Internal TAFE Queensland presentation, Breakthrough and Imagine forum June 2016

1. Blockchain in Education
Dr Anna Daniel
TAFE Queensland Internal Presentation
Breakthrough and Imagine forum
9 June 2016

2. https://smartprimaryed.com/2014/11/29/discussion-modern-learning-environments/
Imagine….

3. Digital Portfolios
http://www.edtechstrategies.com/blog/future-blockchain-education/

4. Blockchain

5. Blockchain: the hype
• https://youtu.be/r43LhSUUGTQ
• Wall Street analysts and fintech experts claim it
could make traditional banking obsolete;
• Airbnb just acquired a team of blockchain experts;
• Estonia will use it to secure a million patient health
records.

6. How it works: Step 1
TAFE Queensland
1. creates the educational transcript
or other record
2. encrypts it
3. sends it to
a. the public ledger and to the
government
b. a private key to the student
http://www.slideshare.net/pachoseed/blockchain-in-higher-education

7. How it works: Step 2
The student
1. receives private keys from
his/her education providers
2. stores the keys in his/her
academic wallet
3. builds a lifelong record of
credentials
http://www.slideshare.net/pachoseed/blockchain-in-higher-education

8. How it works: Step 3
The student sends their record to
others:
1. encrypts the information with
the private key
2. sends the public key in a
message
3. the recipient* decrypts the
transcripts
*e.g. employer
http://www.slideshare.net/pachoseed/blockchain-in-higher-education

10. https://airtable.com/shr7UFgYMFd8Ep9Xx
https://blockchainedu.org/

11. Blockchains could include
• Transcript/degree/test score/record validation and transfer,
assignments and learning outputs, data from online learning tools, co-
curricular activities, employment history and other learning experiences.
• Educator credentialing/certification/re-certification (including across
state and national lines).
• Management and tracking of TAFE Queensland assets
• Management of student privacy and permissions.
• Management of attendance records.
• Distribution of federal/state programmatic funds or private grants.
• Distribution and payment of student loansGartner
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-05-12-what-blockchain-means-for-higher-education
http://www.edtechstrategies.com/blog/future-blockchain-education/
http://www.slideshare.net/pachoseed/blockchain-in-higher-education

12. Imagine the pictures of students’ learning experiences
that this could provide and how these pictures could help develop
and improve upon course design, facilitate transferring credits, or
prove qualifications for a job to a potential employer.

13. http://thenewstack.io/one-school-using-bitcoin-blockchain-authenticate-degrees/
Holberton School has started delivering its academic
credentials in a partnership with Bitproof, a blockchain-based
notary system that proves ownership of content.
Blockchain in education

14. Learning Is Earning uses “Edublocks,” which represent units of hours of learning
which are written to a blockchain and can be used to “pay” for additional learning
opportunities.
https://youtu.be/DcP78cLPGtE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcP78cLPGtE&feature=youtu.be
Blockchain in education

15. Blockchain in education
• MIT Media Lab announced that it is developing software to issue
digital certificates on the Bitcoin Blockchain.
• In the Open Badges community, the BadgeChain team has started
exploring how badges can be advanced by blockchain.
• Sony Global Education developed blockchain technology that enables
secure sharing of academic records.
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-05-12-what-blockchain-means-for-higher-education

16. It’s likely that students soon will be or already are buying things with
bitcoin and that the applications they use outside of TAFE Queensland,
including the ones that your students create, will embrace the
blockchain first.
Blockchain in education
http://www.edtechstrategies.com/blog/future-blockchain-education/
http://www.slideshare.net/pachoseed/blockchain-in-higher-education

17. Concerns
• Is learning transactional?
• What problems can blockchain solve in education? What problems
might the blockchain's adoption in education create?
• Who is trusted and mistrusted in education?
• Is education (teachers, students, schools) prepared to handle the
complexity of the blockchain?
• What is the incentive to mine in an education-related blockchain project?
• What happens to privacy in a “world ledger” of education transactions? Do we
really want education records to be unalterable?
http://hackeducation.com/2016/04/07/blockchain-education-guide

18. Risks
• It is very difficult to edit a transcript
• Not all higher education institutions worldwide will use it
• Interoperability (e.g. types of encryption)
• Regulatory approval
• Hacking although the distributed nature of these records — along with a built-in
layer of cryptographic protections — make them difficult to hack or alter by any
one individual.
• “incredibly overhyped, with fairly wild claims about “revolution” and a radical
decentralization of key institutions”
http://www.slideshare.net/pachoseed/blockchain-in-higher-education
http://hackeducation.com/2016/04/07/blockchain-education-guide

19. Benefits
Student: a verified digital portfolio that is understood globally. Less
bureaucracy around obtaining transcripts, and potentially greater mobility
across educational systems
TAFE: allegedly reduce administration costs, increase efficiency and
responsiveness
Employers: may follow students progress on their learning journey, instant
verification of candidate transcripts
Government: more accurate data on completion etc., international
comparability, transparency
http://www.slideshare.net/pachoseed/blockchain-in-higher-education

20. Current impact
Gartner estimate its impact in education will plateau worldwide in 5-10
years.
Machine readable digital skills portfolios

21. TAFE Queensland RedSpace:
tafeqld.edu.au/redspace