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Don’t panic. We are going to be talking about Blockchain technology today. I know nothing makes you panic more than somebody telling you not to panic, but there’s something that happens on people’s faces whenever you mention blockchain. Their eyes glaze over, they look like they’re ready to run, and they certainly aren’t okay with listening. I’m in the business of edTech, and that means I’m all about making learning accessible. By the end of this article, you will understand everything you need to know about Blockchain technology and how it relates to edTech. Ready?
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is difficult to understand and brand-new, right? No! Blockchain technology was invented in the early 80s. It just didn’t become well used until cryptocurrency bitcoin became part of our world.
Einstein said, “If you can’t explain something to a 6-year-old, you probably don’t understand it yourself.” To prove this little theory, I will make blockchain technology entirely understandable for somebody with no previous knowledge. If you have a toddler in your life, I highly recommend trying to explain it to them. It will deepen your understanding and challenge the knowledge-hungry child!
Blockchain is a way to trade with anyone worldwide without middle-men, such as companies or financial institutions. It uses cryptography to encode transactions and ensure security. One way Blockchain is making it very secure is technology within the “blocks” that allows people to cryptographically sign who they are and where the block has come from. While you can update the block information by adding to it, you cannot erase or change previous data.
Picture it like a colossal accounting system that makes it possible to trade things like bitcoin. People often think of bitcoin and blockchain being synonymous. Still, while blockchain is the technology that makes bitcoin possible to be traded, the technology itself has many more uses, including for edTech.
