Proof-of-Co-Creation: Democratizing and Decentralizing (Blockchain) Education Processes

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

eLearningDAO

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

bence.lukacs@iabc.dbuas.de

Additional applicants

Mario Altimari (altimario@gmail.com)

Benjamin Heurich (benjamin.heurich@iabc.dbuas.de)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

4

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

Dependency on the use of POCRE, more specifically discussed development in our technical proposal, and ideally educators willing to engage with either their courses or educational materials to upload and work with the tool.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

Project will be fully open source

[METADATA] Category of proposal

Education

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG goals:

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

SDG subgoals:

Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements

By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The research will focus first on the problem description, namely how the digital creator economy (including (blockchain) educators) is hampered by copyright and proper recognition of effort. Additionally, although Re-Mixing and Re-Using educational materials (in the form of Open Educational Resources) is highly encouraged and seemingly made easy through digital technologies - there is a huge lack of Re-Mixed and Re-Used educational material circulating on the web. This issue has somewhat raised alarms from Open Education enthusiasts about the utility of openly licensing educational materials and sharing them.

Another part of the problem description is the investigation of the general question of the necessity of sharing educational materials openly, is it alruistic? Does it improve quality? Or does it bring reputational gains?

The main theoretical part of the research investigates the vision and aims of the Open Education community, the issues regarding the missing uptick in Re-Mix and Re-Using of material and how copyright, or more precisely, reputational management and tracking of material can allievate these issues. Then, the central aspects of Co-Creation and the democratization of educational processes will be discussed, and a connection to decentralization of education will be investigated.

Finally, as a technical blockchain-based solution, Proof-of-Co-Creation (POCRE) will be discussed. Here not only a detailed technical description and analysis will be given regarding the possible solutions, but additionally the use-cases for Open Educational Resources, as well as any other type of educational material will be put forward.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

This research can provide a solution to various aspects currently heavily discussed in educational communities worldwide, and through the technological blockchain-based solution, Cardano could provide the first solution on the market.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

With this research there are two ways, in which success can be measured, that are somewhat interconnected:

1. By proposing through this research paper/articles a technological solution to the problem of incentivizing the Re-Mix and Re-Use of Open Educational Materials, presentations at conferences and inclusions in journals are a possibility.
2. In addition to the previous point, by enhancing the scientific presentations with practical examples, e.g. Plutus Pioneers or any educational material, the feasibility of this technological blockchain-based solution, adoption at the school and higher education level can be achieved.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

Research will be primarily shared via CC0 (Public Domain).

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Bence Lukacs is a former sports trainer and teacher and brings experience in school development, as well as teacher education projects and Media Education research. He has worked many years in the Open Educational Resources community and is deeply familiar with the issues regarding sharing openly licensed educational material.

Benjamin Heurich is a university lecturer and researcher in the departments of Sociology and Educational Sciences with a focus on digital education, educational equity and internationalisation.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The main goal of this research is to shine a light on the possibility of using the Cardano blockchain, through Proof-of-Co-Creation (POCRE), in order to solve the current issues of the Open Education community while simultenaously enhancing the UN SDGs as well as providing a technological solution towards expanding the UNESCOs goals around Open Educational Resources.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

The milestones and task areas are guided by the scientific research method. Generally the milestones and tasks for a research assignment can be broken down as follows:

• Abstract
• Outline
• Empirical work (and first draft)
• Review/Feedback
• Final Submission

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

The milestones and task areas are guided by the scientific research method. Generally the milestones and tasks for a research assignment can be broken down as follows:

• Abstract: Formulate a concise problem-definition and outline the following research.

• Outline: Conceptualising a detailed overview of the research paper, i.e. chapter titles, flow-structure of the paper with arguments, outline of the literature review, outline of the frameworks discussed etc. 

• Empirical work (and first draft): This is where the largest part of the research work is done, and consists of literature review, outlining the frameworks and methodologies in detail, outlining the transferability into decentralised technological systems, description of possible proposal of extended frameworks for a learning community that is internet-based and decentralised. 

• Review/Feedback: After finishing the rough draft the paper can be peer-reviewed by fellow researchers and the community

• Final Submission: After working through the feedback from the community, the final adjustments to the paper can be made, and the paper can be published.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Breakdown: Generally a research work can be broken down into various phases, which in this case would correspond with the milestones, i.e.:

• Abstract (200 ADA)
• Outline (300 ADA)
• Empirical Work (and first draft) (6500 ADA)
• Review/Feedback (1500 ADA)
• Final Submission (6500 ADA)

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Providing a novel research approach towards an issues plaguing educational communities worldwide, while proposing the feasbility and the affordances of the Cardano blockchain to the outside world, could provide a great boost towards mass adoption in the centrally important field of Education.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept