Sometimes the landscape of education is jolted by a seismic force of innovation as a result of necessity. The pandemic introduced new uses for radical adoption of innovations like virtual reality, augmented reality, flipped classrooms, and "ed tech" tools that are transforming classrooms into rich learning environments. These technologies are evolving before our eyes and redefining 'normal' in an age of digital literacy that challenges educators to keep apace with new developments and tools to add to their expanding "tech tool box."

Other times, the landscape of education is slowly altered by new technologies that haven't quite entered the mainstream, yet are on the cusp of widespread adoption. One such technology is open badging, and blockchain technology offers an appealing solution to keeping learning confidential, portable, and verifiable. Badge issuers like Open Badge Passport, Credly, and Badgr are already beginning to explore blockchain technology.

How it Works

The idea is simple. Here's how it works. Let's say you've just earned a micro-credential and a badge. Great! Now what? How do you share your credentials with employers or universities and confirm your credentials are valid? Where do you store all your badges that you accumulate? How do you retain the value of your achievements if it's not verified by a third party?

Enter blockchain technology.

Digital badges contain embedded meta-data, such as what course you took, what skills you've mastered, and who issued you your badge. Third party companies like employers or universities have access to this information when it's stored on a blockchain. This is where badge issuers like Credly and Badgr work their magic! These companies are digital credential networks that support open badging. Open badging allows learners and issuers to collaborate, share, and recognize each other's credentials on a secure platform.

This means that a prospective student can share their digital badge profile on the blockchain with higher education institutions. The blockchain verifies the individual's achievements and provides the university with a detailed account of the student's aptitudes. This can even apply in the job market as applicants share their skills with employers. With a universal platform in place, a common language of digital badges is established, meaning that portability and sharing has never been easier. Plus, the dialogue can continue on social media and networking platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook as users can share, comment, and view digital badge profiles with others, anytime, anywhere.

Pros & Cons

Should Carisbrooke University implement micro-credential blockchain technology, the anticipated benefits may include:

• Improved Efficiency of the College Admissions process - a quick glance at a prospective student's badge gallery would highlight his or her accomplishments and verify these badges are credible; blockchain may even serve as a two-factor identification strategy to ensure that an individual's badges match the courses stated on their résumé. This is necessary to maintain the integrity of the student's academic/personal profile.
• Holistic Student Development - informal and formal learning is recognized and validated by network partners, meaning that a student's grades are no longer a reflective snapshot of their full range of skills and aptitudes
• Student Ownership - students take on the role as active, independent learners as they create customizable learning pathways with badges pointing to their milestone achievements
• Transparency - university integrity is maintained as students graduating from Carisbrooke can feel confident that their credentials will transfer safely and securely to any networked organization included on the blockchain

Drawbacks however are inevitable. These may include:

• Stakeholder Support - blockchain is still not widely understood and university leaders may feel hesitant to embrace a new technology without a trial and error period and training on its functions; other considerations include gaining insights from students, parents, employers, etc. Their support (or lack thereof) dictate whether this new technology dies or thrives.
• Technological Risk - blockchain is evolving and expanding; new areas and purposes for its use are still being defined. Any new technology is prone to fail, which means that universities like us are looking toward higher ed institutions already experimenting with blockchain. If these pilot tests fail and widespread adoption is minimal, does this mean that blockchain is a promising option, but not a realistic tool to implement?
• Network Risk - does the university have the right partners and organizations to form a collaborative micro-credential ecosystem? Getting local employers, organizations, and peer institutions on a shared network is time-consuming and requires persuasion to make it a joint effort; it's more valuable if university partners can get on board together as trusted entities experimenting with blockchain together.

Practical Application

connecting students with employers

A scenario in which implementing micro-credentials with blockchain technology would be useful would be introducing it to our graduating students who are actively applying for jobs. During my time as an administrative assistant at Carisbrooke's Center for Professional Development, I have witnessed students struggle to convey their skills and aptitudes in a résumé format. Some students are frustrated that the skills they develop during volunteer work or study abroad experiences are not reflected on their academic résumé. Others are concerned that their résumé does not provide a holistic assessment of what they can offer employers. Still, other students struggle to regularly update their résumé, meaning that their résumé may lack accurate dates or details that affect the accuracy of the document.

Blockchain technology addresses these concerns by keeping all documents and credential transactions confidential, secure, and updated. Students would be able to directly contact employers on the blockchain network and share their digital profiles, instilling a sense of independence and ownership. Additionally, employers can increase their productivity and efficiency of the hiring process by contacting students who have the unique skill sets that correspond to their job postings. Furthermore, with blockchain technology, employers can quickly verify that the skills reflected in an applicant's résumé are consistent with those listed in his or her digital badge profile.

Instructional Design & Blockchain Technology

Are they compatible?

Considering the 'newness' of blockchain technology and its relatively new expansion into the educational context, it is difficult to determine whether it is compatible with instructional design principles. However, I think it can safely be said that they complement each other quite well. Instructional design consistently advocates for a student-centered approach, and blockchain technology combined with micro-credentials and digital badges models this pedagogy by placing the learner in control of his or her learning. Students are sharing digital artifacts, engaging in lifelong learning, and contributing dialogue to foster personal and professional growth in multiple disciplines. Increased engagement and student empowerment may lead to exciting research related to blockchain technology integration with K-12 and higher educational environments.

In addition to the student-centered pedagogy, blockchain may introduce new methods for creating and sharing e-Learning content in an open access format. Higher-education institutions may no longer be the sole gatekeeper of academic resources, but instead become part of the broader network of organizations, students, and peer institutions co-sharing knowledge. The implications of its use in distance learning or as a method for tracking a student's progress throughout his or her academic career remain to be seen. With further research, these areas will become more defined.

Recommendations

Micro-credential and blockchain technology can be used in several ways in higher education institutions like Carisbrooke University. Two avenues in which I see it as having the most impact is with our graduating students entering the workforce and with our dedicated personnel managing student academic records in the Registrar's Office. My recommendations for this is to encourage the topic of blockchain technology and micro-credentials to be an added topic area to our university meetings that frequently discuss emerging technologies. Consultation with our university's instructional design team would also be necessary to explore how this technology could expedite standard university procedures.

Additionally, I would recommend that interest level assessments be conducted to gauge the collective interest of faculty, staff, and administrative leaders to see if blockchain adoption is viable. Lastly, I would recommend a cautionary approach to blockchain's introduction to the university. While pilot testing and early initiatives may prove successful at peer institutions, it is important to note that their factors for success, such as university culture and resources may be quite different from our university's. Keeping these things in mind will help us stay grounded and practical when considering the adoption of blockchain technology.

Image Citations

Mathers, B. M. (2015, March 30). The badge and the blockchain [Image]. http://badgechain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/94d1f-1mvkogucxmhq5mpxuvbf-dq.png

Mathers, B. M. (2016, February 29). What's inside an open badge? [Image]. http://badgechain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/c5a40-1gj1vjaz0xppdwf8by8ow-w.png

Savenko, K. (2019). You are here [Image]. https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/you-are-here-e1560783609532.jpg?w=1200&strip=all