In recent times, early blockchain adopters have reaped the rewards for pioneering this revolutionary technology. However, acceptance of this innovative tech is still relatively low among educational institutions and learning systems. The Forward Protocol blockchain has an essential role in reducing the friction between both industries through a journal detailing its integration potential with legacy school systems. 

Stakeholders need to answer two essential questions to gain the confidence of the market. First of all, why should an institute for learning adopt blockchain technology? Secondly, who is in the best position to facilitate interaction between learning communities and institutions?

Why is blockchain technology crucial for learning institutions? 

As components of a blockchain, smart contracts are self-actualizing programs that become automatically active when certain pre-agreed conditions are met. This transparent and self-regulated mechanism improves efficiency, removes third-party interference, and adds flexibility to systems. The nature of smart contracts also makes them more cost-effective and less prone to human errors. 

A 2019 study showed that at least 66% had heard about blockchain. Even though this figure grew to around 80% over the following year, blockchain adoption and application in these companies remain in their infancy today. It becomes apparent to the neutral observer that blockchain adoption in the education sector will facilitate efficient personnel and resource allocation and save time and administrative costs.

According to interview participant #4 from a North American public university, their school joined the Digital Credentials Consortium to introduce blockchain to improve their governance mechanism. The university also wanted to improve their staff’s knowledge and skills to implement this innovative technology in the long term. However, the strategy to successfully implement this system is dependent on the participant. 

One highly effective process is highlighted below:

Educate school administrators

To successfully integrate blockchain solutions in educational systems, staff members with knowledge of the blockchain need to help onboard those with less exposure to the technology. 

Demonstrating the importance of this step, interview respondent #9 described his experience of integrating blockchain educational solutions. He claimed that the party that decided was its administration, not students or any other staff. 

Thus, raising awareness and educating academic governance bodies about the advantages and methods of blockchain will encourage users in the educational systems to accelerate practical innovations globally.

No incentives to implement solutions

However, some of the interviewees were concerned that governance stakeholders in universities did not have the incentive to implement blockchain solutions. Instead, they were more focused on the actual student performance and academic rankings.

Fortunately, there are alternative methods. For instance, the government is another critical party that may significantly influence the market adoption of blockchain within the education sector. 

Infuse more trust for all parties involved

As interviewee #9 highlighted, approximately 20 million university enrollment in countries like India is excluded from educational opportunities annually because the classic higher education system cannot support this demand. 

Because of this, open education online is a crucial affordable opportunity for those who are excluded. A big challenge with online education is the formal recognition of skills by businesses. Employers in developing economies value traditional degrees at the expense of online and more informal educational methods. 

In such a context, blockchain credentialing would establish trust for all parties involved by ensuring the validity of credentials gained through non-traditional education methods. 

Need for partnerships and collaborations

According to interviewee #9, a critical partner may help blockchain credentials suppliers provide viable solutions to the government. Thus, adopting blockchain-in-education solutions at scale may be more easily ensured through partnerships and collaborations with government and university governance stakeholders.

As interviewee #1 highlighted, another issue with the public adoption of critical blockchain-in-education applications, such as digital credentialing, was actual demand from employers. For institutions to be encouraged to adopt these solutions, more request must come from businesses. 

How are partnerships and collaboration made possible?

Forward Protocol takes the lead.

Delivering a blockchain solution that connects the EdTech sector, Forward Protocol has ready-to-deploy, fully customizable smart contracts. The solution is a simple-to-use way to adopt blockchain technology. 

Along with the accessible features, Forward Protocol offers DeEd (Decentralized Education), which is designed to change learning worldwide. The feature has an “earn as you learn” model that rewards participation and excellence in learners, motivating them to learn new skills.

Forward Protocol’s vision is to develop a model like WordPress, with which any EdTech app developer, expert, or entity can install an open-source application that is pre-integrated with Forward Protocol and $FORWARD tokens.

Simply put, the features of the #Forward ecosystem are the following:

• Forward Protocol architecture is layered, dividing each segment of the EdTech industry into multiple smart contracts.
• Any EdTech dApp that deploys Forward Protocol can use the Forward Factory to create customized smart contracts with easy UI/UX. 
• Collaborators will set their fee percentage, turn features on/off, and set terms/policies.
• The process is designed to help platforms deploy and become blockchain-ready, built with a much shorter lead time than developing a platform themselves.

Conclusion

While employers recognize the importance of skills and credentials validation through blockchain, they often lack the necessary expertise, infrastructure, and funding to alter recruitment practices and integrate new applications.

These issues indicate that multiple parties (governments, academia, businesses) must collaborate and overcome various challenges, including lack of incentives, funding, and expertise. This way, they can ensure the successful and sustainable integration of blockchain-in-education solutions worldwide. To accelerate this change, Forward Protocol leverages 36 years of founders’ combined experiences for tremendous success. 

Let’s go #Forward!

Source: Plato Data Intelligence