DOI: 10.4018/IJISSC.2019040105
International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change
Volume 10 • Issue 2 • April-June 2019
Copyright © 2019, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
62
Towards Trusted, Transparent and
Motivational Professional Education
System Through Blockchain
Santosh Kumar Pani, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, India
Rajdeep Chatterjee, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, India
Nihar Ranjan Mahapatra, Bhubaneswar, India
ABSTrACT
The learning process has evolved with time. The primary change that technologies have brought into
the learning process is more structure and activity based. It has become a necessity and a mandate as
well to keep a track of details of educational activities so that it can be referred back to at any point
in time. Moreover, it requires a secure protocol which is trustworthy, transparent, less vulnerable and
requires near zero involvement of mediators. Blockchain technology has a tremendous potential to
disrupt the education sector. Its implementation will help to maintain time-stamped record keeping
that can be validated for all types of activities involved in the professional education system. This
article proposes a blockchain-based model for professional education systems. The model not only
ensures digital identity, verifiable records, but also motivates learning process by rewarding B-coins
for learning activities. It inherits the security, robustness of underlying blockchain technology and
eliminates the need for verification by an intermediate agency.
KEywordS
Blockchain, Continuous Learning, Cryptocurrency, Distributed Ledger, Education, Trust
INTrodUCTIoN
There has been a significant evolution in the learning process through internet as a tool for education.
It has created a huge information base both for the students and the educators. With the advancement
of digital technologies, the learning process is moving towards experiencing a complete paradigm shift
with help of DI-SO-MO (Digital –Social –Mobile) platforms which is bringing in a lot of benefits
for the students as well as for the educators. The primary change that the technologies have brought
in the learning process is more and more structured and activity based. This has created a demand to
record the details of educational activity for each and every student to achieve a continuous evaluation
and feedback mechanism. It is becoming a necessity and mandate as well to keep a track of all the
details of educational activities so that it can be referred back at any point in time. Capturing and
recording of the details are gradually becoming cumbersome due to frequent change in educational
guidelines, government regulations, course curriculum and global educational trends. In the pursuit
of achieving excellence in quality, educational institutes are putting in a lot of effort in formalizing
the information flow and recording mechanism to get the best benefits. The scenario mentioned
above has created a demand to track and record each activity in the education process and make it
more robust, data-driven, motivational and automated in nature. Moreover, it requires a strong value