applied
sciences
Review
Blockchain-Based Applications in Education:
A Systematic Review
Ali Alammary * , Samah Alhazmi, Marwah Almasri and Saira Gillani
College of Computing and Informatics, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh 11673, Saudi Arabia;
s.alhazmi@seu.edu.sa (S.A.); m.almasri@seu.edu.sa (M.A.); s.gillani@seu.edu.sa (S.G.)
*
Correspondence: a.alammary@seu.edu.sa
Received: 17 March 2019; Accepted: 4 June 2019; Published: 13 June 2019
Abstract:
Recently, blockchain technology has gained considerable attention from researchers and
practitioners. This is mainly due to its unique features including decentralization, security, reliability,
and data integrity. Despite this growing interest, little is known about the current state of knowledge
and practice regarding the use of blockchain technology in education. This article is a systematic
review of research investigating blockchain-based educational applications. It focuses on three
main themes: (1) educational applications that have been developed with blockchain technology,
(2) benefits that blockchain technology could bring to education, and (3) challenges of adopting
blockchain technology in education. A detailed results analysis of each theme was conducted as well
as an intensive discussion based on the findings. This review also o
ffers insight into other educational
areas that could benefit from blockchain technology.
Keywords:
blockchain in education; blockchain applications; educational technology; decentralized
systems
1. Introduction
Blockchain is an emerging technology introduced in 2008. It was first used as a peer-to-peer ledger
for registering the transactions of Bitcoin cryptocurrency [
1
]. The aim was to eliminate any third-party
intermediary and allow users to make their transactions directly. To achieve that, blockchain was
designed as a decentralized network of peer nodes. Each node in the network: (1) holds a replica of
the transactions ledger, (2) writes an entry to its own ledger when it receives consensus from the other
nodes in the network, (3) broadcasts any transaction made by its user to the other nodes in the network,
and (4) checks, on a regular basis, that the ledger it holds is identical to the ones across the network [
2
].
As Bitcoin continues to grow in popularity, researchers and practitioners realize the enormous
potential of its underlying technology [
3
]. Blockchain’s unique capabilities including immutability,
transparency, and trustworthiness was found to be useful not only in cryptocurrencies but also in many
other fields. Therefore, an increasing number of blockchain-based applications have been developed
in various fields [
4
].
According to Gatteschi, et al. [
5
], the development of blockchain-based applications could be
divided into three main stages: Blockchain 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. Blockchain 1.0 was used for cryptocurrencies
and its focus was to facilitate simple cash transactions. Subsequently, Blockchain 2.0 was introduced for
properties and smart contracts. These smart contracts impose specific conditions and criteria to be met
before registering them in the blockchain. Registration takes place without the intervention of a third
party. In Blockchain 3.0, many applications were developed in various sectors such as government,
education, health, and science.
The application of blockchain to education is still in its early stages. Only a small number of
educational institutions have started to utilize blockchain technology. Most of these institutions are
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 2400; doi:10.3390
/app9122400
www.mdpi.com
/journal/applsci
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 2400
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using it for the purpose of validating and sharing academic certificates and
/or learning outcomes that
their students have achieved [
6
]. However, researchers in the field believe that blockchain technology
has much more to o
ffer and can actually revolutionize the field. According to Nespor [
7
], blockchain
could undercut the educational institutions’ central role as certification agents and provide students
with more learning opportunities.
Although the volume of literature on the application of blockchain to education has been increasing
in the last few years, it is still fragmented, and no systematic review has yet been conducted on the
topic. Such a review is of great importance to provide a state-of-the-art overview of the topic and
inform evidence-based practice. Thus, this paper makes an original and timely contribution to the
literature of educational technology by investigating how blockchain technology is being utilized in
education. Its primary target audience are managers, policy-makers, academics, and researchers with
an interest in securing knowledge of this emerging technology and how it could have a profound
impact on the education field.
The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. Section
2
introduces the systematic review
procedure that has been adopted in this study. Section
3
demonstrates the results of the review.
Section
4
provides an in-depth analysis and discussion of the results. Section
5
highlights areas for
future research. Section
6
discusses the limitations of this review. Lastly, Section
7
concludes the paper.
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