The blockchain industry is ever-growing, with more unique use cases coming about all the time. In a new test being run by Sony Global Education and Fujitsu in collaboration with Human Academy Co., Ltd., student data is the new focus. While this specific experiment may seem like a small task, the implications it has for the future are huge.
Grades, Work, and Immutable Data
One of the key points of this study is to make grades, work, and other student data immutable. In other words, once the grades are input, they are finalized – there’s no getting the grades changed by hacking the systems, trickery, or anything else. Along with this, they are easily able to be seen by anyone with access to the blockchain, ensuring it remains accessible to everyone who needs access. In a world where confirming some data can take time or be a hassle, the blockchain offers a potential solution.
The Focus of This Test
As of this test, “the learning data of each student, including study logs and grade information, will be stored and managed as unfalsifiable data on a blockchain, in the form of a certificate.” This will be used in conjunction with data the students submit, such that it can be verified. It is later planned to be expanded to more areas, bringing in information related to their “study processes and attitudes toward learning.”
The Potential Future
Think about this scenario and it will help better visualize just how impactful the blockchain can be on the education sector. All work is pushed to the blockchain using private keys, and each student has their own public key that lets them see their own progress and scores. Teachers are given a listing of students and their public keys, such that they can verify everything on their own as well. Once work is pushed to the blockchain, it is instantly time-logged – it’s not just a “he said, she said” situation but rather provable to anyone who wants to see. All grades are also set in stone, ensuring they can’t be hacked, lost, bribed, etc. once they have been submitted.
Moving forward to other schools, universities, etc., a signed message can prove that you are who you said you are and that all the work within the blockchain is yours. There’s no more faked transcripts, and admittance counselors can actually view previous work that’s been done, giving a much more holistic view of how your mind operates and what to expect going forward should you be admitted into their school.
Furthermore, this can be made public – having everything logged by private key instead of having a name attached could potentially allow anyone and everyone to have access to the data and view progress of an entire student body while still allowing each individual student to have their own anonymity.
The Takeaway
Using the blockchain for the education sector can completely revolutionize student data storing techniques. Some teachers already do a similar method of publishing grades next to each student’s ID (which only individuals should know), but this takes it a step further by allowing absolutely everything to be easily stored for future access, keeping a holistic view of the student’s progress over time instead of just as a one-off ordeal for each piece of work or semester averages. There’s still a lot of growth to be had within the sector, and within the blockchain development framework as well, but this step by Sony and Fujitsu will undoubtedly prove to be a huge step in the right direction. To learn more about this project, you can check out their press release here.