Beyond Grades: New Partnership Enables Colleges and Universities to Create and Award Digital Badges that Recognize Skills and Competencies
New York, NY (PRWEB) January 09, 2017 -- Digital credential pioneer Credly, in partnership with Canvas, the learning management system (LMS) by Instructure, today announced the launch of a powerful new application that enables education providers to award digital badges to students as they master critical skills or competencies within courses or training programs. Credly Learning Edition for Canvas allows schools to design rule-based pathways that trigger the award of digital badges which can be showcased and used by students on professional and social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, or featured in a range of other job search and communication channels, such as e-portfolios, websites, email or resumes.
The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) deployed an early pilot of the Credly Learning Edition with Canvas to recognize 17 different competencies assessed within an applied mathematics course, giving local manufacturers insight into the discrete, workforce-relevant skills of CCCS graduates.
“Digital badges are a powerful and employer-friendly complement to grades and other information traditionally found on a college transcript,” said Brenda Perea, Instructional Design Project Manager at Colorado Community College System. “Our faculty has been working with Credly to demonstrate to employers the granular competencies and workplace skills students develop in any particular course, and this integration with Canvas accelerates that crucial communication.”
By integrating with Instructure’s popular Canvas LMS, Credly Learning Edition provides an intuitive interface that positions faculty and education institutions at the center of the badging process as they design their own digital credentials and set rules for awarding badges based on student mastery. A unique rules engine, powered by Credly, allows digital credentials to be triggered by completion of Canvas modules, assignments or other important achievement milestones. Credly Learning Edition’s single sign-on capability also creates a seamless experience for students, allowing them to sign-in once to their Canvas account and manage their earned credentials directly from the Canvas environment.
“As policymakers and education leaders emphasize measuring outputs, digital credentials empower students with portable, verified and transparent evidence of learning,” said Jonathan Finkelstein, founder and CEO of Credly. “Our integration with Canvas facilitates a smooth and efficient experience for both students and faculty to surface competencies, which are fast-becoming the currency of the labor market.”
“Digital credentials are quickly becoming an essential component of an effective learning ecosystem,” said Melissa Loble, Vice President of Platform and Partnerships at Instructure. “Credly Learning Edition provides a seamless and forward-thinking experience for both instructors and students that highlights Canvas’ capabilities as an open platform.”
Increasingly, more employers are using competencies to identify which candidates would be successful for a position, demonstrating a shift from degree-based hiring to skills-based hiring practices. According to a recent report by Innovate+Educate, companies that use skills-based hiring have seen significant improvements in performance, with 70% reductions in cost to hire, 50% reductions in time-to-train, and 25-75% reductions in turnover.
To learn more about Credly Learning Edition for Canvas and to experience a demo, visit: http://crd.cr/credly-canvas.
About Credly
Credly is a leading digital credential service provider, helping the world recognize lifelong achievement with the most popular platforms for verifying, sharing and managing digital credentials and badges. The enterprise-class system allows organizations to officially verify skills and competencies; distribute portable and secure digital credentials and open badges; and gain actionable data and insights. Thousands of education institutions, industry associations, employers and workforce development programs use Credly to make achievements visible. For more information about Credly, visit http://www.Credly.com.
Caitlin Cox, Whiteboard Advisors, +1 202-479-7177, [email protected]
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