Time to decentralize diplomas…A cryptocurrency run on education.

From time to time I have ideas that I would really like to implement, but lack the expert skill to complete. I had this idea a while ago and I am not sure if this has been implemented. I have done some research, but the coins that I have seen that deal with education look like they are just to fund education, not decentralize it. I want to decentralize it.

Objective

To create a cryptocurrency with blockchain technology that will use student’s course taking to secure the blockchain as they collect finished courses to configure their diploma while educators can devise courses that, upon a student completing the course, will generate cryptocurrency for the educator.

How would it work?

Here is where the help is needed. I would like the system to have these features: An educator would have to “buy in” to the system to offer their course online. I suspect this may have to be some kind of proof of stake mechanism. As a student completes the course the system would generate coins for the educator and a token for the student that can be combined with other tokens to create a degree once all tokens needed for the specific degree are completed. I think there would need to be a consensus mechanism for educators and students to establish what courses will be needed to attain specific degrees. A ranking mechanism to rank the courses which will give an overall ranking to the degree once configured, just like a degree from MIT or Harvard is considered to be better than the same degree from Try Again Community College.

So the client (wallet) would have to have an educator side where coins could be bought and then staked with courses configured to them that students could complete which would generate additional coins and a token for the student. The student side would have to be able to hold the tokens with their rankings and position within a desired degree and to be able to issue a degree with overall rank once all tokens needed are obtained. All these transactions would need to be verified by the network.

Additional thoughts

For an algorithm, I was wondering if something similar to what Gridcoin uses would work for this project. A DPOR (Distributed Proof Of Research) type system (DPOCW – Distributed Proof Of Course Work?) which could provide the POS (Proof Of Stake) for the educators and POB (Proof Of BOINC) for students.

Also, however the course is configured, it must be able to be accessed and completed online.

I would like this to be profitable to both the educators, by means of producing a cryptocurrency that has a real world value either within the crypto economy or by cashing out the revenue, and the student, that can earn a degree which will be accepted by businesses aligned with and supporting the project and eventually in the rest of the world.

What say you?

Thank you for taking the time to read my proposal. Do you think this is a feasible idea with current technology? Has it already been done or tried? What suggestions do you have to improve this project? Do you have any questions for me?

I look forward to your thoughts.

Pangur Ban is the White Cat who waves the Black Flag. Decentralize All The Things.