How Can Blockchain Technology Be Used in Schools?

This is not just a new sensational buzzword for geeks

If you have received a WhatsApp forward, read a newspaper, or been on the internet in any form in the last few months, you would have come across a mysterious new word – blockchain.

What is Blockchain Technology?

Blockchain, simply put, is linked records that are perpetually growing. These records are called “blocks”. These blocks are secured using cryptography. There is no centralised governing body. Fairly easy to understand, right? As you probably have guessed, the applications are endless. It has revolutionised technology, governance, economics, information exchange, trading…the list is endless. Blockchain technology is used in everything from cryptocurrency to creating safer public information databases.

In every practical sense, blockchain technology can replace middlemen in every sphere of life. It is a tech-based, neutral, reliable conduit between two parties, without the need for a person prone to human error and fallible to facilitate it.

Blockchain Technology in Education

So, all this sounds like a pretty interesting technological innovation. And clearly, it’s caught the public’s imagination. But how does it matter to the educational ecosystem? Schools and colleges are in the business of educating the young, not managing huge databases, right?

Well, not entirely.

Any operation as large and distributed as education in 2018 will find a use for blockchain technology. Educational institutions are not just your village school with a single classroom, but a large-scale, multi-institutional operation that runs on the whims and fancies of many moving parts – their stakeholders. Running a school is not a simple process, but it can be made simpler through the use of blockchain.

Here are a few ways blockchain can be implemented in the running of your school or college:

1. Run schools more efficiently

If you are a larger institution, with numerous branches, using blockchain technology will help keep information passing between each individual school secure. Imagine easily saving, sharing, and authenticating official student records and certificates without worrying about security or having any privacy concerns. Using blockchain at your school can ensure student safety in the electronic realm like never before.

2. Guarantee Authenticity

Speaking of credentialing, are we not all ready to never attest another certificate or report card ever again? Thanks to the unparalleled security blockchain technology offer, this kind of credentialing or authentication becomes even easier. No more running from pillar to post just to get 10 copies of your marks card attested just so you can apply in time for a postgraduate degree abroad. Instead, blockchain technology would enable you to guarantee the authenticity of any institutionally issued documents. Reduce fraud and focus on learning instead.

Recap: School ERP system with online examination management

3. Break Boundaries

Using blockchain technology at your school means an expansion of its horizons. In an increasingly globalised world, collaboration with external bodies is practically a byword. One cannot afford to remain isolated and in the dark ages due to a fear of cheating. Blockchain technology helps eliminate this fear since it helps authenticate the security and credentials of the institution you are partnering with. Expand your students’ classrooms beyond four walls and bring the world to them. It is what they deserve!

4. Easing up Administration

Whether it is authenticating training for returning learners or authenticating micro-payments, blockchain technology can become a significant part of the learning ecosystem. Imagine being able to authenticate microlearning across various systems and platforms and then authenticating micropayments also…without any middlemen! This is the very heart of blockchain – the elimination of expensive, unreliable middlemen in what should be straightforward transactions. Administration of learning just became less cumbersome!