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A digital badge is an online indicator of an accomplishment or affiliation that contains links that help explain the context, meaning, processes and results of learning engagements. Badges can be outward or internal facing markers of achievement. When displayed to the world, a badge reflects one’s skills and capabilities; and carries the university’s reputation for quality teaching and learning. When used internally, a badge indicates passing a milestone along a journey toward a goal.
The future of postsecondary education will be modular, stackable and more democratic. That’s according to edX, a nonprofit founded by MIT and Harvard that is re-imagining the postsecondary education model.
With record numbers of Americans jobless, some are turning to nontraditional programs that offer rewards for completing short courses on specific skills.
Deakin U is big in micro-credentials and the university makes a gutsy case for badging skills in a magisterial report by Beverley Oliver “As the future of work unfolds, working citizens are likely to need more and better granular certified learning – micro and macro – to evidence their educational currency amid rapid change,” Emeritus Professor Oliver argues.
According to "The Present and Future of Alternative Digital Credentials," ADCs, as they're called, will "significantly transform the relationship between ICDE member institutions and their students — and ultimately between higher education and society."
Imagine a world where every learner has the capacity and drive to learn for life. At the Institute for Personalized Learning, we focus on bringing this vision to life in our work with education leaders and practitioners. Schools across the country are in the midst of shifting from an instructional paradigm to a learner-centered paradigm. When we work with schools and districts, we often talk about developing “POWERful” learners, who are full of Purpose, Ownership, Wonder, Efficacy, and Responsibility.
Micro-credentials provide educators with recognition for the skills they learn throughout their careers, regardless of where or how they learned them. They create the opportunity for educators to reach specific, action-oriented goals and direct their professional learning in their classrooms and on their schedules.
My eQuals is a shared platform My eQuals was developed to give students, graduates, employers and third parties anytime, anywhere access to certified degrees and transcripts. My eQuals is owned by the participating universities, and managed by Higher Ed Services (HES) on behalf of the participants.
ODEM is the developer of the world’s first On-Demand Education Marketplace. ODEM Token trading on Bitfinex, the world’s largest and most-advanced cryptocurrency exchange, will significantly enhance the token’s liquidity while advancing ODEM’s mission of using blockchain, or distributed ledger technology to make higher education more accessible and affordable. “We’re very excited to become part of the Bitfinex’s world-class family of digital currencies,” says Richard Maaghul, ODEM’s chief executive officer. “Listing on Bitfinex is a very positive development for buyers of ODEM Tokens.” ODEM is developing a blockchain-based platform to streamline the logistics of organizing and delivering short-and-medium-term academic experiences. Blockchain technology also underpins the creation of ODEM Tokens. By empowering students to own their education, ODEM is creating a venue for top professors and lecturers to actively market their expertise and personal brands. ODEM makes education more affordable, removes expensive intermediaries and facilitates prompt payment to ODEM verified educators. It also arranges the issuance of educational certificates for students who complete their courses.
Major employers will be invited to have their internal training programs evaluated for academic creditworthiness under a new digital credentialing system led by the American Council on Education. The initiative, launched today, will see ACE team up with the digital credential provider Credly to help people put a value on skills they have learned outside college courses. Through a $1.5 million grant from the Lumina Foundation, ACE will work with employers to assess which skills and competencies employees can derive from work-based training programs, and how much college credit these are worth.
Many colleges these days are experimenting with short-form online degrees to try to reach new audiences and offer new options, often at a lower cost
Via Peter Mellow
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Since 2014, Digital Promise has been building an innovative ecosystem of micro-credentials. We offer hundred
Create an education path that works with you, CSU Global offers stackable credentials so you can chose your education that meets your career goals.
The Perkins Collaborative Resources Network (PCRN) provides resources and tools for state directors and state staff who administer career and technical education programs.
A site exploring 21C graduate employability: that students can find and create meaningful paid and unpaid work during and after graduation
Micro-credentialing is a system that lets teachers choose their professional development—and pays them for it.
Dive Brief: With students growing reluctant to take on debt and employers focusing their hiring requirements, colleges are seeking ways to measure relevant technical and soft skills and expand their offerings beyond traditional two- and four-year degrees, explains a new report from the nonprofit Education Design Lab (EDL). The report suggests five models institutions can use to address demand for a wider range of credentials, while also considering the need to keep tuition costs down and the availability of new learning technology. Those models include: becoming a "Netflix-style" curator and distributor of educational content; offering services to assess coursework and other learning experiences; cracking the code on reconciling work and life experiences with how colleges and employers measure accomplishments; and being the bridge between higher ed and employers to understand the skills they seek in hires.
