Part II: How Blockchain Can Support All Learners

Clarissa Terracciano is a PhD student in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Denver. Her research examines how blockchain technology can be used to expand inclusive access to educational experiences, advance EdTech policy, and empower learners with ownership over their records and credentials—supporting more equitable, self-directed educational pathways and promoting global social mobility through lifelong learning.

*This is the second of a two part blog series on blockchain and literacy and language learning. The first blog post is here. 

Blockchain’s practical applications come into sharper focus when considering how the technology can be used to support all learners by enabling more personalized, accessible, and responsive literacy instruction. For example, smart contracts help automate grading and managing class documents and schedules; they ultimately free up time for teachers to provide more personalized, adaptive, and individualized learning experiences to increase their literacy and language acquisition in all content domains. Li (2022) asserts, “With the development of society and the improvement of China’s status in the international arena, language learning, especially English learning, is essential. Improving English vocabulary through adaptive learning using blockchain and deep learning is the first step toward good English teaching”(p.4). This integration signals a shift from static curriculum models to dynamic, personalized systems that evolve with each learner's needs, which automated smart contracts can evoke. As digital transformation reshapes education globally, emerging technologies are being integrated into language learning to meet the needs of diverse learners better. Data ownership through blockchain-based literacy portfolios offers real-time insights into students' reading and writing development, helping prevent instructional gaps during school transitions (Li, 2022). For multilingual learners, blockchain enables fairer assessments that track reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills across multiple languages, ensuring more accurate proficiency evaluations (Sun et al., 2020).

Blockchain also enhances student engagement in literacy through gamification and adaptive learning, which can boost motivation, encourage literacy habits, and provide personalized learning pathways (Aini et al., 2021). By incorporating smart contracts and tokenized rewards, blockchain allows students to earn micro-credentials for literacy achievements, such as mastering phonics, completing books, or improving writing structure (Aini et al., 2022). These systems foster student autonomy and reduce administrative workload by automating progress tracking. Adaptive blockchain-supported learning models improve vocabulary acquisition and retention by delivering individualized instruction based on real-time performance (Li, 2022).

Early detection of reading difficulties, such as dyslexia, remains challenging due to screenings that may not capture the full spectrum of reading challenges or accurately reflect a student’s needs. Blockchain can transform this process by securely storing dyslexia screening data and integrating AI-driven diagnostics, including eye-tracking and voice analysis, to identify reading challenges early (Rahman et al., 2018). Blockchain technology can securely give ownership of the testing data to students, and as Rahman et al. (2018) point out, "Among the security features of Blockchain are a fully decentralized peer-to-peer redundancy solution, providing a secure identity for each stakeholder, and support of smart contracts, which can be activated on spatio-temporal logic" (p. 3). With blockchain, student screening records remain tamper-proof and accessible for users and across schools, ensuring that learners receive continuous support without needing to restart the diagnostic process at each new grade level (Rahman et al., 2018). As literacy assessments move to digital platforms, digital fluency becomes essential to literacy education (Choi et al., 2022). If students are being assessed using technology, they should be fluent in the digital modalities through which the assessment is delivered. Blockchain-based literacy systems ensure assessments measure actual literacy skills rather than students' ability to navigate digital tools. Integrating blockchain-based literacy programs can improve comprehension, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, which are fundamental to literacy development (Choi et al., 2022).

Ultimately, blockchain offers secure long-term literacy tracking, fair multilingual assessments, early intervention for reading challenges, and student engagement through gamification. By leveraging blockchain, educators can create a more equitable, transparent, and student-centered literacy education system without adding extra burdens to their workload.

References

Aini, Q., Azizah, N., Salam, R., Santoso, N. P. L., & Millah, S. (2022). iLearning education based on gamification blockchain. Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 26(1), 531-538.

Aini, Q., Santoso, S., Supriati, R., Badrianto, A., & Ramadhan, T. (2021). Analysis of the potential context of Blockchain on the usability of Gamification with Game-Based Learning. IJCITSM, 1(1), 84-100.

Cheriguene, A., Kabache, T., Adnane, A., Kerrache, C. A., & Ahmad, F. (2022). On the use of blockchain technology for education during pandemics. IT Professional, IEEE Computer Society, 24(2), 52–60. https://doi.org/10.1109/MITP.2021.3066252

Choi, E., Choi, Y., & Park, N. (2022). Blockchain-Centered Educational Program and SDG 4. Sustainability, 14(7), 3761.

Edwards, M. (2024). How Blockchain Technology is Revolutionizing Education: The Future of Learning. Business News, September 23, 2024.

Li, J. (2022). Adaptive Learning Model of English Vocabulary Based on Blockchain. Mobile Information Systems, 2022, Article ID 4554190.

Rahman, M. A. et al. (2018). Spatial Blockchain-Based Secure Mass Screening for Dyslexia. IEEE Access, 6, 61876-61885.

Sun, X., Zou, J., Li, L., & Luo, M. (2020). A Blockchain-Based Online Language Learning System. Telecommunication Systems, 76, 155–166.

Ugli, U. K. Q. (2023). Blockchain in Education: Transparency and Literacy Formation. IJMEF, 3(12), 86-91.