Blockchain is one of the hottest trends in the current technology era. This groundbreaking technology that impacts industries was introduced in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto with his first mod application, Bitcoin. Blockchain is data that is encrypted in blocks and chained together into a single chronological source of truth by storing them in the database. As a secure, transparent, and powerful platform for creating a global network of higher learning, blockchain presents a strategic advantage. On a blockchain, you can store all kinds of data, but so far it has been used primarily as a ledger to record transactional information. This technology gained popularity when cryptocurrencies became part of the daily lives of people who buy goods. As a result, it's digital money that relies on a blockchain ledger with cryptographic security, which keeps track of all transactions and keeps them safe. Furthermore, blockchain is widely used as it stores all data and records encrypted, so it has higher security and reliability.
Nowadays, this trailblazing technology is being used in every industry, including
Banking and Finance
Healthcare
Education
Telecommunication
Government
Real Estate
Voting Mechanism
Cryptocurrency exchange and-so-forth.,
Throughout history, education has played a fundamental role in society. As technology has improved over the last few years, we see it removing barriers to learning and practice in education. As said by Kristin Savage “Blockchain and its implementation can become a new page in the development of the educational industry. It will not only change our typical perception of the educational process but completely change the structure and inner system of these processes.” Education that has swept the world has also used a variety of tools, with novel theories for learners. Using blockchain would give education a decisive advantage in terms of the security of data. Even a small change in data or a record will be visible to users since the transaction number will change.
Every technology has its fors and againsts so blockchain has its own. The ultimate advantage of blockchain in education will be the clarification of the technology.
Listed below are some areas in the educational sector that utilize blockchain:
Student’s record- The most important activity of students is that their record will be digitalized through blockchain, permanently stored, and accessed anytime by a particular student.
Digital student degree/ diploma- Transferring from one university to another or to any company the degree will be stored through blockchain. That will be very beneficial for the verification process. As of 2017, MIT has inaugurated digital diplomas using blockchain for its graduates.
Information Storage- Data are stored in encrypted form
Smart contracts- Course students are assigned a list of tasks by their instructors, which is part of a smart contract. Upon completion of the task, the smart contract verifies it and the student is awarded credit for the course.
Digital examination- Living with COVID-19, for almost two years examinations are held on a digital platform with the help of smart contracts on the concept of blockchain and grading the student's performance.
Payment and Funding- Since cryptocurrencies are widely used in today's world, students can deposit their fees in cryptocurrencies.
Let’s look at the detriment of this trailblazing technology:
The legal challenge: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA)
Scalability challenge- Large data increases the time needed in a blockchain transaction, thereby slowing it down.
Data privacy and security - Since blockchain is more secure than other platforms but it's not completely secure. If hackers control 51% or more networks then hackers can control and modify the data.
Market adoption challenge- Several people are uncertain about blockchain due to the lack of understanding and skill involved.
Private key- Accessing a wallet requires a private key that is unique to each user. In the event one loses their wallet key, they can no longer access their wallet
Immutable- The main disadvantage of blockchain is that once a process has been entered, that process cannot be altered.
So that's the end of the list of blockchain's disadvantages. Despite this, blockchain is an emerging technology that is playing an increasingly important role in almost every industry.
This information is quite comprehensive and shows that blockchain relates to the education sector and represents the early stages of a technology revolution.