Learning Machine Moves Into US K-12 Credentialing With Union Public Schools

Tulsa-based UPS will become the first U.S. K-12 institution to issue credentials on the blockchain, starting with high school diplomas and followed by high school transcripts

Union Public Schools Campus

In a first for the United States, Tulsa-based Union Public Schools will become the first high school to issue blockchain-anchored digital credentials using the Learning Machine Issuing System. Students graduating in Spring 2019 will receive diplomas anchored to the blockchain using the Blockcerts open standard for digital credentials, the most widely used blockchain credentialing standard in the world today. Union plans to follow the diploma issuance with its first issuance of high school transcripts soon thereafter.

Union Public Schools is a district of 19 public schools and nearly 16,000 students in Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. They selected 3Dream Studios, a Tulsa-based education technology provider and official reseller of Learning Machine Technologies, to deliver the blockchain credentialing initiative.

We wanted to empower our students with a fast and trusted method of sharing their credentials going forward, and it's being delivered within a powerful and compelling use of blockchain technology.

Todd Borland, Executive Director of Technology, Union Public Schools

Students will use the Blockcerts to provide verified records of K-12 academic achievement to colleges, universities and employers, who can now verify records with the click of a button. Students own their Blockcerts for life and can share them with anyone they choose without paying any fees. 

Union Public Schools Executive Director of Technology Todd Borland, said, "We wanted to empower our students with a fast and trusted method of sharing their credentials going forward and it's being delivered within a powerful and compelling use of blockchain technology."

Union Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kirt Hartzler added, “We will be issuing diplomas this spring, along with providing full digital transcripts starting this year with our 9th-grade level students and with each successive year through graduation."

Learning Machine is the world's longest-running provider of Blockcerts issuing systems and co-architect of the Blockcerts open standard with MIT. Learning Machine has customers across eight geographies. Prominent U.S. institutions using Learning Machine include MIT, Central New Mexico Community College and ECPI University

For further inquiries, please contact:

Learning Machine: Natalie Smolenski, SVP Business Development / nsmolenski@learningmachine.com

3Dream Studios: David Keesee, President / david@3dreamstudios.com

Union Public Schools: Christopher Payne, Chief Communications Officer / payne.chris@unionps.org

Source: Learning Machine

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