ODEM shares the worldwide worries caused by the current coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. In response to the latest development in countries where the virus has prompted the closing of schools, colleges, and universities, ODEM is offering its online integrated learning platform and certification management system free for use to schools and educators to continue educating students until it is safe to return to campus.
“ODEM was designed from its inception to provide a global and seamless education platform for everyone. We, of course, could not have anticipated such circumstances to bring that vision into reality as we are experiencing now, however, we are grateful to be part of the solution to allowing students worldwide to continue their education regardless of their physical location or proximity to a physical learning facility,” said ODEM CEO Rich Maaghul.
“A positive outcome from these circumstances may well be a future where we are able to better prepare for not only how we manage healthcare in such crises, but access to education as well.”
Covid-19 disruption and the relevance of ODEM
Besides the lives Covid-19 is taking around the world, the disruption of education – for students, educators and all learning institutions – is a matter of concern. As of March 6th, seventeen countries have implemented school/campus closures due to the virus. The United States, Great Britain, Germany, Pakistan, France, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea have all initiated localised school closures while China, Japan, Mongolia, Italy, Iran, Iraq, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan have all activated country-wide closures. More will come…
The ODEM platform can integrate with a school’s existing:
- learning management system (LMS)
- curriculum.
ODEM’s blockchain-based platform offers:
- integrated enrollment
- learning management
- certificate issuance.
These enable educators to:
- conduct classes entirely online
- provide digital certificates of completion and achievement
- track progress
- translate into traditional certificates (once educational institutions are back to normal).
In an official UN announcement, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay stated: “We are working with countries to assure the continuity of learning for all, especially disadvantaged children and youth who tend to be the hardest hit by school closures. While temporary school closures as a result of health and other crises are not new, unfortunately, the global scale and speed of the current educational disruption is unparalleled and, if prolonged, could threaten the right to education.”
The ODEM platform
ODEM is an on-demand education and employment marketplace. It connects employers, students and educators. the objective is to make learning more affordable, accessible and efficient.
Founded in 2017, ODEM’s vision is to use blockchain to transform (what ODEM believes) is today’s inefficient education and employment industries. The first of its kind, the ODEM Marketplace has over 30,000 users (before Covid-19) – representing some 160+ countries. ODEM will provide its services free of charge until students and educators can safely return to campus.
ODEM creates its marketplace through an open source onchain Ethereum-based ERC20 utility token used to:
- transact ODEM digital assets and sets of corresponding smart contracts
- manage transactional data related to education programs and credentials.
These, along with an offchain proprietary cloud-based platform, provide students, educators, employers, and other stakeholders with the tools to participate in academic programs – and receive blockchain-based educational certificates. Unlike the onchain DApp, the ODEM Platform resides in a central location. Built with standard web and HTML technologies, the ODEM Platform connects to the Ethereum blockchain using a web3 JavaScript library.
Within the ODEM Platform, users see their:
- profile
- programs
- events
- certificates obtained
- calendar
- message center
- rewards/payments
- student’s qualifications.
Users can:
- request a new program
- enroll in an available program
- list a program or an event
- message other users
- bid on programs
- request certificates
- verify/deny claims
- issue certificates.
The ODEM token – ODE (ERC-20)
The ERC-20 ODE provides access to the ODEM Platform through the staking process. The ODE economic model bases itself on the Sweetbridge Foundation’s discount-token research. This design isolates the utility of ODE on the ODEM Platform from external market forces, thereby ensuring use of ODE is advantageous.
The ODEM staking architecture adopts the Ethereum ERC-900 interface. A student stakes a desired program by committing a small amount of ODE. Educators stake courses they intend to teach. (Staking assists the ODEM Platform when assessing levels of student and educator interest.) If a participant backs out, staked tokens become forfeit which means that using ODE eliminates issues associated with fiat currency (high fees, lengthy processing times, etc).
Enterprise Times: what does this mean
ODEM, as a global educational provider, offers blockchain-driven platform built on top of Ethereum’s decentralised ledger technology. Its aim is to make blended education more affordable, accessible, verifiable and transferable – by leveraging blockchain technology and Ethereum’s ERC-20 based ODEM Tokens (ODE).
Through making its offering free during the current health crisis, ODEM hopes it will attract attention and become a global, seamless education solution. That this can also help mitigate interruption caused by Covid-19 means the fundamental right to education can continue.
