Muhammad Numair

Fog computing enables low-latency services for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, but its distributed and resource-constrained nature makes it highly vulnerable to failures. Existing fault tolerance strategies such as replication, resubmission, and migration either increase overhead or lack adaptability under dynamic workloads. This paper presents a hybrid fault-tolerant scheduling framework that integrates fuzzy logic-based task criticality assessment with a dual backup resubmission mechanism. The fuzzy module classifies tasks using deadline tightness, node reliability, queue pressure, and data size, while the scheduler selectively creates backups for high critical tasks and resubmits low-critical tasks upon failures. This design aims to minimize energy overhead while maintaining high reliability. The framework was implemented on the iFogSim simulator using a three-tier IoT fog cloud architecture and evaluated under varying failure rates (1–10%) and workloads (1000–5000 tasks). Experimental results show that the approach improves task reliability by up to 20%, reduces makespan by 30% and energy consumption by 25%, and achieves 220 tasks/s throughput at peak load. These findings confirm that fuzzy-guided hybrid scheduling effectively balances reliability, performance, and energy efficiency in fault prone fog environments.

Context: The blockchain technology has become a secure, transparent, and decentralized infrastructure in data handling and its potential in the education sector has gained more and more attention especially in securing academic records, preventing credential fraud, and enhancing confidence in the verification procedures. Nonetheless, regardless of this interest, there is a lack of synthesis of the way in which blockchain is being implemented into real educational environment and the challenge that hinder its use. Objectives: The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of applications of blockchain in education, determine the main areas of its implementation, evaluate the advantages and limitations mentioned in the literature, and offer recommendations to subsequent research and real‐world implementation. Methods: The systematic literature review was carried out according to the methodology suggested by Okoli and Schabram. A total of 64 peer‐reviewed studies published between 2017 and 2025 were analyzed. Results: The results showed that blockchain is mostly utilized in credential and certificate management, microcredential and credit transfer, competency and assessment tracking, and secure collaborative e‐learning, with other applications in copyright protection and decentralized examination systems. Compared with conventional educational technologies, blockchain enables tamper‐evident records, independently verifiable credentials, and reduced verification costs through cryptographic auditability and decentralized trust. Contributions: This review provides a consolidated evidence base on blockchain‐enabled education, highlighting realistic implementation opportunities, such as QR‐hash diplomas and inter‐institution credit exchanges, while emphasizing the need for privacy‐preserving architectures and shared governance standards. The findings support researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to assess and promote safe, reliable, and effective blockchain‐based learning ecosystems.

Metaverse—a three‐dimensional computational environment—combines physical and virtual reality to enable social relationships and immersive experiences by mimicking real‐world scenarios. Metaverse is considered the third wave of the internet revolution (exploiting Web 3.0), leveraging upcoming technologies such as extended reality and artificial intelligence shaping a new era of human–‐machine interactions. In recent years, increased research and development on educational technologies (EduTech) based on blockchain technology has seen substantial growth of metaverse‐based solutions within the higher education context. This research aims to synergize blockchain technology and metaverse environments to conduct online exams (metaExam) in a trustworthy, reliable, and secure way. The synergy between blockchain and the metaverse brings various benefits, such as improved security, cost effectiveness, and increased efficiency in the online examination process. One of the central features of the proposed solution metaExam is to leverage cryptographic protocols via blockchain to control data access, making verification faster and protecting against misuse. Exam scores and grades are stored on a blockchain ledger using a digital signature method to enhance security. We validated the proposed solution by testing a prototype on the Ethereum platform using the Sepolia Testnet network using Microsoft Windows environment. Evaluation results indicate (i) query response time (10–50 ms), (ii) and query execution performance (CPU utilization between 1%–5%) offering computationally feasible solution. This research contributes by integrating blockchain and metaverse technologies to offer a solution metaExam that can offer improved security and immersive user experience for exam management. The proposed solution and its validation can provide insights into transforming online exams, offering a fresh perspective on addressing concerns about exam grade authenticity and verifying academic credentials in EduTech.