Can blockchain democratize education? This startup seems to think so
Without much fanfare, recent advances in technology have helped provide quality education to people across the world.Cloud applicationshelped us create classrooms that defy geographical barriers and span across thousands of miles.Artificial intelligence and machine learninghelped make up for the shortage of teaching talent by providing tools that assist students in learning and augment the ability of teachers.
Blockchain is the technology driving the next revolution in education by removing institutional and financial barriers. This is the idea behindOn-Demand Education Marketplace (ODEM), a platform that aims to provide learners and teachers with a flexible educational hub where they can directly connect, plan and confirm in-person courses.
ODEM uses blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that enables operations and exchange of digital assets without the need for gatekeepers and intermediaries. Blockchain enables ODEM to remove institutions that stand between students and teachers.
Removing institutions from the loop will reduce intermediary fees considerably, which means students will pay less for their education and teachers will earn more. But more importantly, there won’t be any party to impose rules on how teachers can share their knowledge and expertise, and how students can join an educational program. This is especially important when you globalize education, because many learners can’t conform to the requirements imposed by higher educational institutions in other countries.
The result is a gig economy of the sharing of knowledge, the purpose behind the name of ODEM. Students can place requests for specific courses and teachers can directly respond to those requests. This can be anything such as a short introductory session about quantum physics or a complete months-long class about object-oriented programming. ODEM can arrange both online and in-person courses.
This model can solve one of the problems lying ahead as technological developments continue to transform our world. As theautomation of human labor picks pace, old education models might no longer be able to respond to the needs of constantly changing economies.
For instance, by the time you earn a four-year higher education degree, much of the knowledge and skills you acquire might have become obsolete because advances in artificial intelligence might have automated a huge chunk of the work you’re learning to do. We’ll be needing models that will enable people to learn in small and quick increments. The on-demand market might provide a good basis for fulfilling this requirement.
ODEM has a large database of courses and requests that students and teachers can browse to find the item they need. This database is stored on its own servers to optimize speed and accessibility. The platform uses artificial intelligence algorithms to quickly peruse the data and find the best solution for each user.
