Today, education has already gone a long way compared to what it used to be several decades ago. Still, there are plenty of areas that can be improved with the help of technology. Thus, many universities and schools incorporate different innovations to take their programs to a new level. Some of these innovations are VR, artificial intelligence, personalized learning, and blockchain.
Let’s focus on what blockchain is and how it can influence education.
The blockchain has gained popularity over the last several years. Now, it is spreading its influence to other areas, including education.
The concept of blockchain was used as the basis of the Bitcoin Cryptocurrency. This technology represents a continually growing chain of records (blocks), linked by cryptography. Every newly created record contains a cryptographic hash, timestamp, and specific transaction data.
In brief, it is an open, distributed database, which is used to record transactions. The most significant benefit of such a chain is that it is permanent and easily verifiable. The data once added to the chain is resistant to any modifications, which is why it can be called relevant, trusted, and secure.
With this in mind, experts assume that it can find a practical application in the sphere of education, among others. Thanks to its superior security and validity of stored data, the blockchain can be used for storing academic credentials.
The Pros of Using the Blockchain in Education
Without a doubt, the 21st century, with all of its technologies, has given too much space for fraud. Due to the lack of security, the Internet has caused lots of problems. It is a place where anyone can add any information without having to validate it necessarily, and this has caused plenty of issues in various spheres.
Speaking of education, the Internet has made studying much more comfortable. Modern students can search for information online, obtain high-quality tutoring, or get assistance from reliable services like EssayPro, as well as use plenty of tools that make their lives simpler. At the same time, the Internet has enabled some deceptive individuals to commit fraud with academic credentials.
For quite a long time, fake diplomas, transcripts, and career histories have caused lots of problems, such as:
- Employers were hiring inexperienced candidates;
- Competent specialists couldn’t get the job because someone with fake credentials already took a spot;
- It took lots of time to validate the given data, etc.
However, the idea of using the blockchain technology for verification is about to change the game. Below, we have gathered the four most important points related to this innovation.
Accessibility
This technology enables schools to add information about their students. One of the most significant benefits of having such a database is accessibility. Employers, other schools, as well as students themselves, will have unlimited access to this data.
Transportability
Whenever you are trying to get hired, you will be requested to share data about your education. In the past, this has been a bit more tricky, as the candidates had to bring the actual copies of their credentials.
With the help of the blockchain, job seekers can share their documents with anyone right when they need it. This should make the process a bit faster and easier.
Security
Probably the most significant advantage of this technology is security. The blockchain doesn’t allow any modifications of the data stored in the chain. This basically means that once a school has added information about your performance, there is no way this information can be removed or changed.
Reliability
The information added to the database is resistant to modifications. Also, it can only be added by the issuer of credentials. This means that such data is valid.
What benefits does it leave us with? First of all, employers will obtain verified information on their candidates. Job seekers in their turn will have a possibility to prove their career and academic history with ease.
What Online Services Can Be Used for Academic Verification?
It seems like the blockchain is still gaining momentum. The chances of it being incorporated into different spheres of our lives are pretty high.
Many believe that such changes are yet to come. However, we are here to ensure that this technology is already being widely used for verification.
Based on what was mentioned earlier, the blockchain is probably the safest way to distribute academic credentials and make them easy to verify. Thus, quite a few verification services are already leveraging the distributed ledger technology.
Without a doubt, gaining valid data about a person’s diploma or transcript can come in handy to many employers. Luckily, there are plenty of online services that have the same mission, and using them is pretty easy.
Which online services can one trust? On the Internet, there is a bunch of verifiers that allow anyone to validate the skills and authenticate grades, certificates, or academic credentials of another person. Of course, there are plenty of not trustworthy platforms, but still, there are a few that may come in handy.
Blockcerts
This is one of the best tools out there. There is a web version and a free mobile app available on Google Play and App Store. Using this application, anyone can connect with the issuers and request relevant credentials. Also, with the help of the Blockcerts, once the credentials have been received, you can hold them and share with any third parties at any time.
TrustedEducation
This is another convenient tool that offers a smart solution for academic verification using blockchain technology. Turning to TrustedEducation enables universities and schools to upload credentials and certificates of their students. In their turn, learners can have unlimited access to this data and share it digitally with pretty much anyone. Besides, this tool will definitely come in handy to employers around the world, allowing them to access and verify the documents of potential employees.
Blockcred
The primary mission of the Blockcred is to combat fraud regarding academic credentials and provide verifiers with the access to valid documents added by the issuers. This platform makes verifying credentials quick and simple. With its help, employers don’t have to contact universities to get the information on their employees.
How Does This Influence the Labor Market?
With the growing popularity of the Internet and technology, employers have faced many issues while checking the backgrounds of their potential employees.
Due to a large amount of information stored on the Web and the fact that almost anyone can modify it, obtaining valid information has become barely possible. Due to this problem, the number of frauds in academic credentials has increased.
In the 21st century, employers have to deal not only with deceptive job seekers but also with companies who sell fake degrees to students worldwide.
One of the most notorious cases of fraud involved a Karachi-based company Axact. The company was accused of selling fake credentials, certificates, and diplomas from different facilities. Throughout its activity, the company has sold thousands of degrees to people from the US, UK, and a few other countries.
Final Words
With this in mind, one can state that using the blockchain technology to ensure public access to valid academic credentials can solve the employers’ problem and help them become better aware of whom they are going to hire. Besides, such technology should make it easier for employers to find new talents. Thus, from their perspective, this is a good change.
Now, what about the employees? We believe that for most job seekers, this will be a positive change as well. With the help of publicly accessible databases, candidates should find it easier to verify their credentials and working history. Thus, competent specialists should become much more employable.
As for the seekers with no previous experience, they will have an opportunity to focus on their grades, skills, and academic achievements confirmed by universities.
Of course, the blockchain used for verification of academic data will make it impossible to provide invalid data, which will be a disappointment for many deceptive candidates. However, as for the rest, such an innovation should do more good than bad!
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