In 2018, blockchain was already intensively active in securing data and facilitating transactions in logistics and transport, energy production, manufacturing, and trading. When combined with the Internet of Things (“IoT”), blockchain applications multiply further. The adoption by established HE institutions of smart technologies has been slower.
...continue readingSmart contracts enable/enforce bilateral accountability. Payments could be withheld conditionally, released pending satisfaction, and matched in high resolution to service usage. Smart contracts ensure punctuality of payments but also force service providers to accept payment-according-to usage. For HE, such flexibility represents pedagogic challenges. Learner commitment cannot be assumed. Wherever possible, teaching would have to be packaged into stand-alone compartments, to allow students to attend according to their requirements.
...continue readingIt is unlikely that HE can continue without adopting technologies that are normal in every other sphere of information usage. Only a few aspects of the traditional HE offering are inimitable by online education. These few represent a potentially valuable differentiation and could be collectively described as the university experience.
...continue readingIn proposed blockchain-based systems, students have a single point of access for all their certificates and learning histories; HE institutions can rely on the blockchain for up-to-date access to all the information they require about a learner. This means HE institutions would be able to configure learning around a detailed learner profile, boosting the relevance of teaching options to optimise the learning experience.
...continue readingNew dynamics characterise the age. Due to marketplace competition for and the technological empowerment of the learner-customer, HE management and policy have to reassess the paradigms of pedagogy and power. Agile inchoates and even the “university of one” (expert individuals) threaten HE’s dominance.
...continue readingBlockchain is not a tool of pedagogy. It cannot be used to teach. Blockchain can, however, prove learning. In the blockchain educational record, HE credentials will juxtapose credentials offered by alternative organisations and expert individuals.
...continue readingCastañeda and Selwyn (2018) contend that any discussion of pedagogy requires consideration of all aspects of education, including technology. Most learning theories are of pre-digital heritage. Technology-based learning needs to be fully understood, and the conceptualisation of the design and deployment of technologies in HE must be subject to sustained theorising. Proponents of technological learning must acknowledge the affective aspects of HE; and, similarly, the “hyper-rationalisation” of digital methods and technologies of education must be avoided. The impact of any educational technology must be gauged through its relevance to identity, responsibility, social relations, and accountability, since these are critical to the HE environment and experience. On the matter of engagement, the question of whether digital technologies are disconnecting and alienating (“hyper- individualising”) learners must be asked.
...continue readingGazali et al (2017) inform us that in Malaysia, only 0.05% of HE loans are repaid. Their paper offers a blockchain- and smart contract-based solution. In the design proposed, borrowers are granted full access to their accounts and total ledger visibility; the authorities receive automatic notification of loan account activity. The design exploits the Ethereum protocol. Following basic blockchain principles, smart contracts are distributed across nodes, but, usefully, Ethereum supports three types of contract activity: creation of new, transfer to other parties, and function invocation. These give borrowers flexibility in repayment options and schedules, and provide lenders audit trail visibility.
...continue readingThe Joint Research Centre (2017) asserts that “open education” will be achieved through appropriate technology, credential recognition, stakeholder collaboration, and published research. The accreditation of research and academic learning needs to be digitized. HE organisations can use blockchain as a transparent trusted agent for sharing and verifying qualifications, enabling smart contracts, collecting and requiring digital signatures, and allocating finance.
...continue readingMcKnight et al (2017) argues for measures that help policymakers, industry, and users manage and harness the advantages of blockchain. A significant opportunity exists for regulators and policymakers to shape the evolution and commercialisation of blockchain – the technology that will enable the IoT and contribute tremendously to human well-being. Actual and potential applications of blockchain and the IoT (Internet of Things) are already numerous. The combination of the two will have dramatic, sudden, and far-reaching effects on societies and economies.
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