The MIT Media Lab ‘s Learning Initiative and Learning Machine have released the first version of an open-source project that builds an ecosystem for creating, sharing and verifying blockchain-based educational credentials. The project represents the first step in a broader undertaking that is focused on creating new technologies and collaborating to evolve standards that lift the entire ecosystem.
The MIT Media Lab’s Learning Initiative integrates learning-related projects across different research groups, develops new technologies for creative learning, and uses the Media Lab as a platform for new conversations about learning. Learning Machine is a provider of enterprise software for higher education with products to manage recruitment, enrollment, portfolio review, faculty hiring and credentialing.
"The goal of our collaboration with the MIT Media Lab is to empower individuals with shareable credentials that can be used peer-to-peer and verified as authentic,” said Chris Jagers, co-founder and CEO of Learning Machine. “The current system for sharing official records is slow, complicated, expensive and broken for everyone in a myriad of ways. The first generation of students to grow up entirely during the internet age have started applying for college, and many admissions officers can share stories about applicants trying to text photos of their academic records. The expectation, while seemingly humorous, conveys an honest impression about the way things should work. It should be that easy for people to share certified records directly with others and have them trusted as authentic."
Certificates registered on the blockchain allow schools and employers to issue digital proof of membership, achievement or completion in a shareable format, which students can use when applying for work or further education. The open standard technology developed by Learning Machine and the MIT Media Lab permits cryptographically placing documents on the public blockchain along with a certificate viewer. An open-source version of […]
