Instrumental and substantial contributions of Blockchain to education

Abstract

Blockchain breaks into the educational scenario offering alternatives for improvement over certain administrative processes, such as recognition of user identity, non-mediated validation of academic certificates, or the use of smart contracts, among other novelties. Futuristic chronicles predict a transformation of the architecture of the educational system as a whole and an unprecedented synergy between teachers, institutions and formal and non-formal areas of education. Although the advances are in their infancy and there isn’t much academic research on the subject yet, it is clear that Blockchain has great potential with regards to its administrative application. Some educational initiatives based on the model of multilateral technological platforms result to be interesting as well as challenging. It is necessary to warn, however, about the little contribution that the application of Blockchain technology entails in the pedagogical dimension, and about the uncertainty that hangs over the revolutionary claims of the most extreme prospects, which predict more transformative power than what the technology itself seems to offer.