Thought Experiment.In this section, we're going to test out the critical toolkit that we've been developing, applying it to an imagined use of the blockchain in higher education. Welcome to 'How to Adult'.
Time taken: 30 minutes. |
How to Adult
How to Adult is an imagined and fictional system whereby one's adulthood is no longer a matter of reaching the age of 18, but achieving 50 core skills. The skills are divided into four categories:
To find out more, view these promotional slides:
- Practical - such as changing the oil in a car, or filing a tax return
- Technical - such as rewiring a plug, or avoiding surveillance online
- Emotional - such as coping with stress, or understanding consent
- Intellectual - such as critical thinking, or recognising bias on news sites
To find out more, view these promotional slides:
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Testing out the toolkit |
For the next 20 minutes, we're going to be applying the ideas developed for our critical toolkit to the ideas raised in How To Adult. You can take each one in turn, or focus on one area in more detail.
You might also choose to share your ideas using a platform called Mentimeter. This is free to use, and doesn't require that you sign up or already have an account. Simply follow the links in the sections below, and add your ideas. These will show up on the screen below, so you can see the ideas that others have had. Everything sent into Mentimeter will be anonymous, however, you can add your name to the end of the message if you wish. Please also ensure that your conduct in using Mentimeter is courteous, non-commercial, and safeguards your personal security. |
Trust
The questions we posed in the previous section were the following:
- What are the potential implications if the data in the blockchain is 'trustless'? What does this imply about the truth, validity, completeness or accuracy of the data?
- Who is trusted in this application of blockchain? And what is the nature of that trust?
- Is the 'trustless' capability being used to disguise anything?
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Ideology
In the previous section, we considered the following questions:
- What biases and prejudices might be reinforced in this use of blockchain technology?
- What assumptions are we making about those whose data is collected in a blockchain? What ideas does this reinforce?
- Whose interests might this use of the blockchain serve? Who is served by any disruption?
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Neutrality
Now consider the following questions in relation to How to Adult.
- What data is collected, for what purpose, and how else might it used?
- To whom is the technology accessible, and does this affect its neutrality? How it it accessed and by whom?
- What, if any, are the economic implications for individuals of using blockchain technology?
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Before we move on.
Before we draw a line under this thought experiment, spend a moment reflecting on the activity you have just completed. Consider whether the questions developed as part of the toolkit were suitable, whether any were particularly relevant, and what was omitted. What particular challenges did How to Adult present to you as a blockchain project? Finally, after having tried out the toolkit, think about your overall verdict. Is this approach suitable for analysing and assessing blockchain projects for higher education? If you wish, feel free to share your ideas below by clicking here.
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Credit where it's due.
The idea of How to Adult was influenced by the extremely thought-provoking game and video produced by the Institute for the Future, called Learning Is Earning 2026. More information about this can be found here.
The idea of How to Adult was influenced by the extremely thought-provoking game and video produced by the Institute for the Future, called Learning Is Earning 2026. More information about this can be found here.
Well done! Almost there - click below for some conclusions.
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Education and the blockchain is licensed by Helen Murphy under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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