Blockchain is an emerging technology that has drawn interest from aerospace, music industry, gaming industry, banking, telecom, healthcare, sports, and many other fields. Education is the next industry that blockchain will revolutionize. Its global community features consensus, transparency, and permanence which is synonymous to the blockchain. Like education, blockchain not only intends to transfer just content but also the value inherent in that content. It’s still early days for the use of blockchain in education and research, but there’s a lot of potential in this field. Let us explore the application of blockchain in education and research.

Use of Blockchain in Education

If we look at other industries that use blockchain technology, we can predict how these networks can help educational settings. The potential uses of blockchain in education are vast. Let us discuss a few of them:

Safe Certificates and Diplomas

With the help of blockchain technology the academic record of the students which contains notes, diplomas, and titles obtained, stays protected. The chain of blocks information protects the information if the institution loses the files. Also, it will allow reinforcement so that there are no modifications of diplomas. Another option is the safe delivery of certifications through the blockchain.

Copyright and Digital Rights Protection

Blockchain can manage, share, and protect digital content. This is the reason it is ideal to create intellectual property, share it, and still control its usage. Let’s take the example of a Professor and his teaching materials. The Professors get rewards on the basis of the use and reuse of his teaching materials. This is similar to how they get rewards on citations in research papers and journals.

Smart Contracts

Blockchain can automatically execute agreements when a set of specified conditions are met. The “smart contracts” reduce paperwork in the education sector. DLT can facilitate distributed learning schemes. With the help of blockchain-based smart contracts, a state or institution can fund a student’s account. The smart contracts release it when certain criteria meet.

Energy Management

Educational institutions who impart wisdom on energy management do not actually manifest the same. Blockchain’s DLT solutions can help institutions with generating, buying, and selling the same energy within a particular neighborhood. It will thus eliminate intermediaries.

Transportation

It is important to get students to school for education. The ridesharing apps on blockchain can be the future. The technology could organize carpools for students with special needs. This will be important as roadways will become congested and carpooling will become a necessity. With blockchain, it would take off pressure from parents and make sure all children get safe transportation.

These were a few uses of blockchain in the education sector but the possibilities it has is endless. It will unveil more of its potential in the educational domain. When it comes to educational innovation, blockchains and ledgers will most likely lead to evolutionary gains. As administrators of school will look into the future, they would definitely consider harnessing this powerful technology.