Announcing the launch of the first Massive Open Online Course on Blockchain & Decentralization specifically focused around libraries, museums, archives, publishers, and the rest of the information ecosystem! Registration is now open and the course itself begins March 11th and runs for 6 weeks. Did I mention that the course is free?
I am the course designer and instructor for this MOOC, which is my first time designing a learning experience like this. Myself along with 4 very talented San Jose State University i.School students who will be acting as TAs for the course, will be monitoring the course and participating in the discussion boards to make sure that everyone progresses through the following outcomes.
- Describe and explain the early uses of distributed ledger technology and the design of current blockchain systems.
- Recognize the differences and similarities among various decentralized systems, and determine the most appropriate blockchain applications.
- Compare and evaluate the advantages/disadvantages of using blockchain or other types of technologies for different applications.
- Identify the ways blockchain can be applied in the information industries.
This course is the penultimate outcome of an IMLS grant given to San Jose State for the Blockchain National Forum, which was held in 2018. The final outcome will be a book which will be published this year, with chapters written by attendees and experts, summarizing and expanding on the lessons from the Forum (full disclosure: I wrote one of the chapters for the book as well).
The course is designed without any expectation that participants know anything about blockchain or decentralized technologies before beginning the course. It will walk you through details and introductions to the technology, all the way through existing services and systems and finally to what a decentralized future might look like. The full course breakdown looks like this:
- Week 1 – March 11-17
- Overview and History of Blockchain
- Week 2 – March 18-24
- Issues, Considerations, Problems
- Week 3 – March 25-31
- Decentralization
- Week 4 – April 1-7
- Systems & Services
- Week 5 – April 8-14
- Use Cases – Public Libraries, Academic Libraries, Museums, Archives
- Week 6 – April 15-21
- Future Directions & Next Steps
The course is a combination of mini-lectures that set up each week’s content, a selection of content relating to the topic (including readings, video, and audio), and then a discussion board where people can ask questions and talk about each week’s topic. At the end of each week there is a short quiz, and successful complete of the quiz will earn badges for each week, as well as a cumulative course badge and certificate at the end.
Please share this announcement widely! I’d like everyone who is even remotely interested in learning about Blockchain and decentralized tech to sign up and work through the course.