Applying Blockchain to PBL in Protecting Students’ IP Rights

Background

“The research appears to support something many of us have long suspected: most students tolerate a higher level of risk than more mature adults.” A latest Forbes article (Farmbrough, 2018) compares student entrepreneurs with their more mature academic counterparts, pointing out that student businesses have a good track record of succeed. One reason, as aforementioned, is their spirit of adventure. We may also assume that young students have creativity and they are born familiar with all kinds of new technologies. Another possible rationale for the emergence of more and more student patent owners and entrepreneurs could be the trend of project based learning (PBL).

Boss and Krauss (2014) describe PBL as the instructional strategy of students investigating open-ended questions and applying their knowledge to make products which address authentic problems. As PBL leads to more engaging students who get promoted in critical thinking and creativity, and also get prepared for the real world (Hosler, n.d), not only conventional schools incorporate PBL into their class activities, but a new wave of start-up schools appear fully embracing PBL (Pisa, 2017),  where instead of homework and tests, portfolios of students’ artwork, creations, ideas are what matter.

Public presented product is essential when implementing PBL. Students are supposed to make their project public or present it to people who care beyond the classroom. While this leads to an important problem, which is the protection of students’ intellectual property. Wright and Katz (2016) point out that the financial and legal interests of students in the entrepreneurial process have largely been overlooked. Also, although students are encouraged to present their ideas in and out of the classroom, the limited protection of nondisclosure agreements cannot actually provide to students confidentiality.

Blockchain, an emerging web environment which allows digital information to be distributed but not copied (Rosic, 2016), offers a new potential to protect students’ intellectual property. Originally known for cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Blockchain now expands its power to various industries. In the education field, LiveEdu is working on a Blockchain based learning platform which connects learners and industry experts. Knowledge.io will launch a Blockchain-based Knowledge Score System where “children will be actively engaged in earning tokens to be applied to college tuition and other life improvement initiatives when they become of age” (Rivera, 2018). In IP protection, a Blockchain-based music company Ujo use smart contracts to reward producers.

Problem Statement

Although everyone in education industry talks about project based learning, it is far from the full implementation of this new instructional strategy in schools. In most cases, neither are students connected with experts from the industry nor does their project work reach the target audience who may actually use or buy them. Thus the students still cannot learn from the authentic business world. And the core problem here is the lack of an open but also credential platform for students to make their work public and get their intellectual property protected at the same time.

Implementation

Database

Blockchain served as a database is obviously different from the database we use now. For a blockchain database, each participant maintains, calculates and updates new entries into the database. All nodes work together to ensure they are all coming to the same conclusions, providing in-built security for the network (Kuznetsov, n.d.). Take FlureeDB, a scalable blockchain database as an example. The database is immutable, making data virtually impossible to manipulate. In that way, students can submit their work to the blockchain database, make it public and need not worry about it being modified or manipulated.

Transaction

Transactions in Blockchain work like this: If a student creates a project or product and submit it on the Blockchain. Someone else finds it after online searching and would like to make it of their own use, then a transaction is initiated, and both sides’ computers create a “block” containing all the important information of their transaction like date, time, source, their private keys, etc. That block then calls out to connect with other computers on the web. Those computers, in turn, check if the creator is certified. If it passes the check, the block is added to the “chain” and both sides get what they want. The transaction is secure since trying to manipulate it means that you have to change every single successive link in the blockchain which is nearly impossible.

Smart Contract

Suppose a company asks for creative ideas from students. They can do this through the blockchain by paying in cryptocurrency. They can make a virtual contract listing the time and requirements. If the requirements are not met, the blockchain releases a refund. The system works on the If-Then premise and is witnessed by hundreds of people so you can expect a faultless delivery. If the students’ work meets the criteria of the contract, they are sure to get paid. The document is automatically canceled after the time, and the code cannot be interfered by either of us without the other knowing since all participants are simultaneously alerted (Rosic, 2016).

Limitations

Complexity

One common knowledge of Blockchain is its complexity and the specialized terms come with it. This could become a barrier when introducing and promoting it to teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders, especially for those teachers who originally hold opinions against PBL, they may not willing to spend time getting familiar with Blockchain.

Speed and cost of Transactions

As users and transactions keep growing on Blockchain, the cost of transactions and data storage would become an issue. As blockchains grow larger, the size of each block has to increase as well, or fewer transactions will be processed with each block on the network. (Bauerle, n.d.) Then if this service would cost users money or long time to get data stored, it may not meet the need of students.

Law Issues

As for students, especially those juveniles, there would be law issues when it comes to making money. It is highly possible to happen that students submit their artwork or other original work to the blockchain and get paid by smart contracts. Should it be schools, instructors or parents take responsibility for the financial problems of the students? More specific rules and consensus need to be made before implementation.

References

Bauerle, N. (2017, March 15). What are Blockchain's Issues and Limitations? Retrieved from https://www.coindesk.com/information/blockchains-issues-limitations/

Bauerle, N. (2017, March 15). What is the Difference Between a Blockchain and a Database? Retrieved from https://www.coindesk.com/information/what-is-the-difference-blockchain-and-database/

Boss, S., & Krauss, J. (2016). Reinventing project-based learning: Your field guide to real-world projects in the digital age. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=raapCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=project based learning&ots=5prdm_rPHE&sig=XuNc-TXmr3xt0qI4CQ7q2jokIkg#v=onepage&q=project based learning&f=false.

Farmbrough, H. (2018, April 25). Why Students Make Their Ideas Commercial Faster. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/heatherfarmbrough/2018/04/25/why-students-make-their-ideas-commercial-faster/#6ebb8f5e5756

How blockchain technology can be used to protect intellectual property. (2018, February 16). Retrieved from https://99designs.com/blog/freelancing/blockchain-protect-intellectual-property/

Pisa, K. (2017, September 28). Are these the schools of the future? Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/27/health/future-schools/index.html

Rivera, M. (2018, January 07). Blockchain Technology In Education: How The Latter Can Be Disrupted. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/blockchain-technology-in-education-latter-can-disrupted

Rosic, A. (2016). What is Blockchain Technology? A Step-by-Step Guide For Beginners. Retrieved from https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/

Rosic, A. (2016). What Are Smart Contracts? A Beginner's Guide to Smart Contracts. Retrieved from https://blockgeeks.com/guides/smart-contracts/

What You Should Know About Project-Based Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/project-based-learning-benefits-best-practices.shtml

Wright, S. L., & Katz, J. A. (2016). Protecting Student Intellectual Property in the Entrepreneurial Classroom. Journal of Management Education,40(2), 152-169. doi:10.1177/1052562915622665