Lesson 3 0d98b89817b441fc92d46c034bd9994d
Lesson 3
Goals:
- Have a broad understanding of what happened in the 2008 Financial Crisis and why that accelerated the birth of cryptocurrencies
- Have a broad understanding of Bitcoin, its history and how it works
- Have a broad understanding of what blockchain is, how it works and what are interoperability problems
Methodology: flipped classroom
- Student review the study material before the meeting
- Students discuss the study material with their teacher
- 1 hour Q&A with the team
STUDY MATERIAL FOR LESSON 3:
Exploring transactions on Bitcoin’s blockchain: blockchain.info
(188) Introduzione a BlockChain - Una dimostrazione visiva - YouTube (Introduction to Blockchain - visual demonstration)
Classroom learning activities
Trivia on the financial crisis:
1. What was the main cause of the 2008 financial crisis? Answer: The subprime mortgage crisis. 2. What was the name of the investment bank that filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, marking the beginning of the financial crisis? Answer: Lehman Brothers. 3. Which country experienced a debt crisis in 2009 that was caused by the financial crisis and led to an international bailout? Answer: Greece. 4. Which financial institution was bailed out by the US government in 2008, sparking controversy and debate? Answer: AIG (American International Group). 5. Which term refers to the practice of bundling together risky mortgages into securities and selling them to investors, which was a major contributor to the financial crisis? Answer: Mortgage-backed securities. 6. Which US law, passed in 2010 in response to the financial crisis, aimed to regulate the financial industry and prevent future crises? Answer: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. 7. Which US president signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which authorized the US government to purchase troubled assets from banks and other financial institutions? Answer: George W. Bush.
Discuss every answer with the students
Bitcoin Time Machine (history)
Title: "Bitcoin Time Machine"
Objective: To learn about the history of Bitcoin and how it works by exploring key events in its development.
Instructions:
- Divide participants into teams of 2-3 people.
- Each team will be assigned a specific year or event related to the history of Bitcoin. Examples of events include:
- 2008: Publication of the Bitcoin Whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto
- 2009: Launch of the Bitcoin Network
- 2010: First Bitcoin transaction (Laszlo Hanyecz buys two pizzas for 10,000 BTC)
- 2013: Record-breaking Bitcoin price surge
- 2017: Bitcoin reaches an all-time high of almost $20,000
- 2021: El Salvador becomes the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender
Using online resources, each team will research their assigned year/event and create a 2-3 minute presentation that includes the following:
- A brief overview of the year/event
- How it impacted the development of Bitcoin
- Any key players involved
- What it tells us about how Bitcoin works
Once all teams have completed their presentations, the group will come together to discuss and reflect on what they have learned.
As a final activity, each team will create a "Bitcoin Time Capsule" by writing a short message to someone in the future (e.g. 10, 20, or 50 years from now) about what they have learned about Bitcoin and why it's important.
Quiz on how Bitcoin works
- What is the maximum number of bitcoins that can be in circulation? (21 million)
- What is the smallest unit of bitcoin called? (Satoshi)
- What is the process called that adds new transactions to the Bitcoin blockchain? (mining)
- What is the name of the first block in the Bitcoin blockchain? (genesis block)
- What is the reward for mining a new block on the Bitcoin network? (Bitcoin - - 6.25 BTC at the moment)
- What is the term for a private key stored offline on a device such as a USB drive? (deep dive: online and offline storage) (hardwallet)
- What is the name of the cryptocurrency that was created as a fork of Bitcoin in 2017? (deep dive: what is a fork) (Bitcoin Cash)
- What is the term for the total computational power used to mine and process transactions on the Bitcoin network? (hash power)