Research Methodology for a new study on blockchain for education being sponsored by the European Commissions Joint Research Centre in Seville

1. BLOCKCHAIN FOR EDUCATION: A STUDY ON DIGITAL
ACCREDITATION OF PERSON AND ACADEMIC LEARNING
RESEARCH PROPOSAL PRESENTED TO THE JRC
10/03/2017
Alex Grech & Anthony F. Camilleri

2. REFERENCE-WORKS
 On Virtual and Cryptocurrencies: a general overview from the technological aspects to financial
implications", (2015). ???
 OpenCred: exploring issues around the recognition of non-formal learning via MOOCs in Europe
 Overview and Analysis of the Concept and Applications of Virtual Currencies (2016)

3. WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN FOR EDUCATION AND HOW CAN IT BE APPLIED?
 What is the blockchain, what are the technologies and concepts that underpin it?
 How is blockchain different from conventional ledger systems?
 What are the applications of blockchain technology?
 How is blockchain being applied in credentialisation in education?
 Specifically, what are the features of the following systems:
 Blockcerts (developed and supported by MIT Media Lab and Learning Machine) on the Bitcoin Blockchain
 OpenBlockChain (supported by the Open University) on the Ethereum Blockchain
 What are the differences between these systems?

4. WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN FOR EDUCATION AND HOW CAN IT BE APPLIED?
Concepts
Digitally Signed
Certificates
Distributed vs.
Central Ledgers
Technologie
s
Bitcoin
Ethereum
Applications
Crypto
Currencies
Smart-
Contracts
Solutions
BlockCert
Open Block
Chain

5. CAN BLOCKCHAIN BE USED BY TEACHERS AND LEARNERS AS A
TRANSPARENT, TRUSTED SYSTEM FOR SECURING, SHARING AND VERIFYING
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN EUROPE?
 What ways exist for different users to interact with the blockchain?
 What training would be required by different users to interact with the blockchain?
 What user interfaces are necessary to enable interaction with the blockchain?
 What features of the blockchain (distinguishing between Ethereum & Bitcoin blockchains as necessary) enable:
 Transparency
 Trust
 Security
 Sharing
 Verification
 Is blockchain technology fit-for-purpose, i.e. efficient and effective, for recording academic achievements?

6. CAN BLOCKCHAIN BE USED BY TEACHERS AND LEARNERS AS A
TRANSPARENT, TRUSTED SYSTEM FOR SECURING, SHARING AND VERIFYING
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN EUROPE?
What is the equivalent
infrastructure for
blockchain?
Source: http://badges.thinkoutloudclub.com/modules/what/ref

7. CAN BLOCKCHAIN BE USED BY TEACHERS AND LEARNERS AS A
TRANSPARENT, TRUSTED SYSTEM FOR SECURING, SHARING AND VERIFYING
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN EUROPE?
Which design-
features of a quality
credentials system
are addressed by
blockchain?
Source: Validation of Non-formal MOOC-based Learning: An Analysis of Assessment and Recognition Practices in Europe (Open

8. WHAT IS THE LIKELY TAKE-UP OF BLOCKCHAIN BY EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES AND
HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS SHOULD IT BE DEPLOYED AS AN OPEN
STANDARD? WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO THIS END?
 How 'open' are the current blockchain specifications for education?
 Can these specifications be considered a standard?
 If not, what is required to standardise them?
 Is there demand for a technology such as blockchain from Higher Education Institutions in Europe, or from any of their
clients (employers, students or governments)?
 What are the challenges for take-up in Higher Education Institutions in terms of:
 Policy & legislation
 Technology
 Institutional culture
 Resources
 Knowledge

9. ELEMENTS FOR ANALYSIS OF AN OPEN LICENCE (MIT)

10. OPENNESS IN TERMS OF STANDARDISATION
ISO proposes that International Standards should be evaluated according to principles stipulated by the
World Trade Organization's Technical Barriers to Trade Committee (WTO/TBT):
• Transparency
• Openness
• Impartiality and consensus
• Effectiveness and relevance
• Coherence
• Addressing the concerns of
developing countries.

11. HOW WILL BLOCKCHAIN INTERACT WITH AND POTENTIALLY SUPPORT BOTH
MAINSTREAM AND ALTERNATIVE ACCREDITATION FRAMEWORKS IN EUROPE?
 How does the metadata collected by the two blockchain for education specifications compare with European educational standards, including:
 ECTS
 Europass (all tools including CV)
 Diploma Supplement
 EQF
 How does the metadata collected by the two blockchain for education specifications compare with common alterative accreditation frameworks,
in particular:
 Open Badges
 e-portfolios
 Continuing Professional Education 'points' schemes
 What changes to the blockchain for education specifications (if any) are required to support interoperability with the frameworks outlined
above?
 Can the centralised nature of accreditation and the decentralised nature of the blockchain be reconciled?

12. HOW WILL BLOCKCHAIN INTERACT WITH AND
POTENTIALLY SUPPORT BOTH MAINSTREAM AND
ALTERNATIVE ACCREDITATION FRAMEWORKS IN
EUROPE?
 Which meta-data needs to
be included in the one-way
hash?
 How should we standardize
meta-data between:
 EU Level
 MS Level
 Institutional Level
Source: Blockcerts.org presentation at Malta Presidency State of Digital Education Confere

13. HOW COULD BLOCKCHAIN HELP BRIDGING ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS AND
INDIVIDUAL'S LEARNING PORTFOLIO?
 What are the potential risks and benefits of adopting blockchain for education for:
 European public authorities
 Education ministries
 The public service more widely
 European Higher Education Institutions
 Non-University providers of tertiary education
 European Employers (distinction for SMEs if necessary)
 What actions are necessary to maximise benefits and mitigate risks?
 What role can the European Commission play in enabling the technology, should this outcome be proved to
be desirable?

