Blockchain Technologies and Education

Oral Roberts University recently held a conference to persuade higher education institutions that it's time to get on board the blockchain train. Its recommendations: Learn about the technology's potential, test it out and collaborate.

Blockchain technology — not bitcoin, the cryptocurrency it inaugurated in 2009, but the underlying technology — is a bulletproof record-keeping system. That’s it, really. Provided it’s running on a robust-enough computer network, blockchains produce incorruptible records. That may not sound like much, but records are remembering. Records are the protection of our memories for the future.

For a long time the tech sector has been dominated by white men. Manels (male only panels) were commonplace at conferences, more male-led start-ups received venture capital funding and there were a lot more visible male success stories. But when it comes to blockchain, an emerging group of female entrepreneurs are leading the way, not just in Australia, but globally.

CopyrightBank is a project proposed by the NEM community whose purpose is to register and verify the copyright of various categories of digital creations, being entirely powered by NEM with a solid business model aimed at consumers, companies and governments.
This will be a case study that can be used to further market the superior characteristics of NEM blockchain. The successful implementation and adoption of CopyrightBank will show how fast applications can be built in the NEM block chain. In the interface, this platform will accept XEM, the NEM Token – as well as fiat currency. In the backend, each transaction will use XEM. Therefore, this platform will not only contribute to a greater demand for XEM, but also increase transactions in the NEM block chain, thereby contributing to the value of the NEM community.

This ebook, based on the latest ZDNet and TechRepublic special feature, looks at how blockchain is shaking up the economy, redefining industry, and changing the way individuals and enterprises conduct business.

From the ebook:

The term blockchain can elicit reactions ranging from a blank stare (from the majority of the general public) to evangelical fervour (from over-enthusiastic early adopters). But most people who know a bit about the technology detect a pungent whiff of hype, leavened with the suspicion that, when the dust settles, it may have a significant role to play as a component of digital transformation.

The hype around blockchain is massive. To hear the blockchain hype train tell it, blockchain will now:

Solve income inequality
Make all data secure forever
Make everything much more efficient and trustless
Save dying babies
What the heck is a blockchain, anyway? And can it really do all these things? Can blockchain bring something amazing to industries as diverse as health care, finance, supply chain management and music rights?

The world's first bond managed entirely via blockchain has been priced and is awaiting settlement, starting a $73M test of distributed ledger tech.

As society becomes more wedded to technology, it's important to consider the formulas that govern our data.

When Oral Roberts University hosted the one-day event, "Blockchain Essentials in Education," all attendees received a blockchain-based certificate from the Tulsa university verifying their participation. Perhaps nothing else could have illustrated the potential of blockchain technology more appropriately.

Blockchain technology provides a secure, transparent record of transactions that enables users to share data in real time while maintaining privacy. Some of the center's blockchain projects will include:

Research on data transparency and blockchain across industries;
Building technologies that apply blockchain in new ways;
Policy advising on blockchain and data transparency issues;
Developing ways to "balance regulatory and data ownership issues with new data monetization models";
Offering education and internships for building professional skills in blockchain and data transparency; and
Incubating blockchain and data transparency startups through an innovation accelerator.

Unlike a social site such as LinkedIn, where anyone can upload any work history or document he or she wants, N2N’s personal value ledger would give institutions that are part of the blockchain network the ability to confirm the authenticity and relevance of those assets.  

So if an experienced accountant without a college degree creates a set of financial statements and puts them on her personal value ledger, for example, universities could look at the ledger and have more confidence about using it for admissions or even course credit. “The ledger could also be viewed by potential employers,” Kodithala says.

Everyone is talking about the third industrial revolution. Progressive digitalisation is conquering one industry after another. Initially, the internet turned the postal and telecommunications industry, the publishing sector and the music business upside down. This was followed by the emergence of innovative business models in the taxi and hotel industries like Uber or Airbnb. Economist Joseph Schumpeter referred to these transformation processes as “innovation through creative destruction”. The internet is changing the way we act and think at horrific speed. And at virtually zero marginal costs.