Are you looking for another course to take during 2024 Winter Term 2? Consider taking ARST 575M/LIBR 559T Blockchain Technology for Information Professionals, taught by Dr. Victoria Lemieux. We recently asked her a couple questions to get to know the course better.
Q: Why do you think learning about blockchain is important for future information professionals?
A: Blockchain technology is a core technology associated with Web3, the next-generation internet, which will move us from the Read/Write Web to the Web of Ownership. Web3 blockchain technologies, like NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are increasingly being collected and used by artists, gallerists, and museums, and blockchain technology and decentralized storage is also being used by governments for records management. The City of Vancouver City Council has also recently passed a position to make Vancouver “A Bitcoin Friendly City” and to explore incorporating Bitcoin into the City’s finances, and Vancouver has over 100 businesses that accept payment in Bitcoin, the largest number of any city in the world. Since Bitcoin was the first blockchain use case, learning about blockchain will help students understand and potentially engage in this important civic conversation and current debates.
Q: The course features site visits to ZeroX Gaming and 221A. What do site visits like these bring to the course, and what do you hope students will gain from experiences like this?
A: Site visits offer students a chance to interact with professionals and founders who are actively working on Web3 blockchain projects to learn about how blockchain is being developed and used in gaming and the cultural sector, and how they can become involved in working on Web3 blockchain projects in the gaming and cultural sector.
Q: In addition to a theoretical and historical overview, this course has a few “use case deep dives.” Can you give us a brief introduction to one of the use cases, and why you chose to discuss it as part of the course?
A: We will look at the use of Blockchain for land titles registration for one of our use case deep dives. The reason I chose this is because one of our MAS graduates, Peter Van Garderen has set up a blockchain company, called Landano, that registered land titles in Africa. I have also conducted extensive research on the use of blockchain in land titles registration in Honduras, Brazil and in BC, Canada, even working with BC’s Land Titles Service Authority.