Digital Badges are gaining traction in the education landscape, and librarians have been some of the leading pioneers at the forefront of this exciting new frontier. This book provides examples of how badges are being used to enhance and invigorate the teaching and assessment of information literacy. Chapters provide inspiration for teaching librarians interested in:Providing an engaging experience for their students Gaining insight into this growing innovative technology trendDiscovering how librarians are using badges to enhance their teachingForming meaningful collaborations with faculty and teachersDeveloping knowledge about badge system design and badging platformsLearning how badges can motivate, support, and celebrate learning achievementsLaunching a badging projectThe book is divided into two sections. The first section explores the environment in which badges are being developed, in particular situating them within the current educational setting, and provides guidelines on how best to create a badging program. The second section details contributing authors’ firsthand experiences creating, implementing, and refining digital badges and digital badging systems, in some cases collaborating with teachers and faculty. These chapters provide a wealth of ideas about using digital badges in academic and school libraries to engage and motivate students.
A lot is demanded of teachers. In addition to their daily task of educating students, teachers must also continue to learn. Traditionally, that requires educators to take courses, whether in the classroom or online. In efforts to make time-mandated and compliance-based professional learning efficient, technology offers microcredentialing as a vehicle for educators to pursue personal growth. Also known as digital badges, these tools are increasingly used to improve student focus as well as provide a means to incentivize teachers to complete new disciplines.
Digital badges are used as credentialing to recognize achievements and accomplishments that can be shared through business and social media avenues. This new and innovative technology is typically used to recognize skills, professional development, and achievements within the workplace; however this program seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of using digital badges as a way to recognize individuals for soft skills such as professional and ethical behaviors exemplified in everyday life. Within the context of a Jesuit university, Jesuit Values are not only part of the school’s mission, but are also the foundation for community engagement. Quite often, these values and behaviors are not recognized, therefore, the authors seek to evaluate the use of digital badging technology to increase morale and capitalize on the positive relationships that presently exist within the university community. For the scope of this project, Digital badges explicitly recognize those who do more than expected, those who work in the background making sure everything runs smoothly, and those who extend themselves far beyond others; the unsung heroes of the university.
Abstract This article presents a scoping review of digital open badge ecosystems. A scoping review can be seen as a methodology for systematically assessing the breadth of available research literature. This article is aimed at identifying the nature, extent and current understanding of digital open badge ecosystems. Scoping reviews follow many of the same methodological steps as systematic reviews where the reliability of results and the potential for replication remain essential. As such, this review follows the eight steps outlined by Okoli and Schabram. From the 1608 studies identified, 41 were considered relevant for inclusion criteria and thus included in a final sample. Some relevant websites and the so-called grey literature were included. These were evaluated according to the inclusion criteria and were categorised. Further subcategories were identified which include the notion of digital badges (n = 35) and open digital badges (n = 18), elements of a digital open badge ecosystem (n = 27) and reported implementations (n = 29). The scoping review presents a literature repository that can be used by practitioners and researchers interested in the application of digital open badges for the establishment of a digital open badge ecosystem. The review also serves to highlight the potential benefits this can have for resource-constrained environments.
Former Stanford University (CA) registrar Tom Black once described the traditional college transcript as "the record of everything the student has forgotten." According to Helen Chen, director of e-portfolio initiatives in Stanford's Office of the University Registrar, that dissatisfaction with the limitations of the basic transcript has spurred the university to launch several projects to explore new representations of the student record that might do a better job of conveying a student's learning as well as co-curricular activities. One prototype sought to organize the student record not chronologically, but according to learning outcomes. "Our general education courses define learning outcomes," Chen said. "What if you could organize the student record according to those outcomes rather than an emphasis on courses and grades?"
Why Attend? Micro-credentials, Open Badges and Extended Transcripts are important components in a strategy to formally recognize and digitally verify learners' knowledge, skills, and abilities. Are you interested in the latest advancements in micro-credentials? Do you want to learn about the important new features available in Open Badges 2.0? On the first day of this two-day event, hear how educators and employers are designing their learner recognition programs including digital credentials. Day two of the program features an exciting series of showcases, sharing details of numerous innovative and successful programs in a learner-centered credentials ecosystem. The IMS Global Learning Consortium annual Summit on Digital Credentials and Open Badges brings education, business, and policy leaders together to discuss and share their experience building strong skills-based partnerships for learner's success. Who Should Attend? Leaders from educational institutions across K-20 and non-traditional learning organizations as well as employers and independent organizations across the world who are interested in implementing innovative and impactful programs using skills-based digital credentials.
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