Blockchain Technology in Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Beyond

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v18i01.46307

Keywords:

blockchain, educational technology, emerging technology, digital, bibliometric

Abstract


Blockchain technology has gained significant attention for its decentralized, secure, transparent, and immutable characteristics. It has been adopted in various domains, including the financial and education sectors. This systematic review provides a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities, challenges, and future educational prospects of blockchain technology by examining published research from various disciplines. A bibliometric approach was adopted using R Studio. Datasets were sourced from the Scopus database, which included Scopusindexed articles from 2018 to 2022. The keywords “blockchain” and “education” were used to retrieve relevant articles. Specific criteria were applied to filter the literature sources, ensuring that our discussions focused on the applications and challenges of blockchain technology in education. We only considered articles written in English, specifically those published in proceedings and journals. The review identified that blockchain technology has the potential to transform education by enhancing data security, facilitating efficient verification and credentialing processes, and enabling peer-to-peer transactions. However, addressing challenges such as adoption, technical expertise, data privacy, security, and standardization is crucial. Therefore, the study concludes that implementing blockchain technology in education can yield significant benefits for future generations. These benefits include reducing the gap in global education and increasing transparency and accountability in the education sector.

Author Biographies

Agariadne Dwinggo Samala, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia

Dr. Agariadne Dwinggo Samala is an educator, futurologist, dedicated researcher, and an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP), Indonesia, specializing in Informatics and Computer Engineering Education. He graduated from the Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Information Technology, Universitas Andalas, Indonesia. In 2015, he completed a Master’s in Technology and Vocational Education from the Faculty of Engineering at UNP, focusing on Informatics Engineering Education. In 2023, he received his Ph.D. from UNP, Indonesia, with a research focus on the convergence of technology and education. Additionally, Agariadne is the Founder and Coordinator of EMERGE (Emerging Technologies, Multimedia, and Education Research Group) at Digital Lab, where he contributes to advancing research initiatives. He is an external collaborator of the Digital Society Lab at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (IFDT), University of Belgrade, Serbia, and an external collaborator at Technology, Instruction, and Design in Engineering and Education Research (TiDEE.rg), Universidad Católica de Ávila, Spain. In addition, he is a member of the International Society for Engineering Pedagogy (IGIP) in Austria. With a deep passion for education, he has conducted impactful research on Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), Emerging Technologies in Education, Flexible Learning, 21st Century Learning, and Technology, Vocational Education and Training (TVET). He serves as an editorial board member of the journals: J-HyTEL, AMLER, JPTK, JEREL, and JCIM. He has contributed to the scientific community through his extensive publication record, with more than 35 published scientific papers. He has also fostered collaborative partnerships with other experts worldwide to drive education progress. He holds certifications as a Microsoft Certified Educator (21st Century Learning), Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate, and Google Certified Educator. These certifications underscore his commitment to innovative teaching and learning practices, integrating technology to enhance education and research.

David Mhlanga, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

David Mhlanga is a Senior Researcher at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. David conducts research in the fields of development economics and education economics. Economics of Artificial Intelligence, Health Economics, and Industry 4.0: Analysis of household financial inclusion (FinTech), Food Security, Poverty Theories, Industry 4.0-Artificial Intelligence in Finance, Agriculture, Health, AI and Poverty, Sustainability, and others are among the current projects.

Ljubisa Bojic, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Serbia

Ljubisa Bojic is a communication scientist, futurologist, and author of the paper The Metaverse through the prism of power and addiction: What will happen when the virtual world becomes more attractive than reality? and a monograph, Culture Organism or Techno-Feudalism: How Growing Addictions and Artificial Intelligence Shape Contemporary Society. Bojic received his Ph.D. from the University of Lyon II, France in 2013 and is currently a senior research fellow and coordinator of the Digital Society Lab, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, at the University of Belgrade, senior research fellow at The Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Serbia, senior research fellow at the Department of Communication, University of Vienna, researcher for AI at the United Nations Development Programme and visiting fellow of the Institute for Human Sciences Vienna (IWM). He has written more than 50 scientific papers, some of them published in leading journals, such as the European Journal of Futures Research and Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research. Bojic is appointed to the United Nations Environment Programme Foresight Expert Panel by UNEP’s Chief Scientist Andrea Hinwood. He was a member of a Serbian government work group dedicated to developing ethical standards for artificial intelligence. Bojic is associate editor of Springer’s journal Humanities & Social Sciences Communications and serves as an executive board member on Horizon’s Project 2022 TWin of Online Social Networks Project. He is the founder of EMERGE: Forum on the Future of AI Driven Humanity and the initiator of the Belgrade Digital Freedom Pledge intended to stimulate widespread conversations about recognizing recommender systems as a public good and digital identity as a human right. The current focus of Bojic’s work is the development of global AI policies and the alignment of AI with human values and wellbeing. He is frequently invited by the media to comment on the latest developments in AI from the perspective of digital humanism. Bojic speaks at universities and events across the world about his latest research.

Natalie-Jane Howard, Lancaster University, Lancaster, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Natalie-Jane Howard is a lecturer at a higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates. She regularly holds professional development workshops for faculty and actively participates in course design, assessment, and materials development. Her research interests and publications span teacher motivation, professional identity, subjectivity, educational technologies, and socio-materiality.

Diogo Pereira Coelho, Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

Diogo Pereira Coelho is a Lawyer in private practice and has a degree in Law and a Master's in Corporate Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon. He holds postgraduate studies in Company Law, Corporate Governance, Corporate Finance, E-Commerce, Corporate Finance Digital, Cryptoassets, Artificial Intelligence, Tax Law, Criminal Law, Administrative Offenses Law, Regulation & Compliance, all respectively completed at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (CIDP, IDEFF & IDPCC) and the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra (IDPEE). Also noteworthy is the associative experience, namely as a Member of the ECBA (European Criminal Bar Association), the EFCL (European Fraud and Compliance Lawyers), the IBCA (International Blockchain Association), the European AI Alliance and the Legal Experts Advisory Panel ( LEAP) of FairTrials, as an Effective Associate of the Forum Penal (Associação de Advogados Penalistas), as a Fellow of the DEA (Digital Euro Association) and the ECOTA (European Carbon Offset Tokenization Association), and as Portugal Ambassador of BIG (Blockchain Industry Group).

Cover iJIM – Vol 18, No 01, 2024

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Published

2024-01-12

How to Cite

Samala, A. D., Mhlanga, D., Bojic, L., Howard, N.-J., & Coelho, D. P. (2024). Blockchain Technology in Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Beyond. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM), 18(01), pp. 20–42. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v18i01.46307

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 01 (2024)

Section

Papers

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Copyright (c) 2023 Agariadne Dwinggo Samala, David Mhlanga, Ljubisa Bojic, Natalie-Jane Howard, Diogo Pereira Coelho

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.