One of the most ingenious IT inventions of our times, blockchain is moving beyond smart boards and remote learning and bringing a paradigm shift in the education sector. 

There is just a thin line between blockchain and the future of education. Here’s a glimpse into how this incredible technology can take the education system to new heights of development.

Plagiarism comes to an end 

As incidences of plagiarism continue to rise, the academic world is putting its best efforts to curtail the growing menace. However, with blockchain systems in place, the dissemination of copyrighted material across the internet can easily be brought under control. Blockchain ensures that the information recorded in a chain is safely stored. The functionality of the technology does not allow the tampering of stored data. So academic materials though accessible cannot be altered or plagiarised. Every time content is accessed, it is recorded into the chain. The utilisation is tracked online and the owner has the privilege of controlling the access. Result? The originality of the data is completely maintained. 

Expand your library effortlessly 

As it is safe and secure to store information and monitor every interaction or transaction, the blockchain could be utilised to expand the library and information services in schools. This is possible by creating a metadata archive and developing a protocol to encourage more and more community-related programs as well as allowing for a robust management of digital rights. Also, all those who manage libraries will heave a sigh of relief as the technology also promises to minutely monitor how many books are going out, how many are coming in and the overall maintenance. 

Why the human resource department will rejoice 

Often, conducting background investigations, tracking profiles and employment history of both students and employees is a time-consuming, rigorous and expensive process. As blockchain allows to safely store and share complete information about individuals, it eliminates the need for background checks, thus encouraging HR professionals to pitch their efforts on hiring the best person, instead of investing time in tracking the individual’s background. The whole process of selection and employment becomes streamlined encouraging savings on time, money and energy.

Cloud gets cheaper and better 

With education institutions, storing more and more data on the cloud, cloud storage can further improve by adopting blockchain technologies that have the ability to store everything on the cloud in a much cheaper, secure and faster way. The technology allows users to utilise extra storage space for storing other people’s data. Blockchain cloud storage system first accesses the user’s data and categorises the data into small chunks. The system accommodates an additional level of security and distributes it throughout the network with the help of blockchain features like the hashing function, public/ private key encryption and transaction ledgers. Each chunk of data is stored in a decentralised location. If hackers try to intrude, they will only get access to a limited set of encrypted data and not the entire file, thereby securing the documents in blockchain-based cloud storage. 

School data in safe hands 

Online records are common these days and so are data breaches. As school data is critical, it is important to protect their networks from hackers. With the introduction of blockchain in education, schools will be able to secure data as well as share data without making it accessible to hackers. 

All records are secure 

One of the most crucial benefits of blockchain in education is the ability to empower educational institutions in securing records. 

Maintaining and updating records can be strenuous and cumbersome for education providers as files can easily get jumbled and create reasons for chaos and confusion. Blockchain offers an automatic variant and makes it much easier to keep records, determine accuracy, reduce paper-based processes, eliminate fraudulence and ensure transparency, thereby safeguarding one’s credibility.

Increase your charity 

Charitable donations have always been an integral part of education. The ability of the technology to keep a track of donations, their impact and maintain transparency makes it all the more encouraging for acquiring funds and boosts the transaction processes smoothly and effortlessly. 

There is no need to elaborate much when it comes to uses for blockchain in securing financial transactions. Using the technology in donations and charity transactions makes the process more secure. Donors won’t have to worry about the misuse of funds. 

Tampering of transcripts is a no-no 

For every student and graduate, the transcript is the most critical document which comprises the complete collection of the grades they have achieved, courses they have undergone, papers they have submitted and the training modules they have completed during their tenure in the various academic institutions they have attended. Based on the available transcripts, the student or candidate’s credentials are validated, their performance is evaluated and the job prospects are considered. 

Also nowadays students go to multiple institutions for learning and education. So an employer or an institution will have to connect with all the sources for evaluating the documents. Blockchain offers a single platform wherein all the records can be centrally stored, updated and shared. This way, the long, exhausting process of verifying credentials can be substituted by a system, where the transcripts can be obtained from a single source. 

Feel free to share your documents 

The authenticity of these records is not required to be questioned as Blockchain does not allow tampering or manipulation and rejects falsified data. Students will feel free to officially share their academic transcripts through blockchain, knowing that all records will be in secure hands. A detailed analysis of the blockchain document can be carried out to enhance the quality of educational programs and individual courses. 

From institution to individual 

The technology brings about a paradigm shift in the management and control of records. Instead of the institution, the individuals will take charge of records. In addition, it would be possible for them to have their own verifiable learning history and credentials that could be accessed virtually. Most importantly, although these documents cannot be altered or tampered, students will reserve the right and have control over what they would want to showcase to others from any device. 

Blockchain has enormous potential and a lot of it is still untapped. The introduction of blockchain in the education industry is set to transform the education system and the way we perceive it.