Thanks to a generous donation of Jade hardware wallets from @Blockstream and some sats (tiny fractions of Bitcoin) from the Digital Playhouse Foundation, students have been learning how digital transactions work safely and securely.
Each class set up a “3-of-5” multisig wallet, where three of five team members must agree before a transaction can happen. It’s been amazing to watch them discuss and negotiate as a team, learning how trust, collaboration, and security come together in real-world systems.
To make things more engaging, we’ve also brought #Minecraft into the mix. Students have been using our whole-school Minecraft network to explore digital security concepts, hiding and recording their recovery phrases inside the game world. Some have even memorised the in-game coordinates to their seed phrase locations, adding another layer of creativity and security. It’s turned what’s usually a technical process into an interactive treasure hunt that’s both fun and meaningful.
After learning how to convert their sats back into Australian dollars, each group is now working together to decide how to use their funds. Some teams are leaning toward buying classroom gear, others are interested in donating to the Royal Children’s Hospital, and a few are questioning why more charities don’t yet accept Bitcoin and how they might help change that.
This project is quickly becoming one of my favourites to run. It’s amazing to see students connecting technology with ethics, creativity, and teamwork, all while having a lot of fun in the process.
The Boneo HackerSpace is all about giving students the chance to explore, experiment, and apply new technologies in meaningful ways, and this term-long inquiry is shaping up to be a perfect example of that in action.