New Partnership Will Provide Micro-Credentials to Teachers

A new partnership between a company that provides professional development for educators and a nonprofit that attempts to foster innovation in educational opportunities will provide teachers with a wide variety of micro-credentials.

BloomBoard, a technology platform that helps teachers set their professional development goals and then recommends third-party providers to help meet them, will work with Digital Promise, the nonprofit working to accelerate innovation in education, to create the micro-credentialing system.

Micro-credentials are meant to recognize teachers' professional development and efforts to expand their knowledge base and teaching methods. Educators will apply for and earn the credentials through an online system that offers criteria about the tasks required to earn them. Once earned, they can add the credentials to their portfolio, carry those on to other positions or share what they learned with their fellow educators.

"Teachers develop skills throughout the course of their careers and micro-credentials are a way to both support and strengthen professional practice," said Digital Promise President and CEO Karen Cator.

Digital Promise will identify and curate the micro-credentials while BloomBoard will provide the access teachers need to the content.

"We're always looking for new ways to support personal learning and professional growth for teachers," said BloomBoard CEO and Co-Founder Jason Lange.

The first set of about 100 micro-credentials includes topics like deeper learning, data literacy and teacher leadership. To meet the criteria for attaining the micro-credentials, similar to badges, teachers will have access to BloomBoard's library of professional development resources.

The two partners demonstrated the need for the micro-credentialing system with the results of a recent report by Digital Promise that found that nearly 70 percent of educators surveyed said they want more professional learning activities.

About the Author

Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.

Featured

  •  classroom scene with students gathered around a laptop showing a virtual tour interface

    Discovery Education Announces Spring Lineup of Free Virtual Field Trips

    This Spring, Discovery Education is collaborating with partners such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, National Science Foundation, NBA, and more to present a series of free virtual field trips for K-12 students.

  • glowing padlock shape integrated into a network of interconnected neon-blue lines and digital nodes, set against a soft, blurred geometric background

    3 in 4 Administrators Expect a Security Incident to Impact Their School This Year

    In an annual survey from education identity platform Clever, 74% of administrators admitted that they believe a security incident is likely to impact their school system in the coming year. That's up from 71% who said the same last year.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • pattern of icons for math and reading, including a pi symbol, calculator, and open book

    HMH Launches Personalized Path Solution

    Adaptive learning company HMH has introduced HMH Personalized Path, a K-8 ELA and math product that combines intervention curriculum, adaptive practice, and assessment for students of all achievement levels.