Speaker: Jonathan Poritz

While there is a steady rumble of ominous news about difficulties with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, their underlying technology — called blockchains — is on something of a tear across venture capital firms, governments, and even institutions of higher education. It is not infrequently said that blockchains can transform education and that for a university to ignore this disruptive technology would be relegate itself to the dustbin of history. Articles in Inside Higher Ed promise to tell “What Every College Leader Should Know About Blockchain,” while Edsurge wonders “Blockchain Could Rewire Higher Ed. But Should It?”

This presentation will offer another interpretation of the whole idea of blockchains in higher education: that there is no there there [as Gertrude Stein said]. It would be better for educational institutions to wait until the current tsunami of hype dries up and blows away, rather than building programs of “blockchain education” and “putting transcripts on the blockchain,” as some enthusiasts have said is inevitable.

To argue for this view, we will discuss some of the cryptographic and other computer-scientific basics underlying blockchain technology — but in an entirely non-threatening, friendly way, using colorful images and interpretive dance rather than intimidating abstractions [well, maybe no dance…]. It’s possible that when the whole blockchain bubble pops, at least folks in higher ed will know a little more about these cool features of cryptography and security, which would be a surprisingly pleasant end to this story allowing instructors and students to have real control over their data and when, where, how, and with whom it is shared.