Proof-of-Co-Creation: Democratizing and Decentralizing Education Processes

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Bence Lukács

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Individual

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

6

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

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

By using the collective intelligence of education communities through a transparent co-creation process and a blockchain solution, every effort to improve courses/materials can be rewarded.

[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.”

No dependencies

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

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

The research paper will be published as an open-source pre-print version with a Creative Commons licence.

[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.

[SOLUTION] 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) are 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 altruistic? 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 alleviate these issues. Then, the central aspects of Co-Creation and the democratization of educational processes will be discussed, and a connection to the 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] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

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.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

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.

Latest personal research in the Blockchain and Openness-space

• (accepted in peer-review) Heurich, B., Lukács, B. & Weidener, L., Science-on-Chain: Can We Trust Science Again?
• Heurich, B., & Lukács, B. (2023). Are we close(d)? Debating the openness paradox in science. Distance Education, 44(4). DOI: 10.1080/01587919.2023.2267482
• Heurich, B., Lukács, B., & Weidener, L. (2023). Opportunities and Limitations of Decentralization in Decentralized Science. Scientific Track Der Blockchain Autumn School 2023, 2, 6. DOI: 10.48446/opus-14635

Latest personal research in Open Education Resources-space

• Andrasch, M., Hofhues, S., & Lukács, B. (2018). OERlabs: Empathy first, solution later? 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAD’18), 1231–1238. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD18.2018.8182
• Hofhues, S., & Lukács, B. (2019). OERlabs zwischen Bildungsinnovation und medienbezogenen Routinen in der LehrerInnenbildung. Digitalisierung des Bildungssystems: Aufgaben und Perspektiven für die LehrerInnenbildung, 12.
• Lukács, B., & Hofhues, S. (2019). OERlabs: Strategies for University-wide OER Advancement. HEAD’19. 5th International Conference on Higher Education Advances, 103–110. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD19.2019.9316
• Lukács, B., Dick, M. & Zimmermann, A. (2022). OER-Arbeit in der Passauer Lehrkräftebildung – Projekt SKILL.de. fnma-magazin 2/2022, 33–36.

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The output can be characterised as a research paper. The framework and methodology to be researched can either simultaneously be empirically researched (through practically building and organising a learning community), or used as a basis for empirical work after publication. This would mean that there are two types of research papers possible:

• Theoretical work to develop and research methodology and design a framework
• Methodology and Framework research, empirically tested in (a) learning community(ies)

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Abstract: Formulate a concise problem-definition and outline the following research. The milestones and task areas are guided by the scientific research method. The first step is formulating an abstract and a research agenda. Based on the agenda an outline for the research paper will be formulated that will guide the empirical work/literature review and the structuring of the paper.

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 concepts discussed and the connections made to existing ideas etc. 

Empirical work (and first draft): This is where the largest part of the research work is done. This entails collecting and reviewing connected literature, formulating relevant concepts based on the literature, e.g. affordances of blockchain technology for education generally, relevancy of OER, issues currently facing the OER community and exploring concepts of the 5R in connection with blockchain technology. Formulating possibles theories and methodology after working through the literature and preparing the main body of the text.

Review/Feedback: The first draft of the research paper will be published and put into the research-community for peer-review and feedback, while constantly being worked on and developed further.

Preparation final paper, incorporation of feedback: Peer-review and feedback from the research-community will be collected and incorporated into the main text and final corrections and additions to the main body and the conclusion and discussion will be made.

Final Submission: Before publishing the research paper a final copy-editing of the text will be done, so the quality assurance of rigorous research and correct structure is kept. Finally the open source pre-print version will be made public and published in a repository.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Bence Lukács (Lead Researcher)

Will be in charge of the organisation and management of the research, as well as the first author of the paper. Responsible for the empirical work/literature review and the writing and developing of the paper.

Benjamin Heurich (Assistant Researcher)

Will be the first contact for feedback and reviewing the paper as an academic consultant, and supporting in incorporation and adjustment of the final submission after general feedback has been collected.

Mario Altimari (Technical Expert)

Will be the first contact for feedback and reviewing the conceptual and technical aspects of the proposed theoretical approach.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost 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)

[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 agrees to Fund 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