Abstract
Blockchain has emerged as an important concept at the interface of ICT and higher education. Blockchain is perceived as a revolutionary technology offering a considerable impact of vast magnitude on various sectors since it enables the creation of decentralized applications programmed to run on networks and records sets of data that can be shared securely without third-party mediation. The Blockchain's emphasis on variety in terms of applications may be due to its capacity to build a trusted and decentralized contract environment. The higher education sector is, therefore, a potential user of blockchain technology due to its capacity in allowing stakeholders to validate learning records and identity management. On the other hand, higher education may be understood as a system that includes, among others, two major stakeholders, higher education institutions, (HEIs) and students. Adopting a systematic literature review and thematic content analysis, this chapter aims to understand the blockchain implications and utility in higher education.
TopLiterature Review
Blockchain technology is an advanced database mechanism that allows transparent information sharing within a business network. A blockchain database stores data in blocks that are linked together in a chain. Blockchain technology is also known as distributed ledger technology. It allows participants to secure the settlement of transactions, achieve the transaction, and transfer of assets at a low-cost (Tschorsch and Scheuermann 2016). Blockchain is not only a new type of internet infrastructure based on distributed applications but also a new type of supply chain network. Essentially, blockchain is a distributed network of computers (nodes) used to maintain the source of information sharing. A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed and public digital ledger that is used to record transactions across many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the consensus of the network. To study more about blockchain, its underlying technology, here are some important definitions.
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Decentralized trust: The key reason that organizations use blockchain technology, instead of other data stores, is to provide a guarantee of data integrity without relying on a central authority. This is called decentralized trust through reliable data.
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Blockchain blocks: The name blockchain comes from the fact that the data is stored in blocks, and each block is connected to the previous block, making up a chainlike structure. With blockchain technology, you can only add (append) new blocks to a blockchain. You can’t modify or delete any block after it gets added to the blockchain.
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Consensus algorithms: Algorithms that enforce the rules within a blockchain system. Once the participating parties set up rules for the blockchain, the consensus algorithm ensures that those rules are followed.
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Blockchain nodes: Blockchain blocks of data are stored on nodes—the storage units that keep the data in sync or up to date. Any node can quickly determine if any block has changed since it was added. When a new, full node joins the blockchain network, it downloads a copy of all the blocks currently on the chain. After the new node synchronizes with the other nodes and has the latest blockchain version, it can receive any new blocks, just like other nodes. There are two main types of blockchain nodes: full nodes store a complete copy of the blockchain and lightweight nodes only store the most recent blocks, and can request older blocks when users need them.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Higher Education: The act or process of imparting and acquiring knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, the act and practice of imparting knowledge, especially at college, or university, the theory of teaching and learning generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.
E-Learning: Electronic learning (or e-Learning or eLearning) is a type of education where the medium of instruction is computer technology. In some instances, no in-person interaction takes place. It can be defined as a planned teaching/learning experience that uses a wide spectrum of technologies, mainly internet or computer-based, to reach learners.
Database: A set of data structured to support the storage, retrieval, and analysis of information, often custom-designed for specific business applications. Databases are central to information processing since they allow new and more efficient ways of assembling records and organizing work for better decision-making.
Technology: The branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science; method for convening resources into goods and services.
Accountability in Higher Education: The fact or condition of being accountable. It is an obligation to accept responsibility. A management, for example, needs to care about using public money to the best possible advantage for students who come to a university for an education. The management should also be accountable to students and teachers.
Student: Pupil, a person formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college; any person who studies, investigates, or examines thoughtfully.
Impact: To have effect on, effect of coming into contact with a thing or person; the force exerted by a new idea, concept, technology, or ideology, the impression made by an idea, cultural movement, social group, it is to drive or press (an object) firmly into (another object, thing, etc.) so as to have an impact or strong effect (on).
Information technology (IT): The umbrella term that encompasses the entire field of computer-based information processing: computer equipment, applications, and services, telecommunication links and networks, digital databases, and the integrated technical specifications that enable these systems to function interactively. IT is study or use of systems (especially computers and telecommunications) for storing, retrieving, and sending information.
Stakeholder: A person with an interest or concern in something, especially in an organization or institution. Stakeholder is a member of a type of organization or system in which as a member or participant seen as having an interest in its success.
Learning Management Systems: “Learning Management” is the capacity to design pedagogic strategies that achieve learning outcomes in students, where the emphasis is placed on student learning rather than instructor preparation. A learning management system (LMS) is a software application or Web-based technology used to plan, implement, and assess a specific learning process.
Education: The process of formal knowledge giving process. The actions in process of imparting for acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, especially at schools, generally for preparing oneself or others for mature life.
Internet: A global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols; it denotes a computer network connecting two or more smaller networks.
Teaching: To impart knowledge or skill; give instruction, inform, enlighten, discipline, drill, school, indoctrinate; coach to help to learn.