Giving Compass' Take:

• Education Dive explores some efforts within higher education institutions to utilize blockchain technology, specifically when it comes to academic credentialing.

• Blockchain promises ease of use and security, but there are still some hurdles to clear before this becomes a practical way to distribute digital diplomas. Those in the higher ed sector should keep a close eye on the progress.

• This new report outlines how blockchain can help solve social problems.

Since the advent of bitcoin, a type of digital currency, blockchain has amassed popularity as a focus of research and development, especially as more industries recognize the blockchain infrastructure — a continuously amassing and self-verifying ledger of records — can be used for myriad purposes. In higher education specifically, institutions like CNM and MIT's Media Lab are pioneering ideas like digital certificates, where students can opt to take ownership of their stackable academic credentials via a type of digital tokens that can be easily shared across institutions and employers.

Though such plans are still in troubleshooting phases, many throughout the industry are intrigued by the promise of blockchain infrastructure, and many institutions are starting to invest in academic programs and initiatives. Post told Education Dive, for instance, the partnership between IBM and Columbia to create a center focused on blockchain is intended a "think tank," where "we will be providing Columbia with the technology so we can train more people to access it, build up the human capital of teachers and apply research to help establish products and innovations that can be used throughout multiple industries."

But while there are benefits to investing in blockchain, Halverson said, there's still a few areas of caution that institutions ought to be aware of. For instance, even though CNM is taking steps to automate how digital certificates are made, a significant barrier is first "knowing the architecture." He said the college conducted small pilots with classes of 10 to 13 students, developed custom certificates and made sure "we thoroughly understand the process of linking the certificate to the student's identity and digital wallet."

Read the full article about blockchain in higher education by Shalina Chatlani at Education Dive.