The micro-credential ecosystem of issuers, earners, and recognizers¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The report situates earned micro-credentials within "a larger micro-credential ecosystem" that "requires three unique and distinct roles: issuers, earners, and recognizers." Issuers are organizations such as non-profits and universities supported by Digital Promise to develop micro-credential content; earners are educators who develop and submit evidence of learning; recognizers — districts, states, and others — give credentials value and accept them as evidence of learning in an educator's career.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Recognizers must define the various ways micro-credentials have value in an educator's professional career for the ecosystem to function

Constraints¶

• Issuers operate as organizations supported by Digital Promise to develop micro-credential content

Target Learners¶

• educators earning credentials
• district and state decision-makers
• issuing organizations

Target Learning Objectives¶

• recognition of demonstrated educator competencies in professional careers

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Educator micro-credentials as a competency-based, personalized, on-demand, shareable professional learning design
• Standards for Professional Learning as a seven-standard framework for results-oriented educator learning
• Three-player micro-credential ecosystem

Examples¶

• Digital Promise micro-credential ecosystem on the BloomBoard platform
• The educator micro-credentialing ecosystem: Digital Promise's PK-12 platform, 400+ micro-credentials, and the NEA partnership
• Micro Credentials

Key Sources¶

• Crow, T. (contributing author Pipkin, H.). (2017). Micro-credentials for Impact: Holding Professional Learning to High Standards. Learning Forward and Digital Promise. https://www.digitalpromise.org/micro-credentials