14. HOW COULD
BLOCKCHAIN
HELP BRIDGING
ACADEMIC
CREDENTIALS
AND
INDIVIDUAL'S
LEARNING
PORTFOLIO?
 There is a significant case for proposing a
semi-open system of recognition of credentials
Source: Beyond the Blockchain:Adding Trust to Academic Credentials, Brendan Farmer - Jared Dunnmon

15. HOW COULD BLOCKCHAIN HELP
BRIDGING ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS
AND INDIVIDUAL'S LEARNING
PORTFOLIO?
How Blockchain fits into the
wider picture
blockchain

16. HOW COULD BLOCKCHAIN SUPPORT INCREASING EU EFFORTS TO
OPENING UP EDUCATION IN MEMBER STATES?
 How can blockchain support opening up education in terms of:
 improving access to educational opportunities?
 improving transparency of qualifications?
 contributing towards open-data / open-government initiatives?

17. HOW COULD BLOCKCHAIN SUPPORT INCREASING EU EFFORTS TO OPENING
UP EDUCATION IN MEMBER STATES?
Analysis of Blockchain, through
the lens of appropriate
Dimensions of the OpenEdu
Framework

18. QUESTION ON POSITIONING OF RESEARCH
Blockchain for
Educational
Credentials
Digital
Credentialling
(with a Blockchain Focus)
vs

19. METHODOLOGY
WORK PLAN AND TIMETABLE

20. WP 1: DESK-RESEARCH, INTERVIEWS AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Literaturereviewofanypublished
literatureon:
Applications of blockchain
for education
Non-financial applications
of blockchain more
generally
Any new and relevant
material on blockchain
technology more generally,
since the 2015 JRC
DeskResearchutilisingprimarysourcescovering:
The Blockcerts
technical
specification,
governing structure,
operations and
intellectual property
arrangements
The OpenBlockChain
technical
specification,
Interviewswithrepresentativesofallrelevant
stakeholdersinblockchainandeducation,namely:
Employers (Business Europe,
Eurochambres)
Students (European
Students' Union, Erasmus
Students Network)
Teachers (Education
International)

21. WP 2: CASE STUDIES
Blockcerts.org
• State-of-the-art and future plans, based on semi-structured interviews with
leaders of project
• Initial feedback from community to open standard (methodology:
workshop conducted online)
Open Block Chain
• State-of-the-art and future plans, based on semi-structured interviews with leaders of project
• Initial feedback from organizations who have piloted each initiative based on semi-structured interviews
• Analysis of publicly available reactions to each of the schemes in industry-press.
Malta Blockchain Pilot
• Interrogation of the reasons for piloting blockchain in Malta (based on open interviews with key
stakeholders in the Maltese Ministry for Education and Employment) – needs analysis
• Description of the specific plans for and desired results of the Malta pilot, based on analysis of the
Memorandum of Understanding, Open Interviews with all project leaders and observation of initial steps
taken under the agreement

22. WORK-PLAN
Phase Deadline
Project Scoping & Inception End of March
WP 1
• Literature Review: 2 weeks
• Analysis of Specifications: 1 week
• Interviews: 2 weeks
• Preparation of WP 1 deliverable: 1 week
15 May
WP 2
• Initial Contact with Case Study Leaders: 1 week
• First Interviews and Observations: 1 week
• Analysis: 1 week
• Second Interviews and Observations: 1 week
• Reporting and Peer-Review with Case-Leaders: 2 weeks
30 Jun
WP 3
• First Draft: 1 week
• Response from IPTS: 1 week
• Second Draft: 1 week
• Finalisation and Editing: 1 week
30 Jul

23. METHODS
 WP 1
 Collection of bibliography from open sources
 Trend & Policy Analysis
 Semi-structured interviews (recorded not transcribed)
 WP 2
 Open-ended interviews
 Document analysis based on material provided by
interviewees
 Follow-Up Semi-structured interviews
 WP 3
 Recommendations with confidence and impact
analysis (not based on external panels)

24. QUALITY
ASSURANCE
Herman de Leeuw

25. RISK MANAGEMENT
Risk Severity Likelihood Mitgating Measures
Major Blockchain
Developments lead to need
to rewrite / redo parts of
research
Low: May Result in Delays, but will ensure
excellent results
Low Foresight of trends has been
taken into account in study
design
Unforseen Availability of
Primary Researchers
(sickness etc)
Medium: Could cause significant delays in
study
Very Low Researchers working as team
– one researcher can take
over fromm the other
Unavailability of Senior
Persons for Pilots
High: Would result in diminished outcomes Low Contact pilot leaders through
personal contacts /
introductions
Pilots maintain proprietary
data / strategies
Medium: Would lead to incomplete foresight Medium Allow for off-the record
briefings to understand
wider context
Political / Admin Delays to
Malta Pilot
Low: would change focus of pilot from
implementing blockchain to problems with
blockchain implementation
Medium Focus study on the process
of implementing a
blockchain pilot