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Fujitsu and Sony Global Education have commenced a field trial to evaluate the usefulness of blockchain technology in the management of course records and grade data.
The multi-stage trial will be conducted in collaboration with Human Academy, an educational institution that accepts and teaches foreign students. Starting today, it will run until March 29, 2019.
The trial will involve students who intend to study abroad in Japan. They will take a course aimed at the Nihongo Kentei language proficiency test created by EDVEC and make use of Fujitsu's Fisdom digital learning platform.
The course platform will collect data including test scores, Japanese conversational ability, and study time, and store and manage them as unfalsifiable data on a blockchain, in the form of a certificate, the release said.
In the past, educational institutions faced difficulty in confirming the validity of foreign students' course results. In terms of language ability, Fujitsu said, this led to issues as appropriate instruction suited to a person's ability was not provided after coming to Japan, and the institution was subsequently unable to offer job search support.
The implementation of the blockchain-based system will address these issues and allow learning institutions to support diverse ways of learning more effectively.
“In this field trial, a blockchain will be used to compare the contents of educational certificates submitted by prospective exchange students to the learning data stored on the blockchain, including course records and grades,” it said. This will make it possible for educational institutions to support the students with “appropriate education suited to their individual skill levels after coming to Japan.”
The partnering companies will also consider an initiative to evaluate learning attitudes and processes through a more multifaceted analysis of the study logs and grade information collected during the trial.
