems logical to make sure that today's students are ready to engage with this technology in their careers. This is already happening in higher education, such as universities like & nbsp;Virginia Tech& Nbsp; and & nbsp;NYU& nbsp; add blockchain concentrations. The blockchain study capitalizes on a number of STEM disciplines, including computer engineering and higher mathematics to encrypt data.
Because the technology is so new, K-12 students currently have very few opportunities to learn more about the blockchain, although some & nbsp;independent courses& nbsp; exists. I believe there is a real need to develop an appropriate age curriculum in this area. For younger students, understanding the basics of networks and honing relevant mathematical skills is a good start; for older students, financial literacy fits perfectly with cryptocurrency to arouse interest. Also, learning the code is always an important STEM skill and & nbsp;classes in Python& nbsp; it will be particularly useful for understanding the blockchain. As with all STEM education opportunities, & nbsp; the before it starts and the more it is practical, the more likely it is that the children will follow it and consider themselves the blockchain contributors of the future.
A philosophy of decentralization
Finally, it is worth noting that the blockchain represents an important step in cultural change towards decentralized knowledge. Just as technology itself eliminates an intermediary that stands between you and your money (or your school curriculum), it also suggests a world where you have much more direct access and control over your education. If the blockchain leads to decentralized records and greater access to global knowledge databases, I believe that education will be further democratized and many more people will have access to the learning they want.
This movement comes at a time when education – and in particular STEM education – is & nbsp;highly corporate. There is money to be gained by selling people to education, but I think it would be a real mistake to allow corporate monopolies to have all the power over what we teach our students. Although colleges become more and more & nbsp;commodified, no single organization "owns" STEM education. To make the STEM education movement thrive, I believe it must remain decentralized accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic position or country of origin. Furthermore, it must not be co-opted by particular interests that evaluate profits with respect to innovation and real learning.
By teaching students the STEM bases they need to understand the blockchain, we can also promote in them an appreciation for the values it brings to the table. It is a precious technology, of course, but it is also immersed in a culture that sees information as something that everyone has right to get free, without having to pay a mediator for access to it. In this philosophy, knowledge is a birthright and an effective STEM education can help keep it that way.
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These days, it seems like everyone is talking about blockchain technology. The news about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are hard to resist, especially when their value increases and everyone wants to know how the blockchain can make them rich. But the real value of the blockchain is not necessarily just the alternative currency component. It is also found in the way this technology could transform and simplify transactions and record keeping in all fields – especially education.
Blockchain for beginners
If you are not familiar with the functioning of blockchain technology, it is useful to compare cryptocurrency with the way your regular bank does business. Banks have virtually all of your account information on a digital spreadsheet to track your transactions. All right, but a highly centralized data system is vulnerable to hackers and you can not send money to a family member without going through an intermediary (the bank). Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, depends on a totally decentralized network of users to store information on all transactions. There is no bank as a gatekeeper, but information (the block) is added to a permanent chain that no one can change. It's safer because everyone on the network has access to information at any time, so if someone is trying to change the record, everyone can see it happen and stop it.
An educational revolution
Last year, MIT delivered its first blockchain diplomas to graduates – on their smartphones. It was more than just a digital certificate: unlike a paper diploma, which could easily be lost or falsified, blockchain guarantees that this important data is never lost. Furthermore, the university or the traditional clearing house is cut off as an intermediary necessary to issue the transcripts. Instead, students have direct access to their educational documents directly on their phones. If their house burns or moves around the world, their diploma is safe.
This is more than just a matter of convenience. If other credentials such as certificates and badges are also stored in the blockchain, it will become much easier for students to move between universities and dictate their educational trajectory because the obstacles to credit transfer will begin to decline. In this world, MOOCs could also be more easily completed for significant credit leading to a degree. You can access the entire educational document of a person at the touch of a button.
If the individual educational documents were coded in this way, I believe that the K-12 evaluations could be better coordinated. Instead of annual tests of stakes that vary depending on the status and level, one could imagine a more longitudinal evaluation system that would follow success over time. For example, if an eighth grade student passed a tenth grade geometry test, she would bring that result into her records wherever she went, allowing her to continue her mathematical education at the level appropriate for her as an individual, rather than having to resume the same test for the next few years. In this way, blockchain could help to revolutionize personalized education.
Blockchain integration into the STEM instruction
If blockchain is the wave of the future (as it seems to be certainly), it seems logical to make sure that today's students are ready to engage with this technology in their careers. This is already happening in higher education, as universities such as Virginia Tech and NYU add blockchain concentrations. The blockchain study capitalizes on a number of STEM disciplines, including computer engineering and higher mathematics to encrypt data.
Because the technology is so new, K-12 students currently have very few opportunities to learn more about blockchain, although there are some independent courses. I believe there is a real need to develop an appropriate age curriculum in this area. For younger students, understanding the basics of networks and honing relevant mathematical skills is a good start; for older students, financial literacy fits perfectly with cryptocurrency to arouse interest. Furthermore, learning the code is always an important STEM skill, and the Python classes will be particularly useful for understanding the blockchain. As with all STEM education opportunities, the sooner it starts and the more practical it is, the more children are willing to follow it and consider themselves the blockchain contributors of the future.
A philosophy of decentralization
Finally, it is worth noting that the blockchain represents an important step in cultural change towards decentralized knowledge. Just as technology itself eliminates an intermediary that stands between you and your money (or your school curriculum), it also suggests a world where you have much more direct access and control over your education. If the blockchain leads to decentralized records and greater access to global knowledge databases, I believe that education will be further democratized and many more people will have access to the learning they want.
This movement comes at a time when education – and in particular STEM education – is highly corporate. There is money to be gained by selling people to education, but I think it would be a real mistake to allow corporate monopolies to have all the power over what we teach our students. Although colleges become increasingly commodified, no organization "owns" STEM education. In order for the STEM education movement to flourish, I believe it must remain decentralized and accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic position or country of origin. Furthermore, it must not be co-opted by particular interests that evaluate profits with respect to innovation and real learning.
By teaching students the STEM bases they need to understand the blockchain, we can also promote in them an appreciation for the values it brings to the table. It is a precious technology, of course, but it is also immersed in a culture that sees information as something that everyone has the right to obtain freely, without having to pay a mediator to access it. In this philosophy, knowledge is a birthright and an effective STEM education can help keep it that way.
