TL;DR Breakdown
- The main reason for the rapid growth of NFTs is their uniqueness.
- In business, NFTs are being used in commerce and supply chains.
There has been a buzz in the business sector due to the new non-fungible token trend. NFTs have taken the digital market by storm due to their properties of provenance. Artists have been the beneficiaries, but the digital assets have now diversified to the whole sector.
The main reason for the rapid growth of NFTs is their uniqueness. The digital assets classified as NFTs are one-of-a-kind and cannot be replicated. Artists have less worry about counterfeit and their art pieces becoming valueless. NFTs are traceable, which promotes originality, and the artist can trace their works as they change ownership and earn royalties when an exchange is done. NFTs cannot be destroyed. Once the code has been set up for an NFT, personal detail is on it to remain original. Since QR codes cannot be changed, once art is created, it can last forever.
Transforming Education Technology
Apart from art, NFTs have been incorporated in various sectors of the economy. In business, NFTs are being used in commerce and supply chains. The same qualities of NFTs that favor usage in different sectors of the economy are why NFTs are spreading like wildfire.
Since NFTs use the same technology as cryptocurrency, information about every piece is stored in a decentralized ledger. A professor, Beau Brannan, explains how students could group all their achievements in online ‘trophy cases’ and can easily access them whenever needed. Beau tested his analogy by experimenting with a class he was examining. He awarded students NFTs that he refers to as ‘academic tokens.’ These tokens were not for monetary exchange but to act as proof for completion of the course. He also asked the students to offer him an NFT where they were supposed to rate his work and their experience, and this ended up working.
Application of NFTs in EdTech
NFTs have various advantages when used in the education sector due to their functionality. Since paperwork is used primarily to prove academic excellence, they can be substituted with NFTs since they are unique and famous for their provenance. When NFTs replace diplomas and resumes, they are improved in terms of security and ease to verify one’s prowess. NFTs will also reduce the chances of counterfeit and fraudsters.
Once academic achievements are put together, micro-credentials about the learner are easy to retrieve. Micro-credentials involve the owner of the accomplishments, where the awards were acquired, what the award entails, and when the awards were achieved.
The issue of copyrights on works produced by students is overlooked. When students create projects, they do not keep the files independently, regardless of not involving third-party material. Some works made by students are used as reference materials by teachers, and the student is barely acknowledged as the creator. When students in projects like art class create masterpieces, they can possess patent rights and keep ownership of his piece as an NFT or sell it to make a profit.
Several benefits can be accrued by the use of NFTs in the education sector, which should motivate more educational institutions to use the same.
