区块链如何颠覆教育系统?

HOW WILL BLOCKCHAIN TRANSFORM THE EDUCATION SYSTEM?

数据观/黄玉叶（编译）

Smart classrooms aren’t too far off, and blockchain technology may become an integral part of schools all over the globe in a few years. But how will this system help administrators and students?

智能教室已然不远，区块链技术有望在近几年内成为全球学校里不可或缺的一部分。但是，这个系统将如何帮助学校管理员和学生呢?

Bitcoin is the most well-known virtual currency in the world, at one time reaching a value of over $19,000 per coin. Its biggest legacy, however, has nothing to do with its value, but with the type of network it uses.

比特币是世界上最知名的虚拟货币，一度价值超过1.9万美元。然而，它最大的馈赠与其价值无关，而是在于它使用的网络类型。

The blockchain, which has gained fame over the last few years for its superior cybersecurity capabilities, has begun to see use in a number of industries that take security seriously, including finance and healthcare. The potential uses for the blockchain, however, extend far beyond its current applications and could make a big difference in classrooms one day.

过去几年里，区块链因其卓越的网络安全能力而声名鹊起。如今，它已开始在重视安全的行业，譬如金融和医疗等领域得到应用。然而，区块链的潜在用途远远超出了它目前的应用，有朝一日势必给课堂带来重大影响。

Education is a sector that is just as important as healthcare and finance, and there are lots of areas within this sector that could be improved using technology. The market for edtech is growing quickly, and is estimated to reach $93.76 billion globally by 2020. Already, tools like virtual reality and personalized learning with artificial intelligence are helping to improve learning outcomes for students at all levels.

教育与医疗和金融同等重要，在教育界有许多领域可以利用技术加以改进。教育科技的市场正在迅猛增长，预计到2020年全球市场规模将达到937.6亿美元。诸如虚拟现实和个性化人工智能学习等工具已经在帮助各个层次的学生提高学习效果。

Smart classrooms aren’t too far off, and blockchain technology may become an integral part of schools all over the globe in a few years. But how will this system help administrators and students? To understand the potential impact of blockchain in the education system and predict how this technology will impact teachers and students, it’s helpful to know how other sectors have used it to improve their processes—and how schools might one day follow in their footsteps.

智能教室离我们不远了，几年后区块链技术可能会成为全球学校不可或缺的一部分。但是这个系统将如何帮助学校管理员和学生呢?为了了解区块链在教育系统中的潜在影响，并预测这项技术将如何影响教师和学生，我们首先得知晓其他部门是如何利用区块链技术来改进他们的工作流程，如此一来学校才能追随他们的步伐。

Banks and Hospitals Paving the Way for Better School Security

银行和医院的实践为学校安全铺平道路

Globally, people are understandably worried about their privacy and the security of their data. Parents are especially protective of their children’s data, and schools have to take the threat of data breaches seriously as online records become more common every year.

从全球来看，人们担心自己的隐私和数据安全是情理之中的事情。家长对孩子的数据保护尤为严格，随着网络记录的日益普化，学校不得不严肃对待数据泄露的威胁。

Schools can follow the lead of industries like finance and healthcare and use the blockchain to help keep student data safe in the coming years. These industries have been paving the way for years and the infrastructure that will allow schools to secure their data with blockchain technology is finally being built, thanks to the successful tests and experiments conducted by healthcare and financial organizations.

学校可以效仿金融和医疗等行业的做法，在未来几年里利用区块链来确保学生数据的安全。多年来，这些行业一直在为此铺平道路，多亏了医疗和金融机构进行的成功测试和实验，支持区块链技术的校园数据保护基础设施终于得以建立。

Banks and financial institutions are understandably security-focused, and have been pioneers in using blockchain technology. Although the process of updating the blockchain’s distributed ledger can be slow, it is much faster than many other digital means of transferring value.

银行和金融机构理所当然以安全为中心，是使用区块链技术的先锋。虽然更新区块链分布式分类账的过程可能较缓慢，但它比许多其他数字价值传输的方式要快得多。

In healthcare, blockchains are being used to help reduce the impact of cybercrime and data theft in the industry. An astounding 1 out of every 4 breaches targets the healthcare sector, affecting 1 in 13 patients in the United States. Healthcare data is extremely valuable to hackers because it is so personal, permanent, and detailed. To help fight off cybercriminals, many healthcare organizations and insurers are either using or considering using blockchain technology. The transparency of the system, combined with the fact that nothing is truly deleted, makes it much more difficult to steal patient data undetected.

在医疗保健领域，区块链被用来帮助减少网络犯罪和数据盗窃对行业的影响。令人震惊的是，每4起攻击事件中就有1起针对医疗行业，在美国每13名患者中就有1人受到影响，医疗数据对黑客来说价值连城，因为它是如此的个人化、永久性和详细周密。为了打击网络犯罪，许多医疗机构和保险公司正在使用或考虑使用区块链技术，系统的透明性，加上不删除任何内容的事实，使得黑客想在不被发现的情况下窃取患者数据变得更加困难。

Security Concerns and Degree Verification on College Campuses

大学校园的安全问题和学位认证

Unfortunately, education isn’t far behind finance and healthcare when it comes to data breaches. After these two industries, education experienced the most data breaches of any sector in 2017, making up 13% of all breaches. Student data, although it might seem worthless since most young children and teens have limited financial information, is actually becoming a hot commodity among cybercriminals.

不幸的是，在数据泄露方面，教育并不比金融和医疗乐观多少。继这两个行业之后，教育行业在2017年遭遇的数据泄露事件是所有行业中最多的，占所有数据泄露事件的13%。学生数据，虽然看似毫无价值，因其大多数儿童和青少年的财务信息有限，但实际上正在成为网络罪犯的热门商品。

Security and verification are becoming a major concern both on college campuses and after students leave to enter the workforce. Data breaches target student records and steal information that can be used to create fake identities or be sold by hackers. Protecting records with the blockchain could make these attacks ineffective, protecting students’ identities and school records. As more schools from kindergarten to university go digital, this could be key in ensuring student privacy.

信息安全与证件核查正在成为大学校园和学生离开校园进入职场后的一个主要问题。数据入侵的目标是学生记录，窃取可以用来伪造身份或被黑客出售的信息。使用区块链保护记录有望抵御这些攻击，从而保护学生的身份信息和校园记录。从幼儿园到大学，越来越多的学校开始数字化，这可能是确保学生隐私的关键。

Employing blockchain security protocols in higher education has its other uses as well—namely defending employers against people who claim to have a degree, but really don’t. Unfortunately, people have been known to lie about their degrees and qualifications to employers, claims that are difficult (if not impossible) to verify under current systems. When students enter the workforce, blockchain could also be used to help assure employers that potential candidates fresh out of school have the qualifications that they claim on their resume, by storing that information in a secure ledger.

在高等教育中使用区块链安全协议还有其他用途——即保护雇主免受那些谎报虚假学位的欺骗。不幸的是，大家都知道，人们会向雇主谎报自己的学位和资格，在目前的制度下，这种说法很难(如果不是不可能的话)核实。当学生进入职场，可以运用区块链将学生的学位信息存储在一个安全的分类账中，以帮助雇主确保刚毕业的潜在求职者拥有符合简历描述的学历资格。

Potential Uses for Blockchain Technology in the Education Sector

区块链技术在教育领域的潜在应用

By looking to other industries that currently use blockchain technology, we can start to make predictions about how these networks could be used in an educational setting. While the number of potential uses in education is very large, there are a few that are the most exciting.

通过观察目前使用区块链技术的其他行业，我们可以开始预测这些网络将如何在教育环境中应用，虽然教育的潜在用途非常多，但也有一些是最令人兴奋的。

Test Prep and Learning

备考与学习

Russian platform Disciplina is the first platform to harness the power of blockchain technology solely for education and recruiting. TeachMePlease, one of the Disciplina applications, is a higher education marketplace, bringing teachers and students together.

俄罗斯Disciplina平台，是首个教育和人力资源区块链平台。TeachMePlease（“请教我”）是其中的一项应用，它是一个将教师和学生联系在一起的高等教育市场。

Another blockchain platform that’s emerging in this space is Opet Foundation’s chatbot app to help students with test prep. It answers questions and recommends resources while keeping track of student progress in the blockchain.

在这个领域出现的另一个区块链平台是Opet Foundation聊天机器人应用程序，它能帮助学生准备考试，这款应用可以回答问题并推荐（教育）资源，同时利用区块链跟踪学生的学习进度。

Library and Information Services

图书馆及资讯服务

Because it is easier to keep track of and store information, the blockchain could be used to enhance library and information services in schools. Though few libraries have started experimenting with blockchain technology, at least one school has received a substantial grant to begin the discovery process.

因为更易于跟踪和存储信息，区块链可以用来加强图书馆和学校的信息服务。虽然很少有图书馆已开始尝试区块链技术，但至少有一所学校已经获得了一笔可观的资金来启动这一发现过程。

Transportation

交通

Getting students to school is an important part of educating them. In the future, ridesharing apps resting on blockchain technology could be used to organize carpools for students with special needs. This will be particularly important as roadways become more congested and carpooling becomes a necessity. Using the blockchain in this way would also take the burden off of parents and ensure that all children get the safe transportation they need.

接学生上学是教育他们的一个重要部分。未来，基于区块链技术的拼车应用可以用来为有特殊需求的学生组织拼车。随着道路变得更加拥挤，拼车成为一种必要，这一点尤为重要，这种使用区块链的方式也可以减轻父母的负担，确保所有的孩子都能享受到他们需要的安全交通。

Looking Toward the Future

展望未来

Because blockchain use in the education space is still very new and unexplored, there are a lot of unanswered questions. What is clear, however, that the possibilities are endless. As school administrators look to the future, they would do well to think about how to harness this powerful technology.

因为区块链在教育领域的应用还算新，缺乏探索，所以仍有很多待解问题。然而，有一点是明确的，那就是区块链的可能性是无限的。当学校管理者展望未来时，他们应该好好想想如何利用这项强大的技术。

注：《区块链如何颠覆教育系统?》来源于Dataconomy(点击查看原文)。数据观黄玉叶/编译，转载请注明译者和来源。