3 Keys to Making Microcredentials Valid for Learners, Schools, and Employers
2) Making the Learning Visible
For microcredentials to be valid, providers and employers must have a common language of skills across courses. The skills students are mastering should be interoperable and machine-readable so they can be used across the learn/work ecosystem. Groups such as the Open Skills Network and Credential Engine are working to solve this challenge. In the meantime, using clear language that actively identifies what learners have absorbed from content helps to create a shared context for employers and prospective employees.
One way to literally make the learning visible is a trusted system of microcredentials and badges. These credentials need to be readily transferable and easy to verify. Currently, there is a hodgepodge of courseware solutions, learning options, and badging systems. Platforms like 2U and Udemy are recognizable, but microcredentials are not granted from all courses. Furthermore, those microcredentials come directly from content or course providers, rather than being listed as part of a clear set of common skills and expectations.
3) Scalability
To meet Pulsipher's goal of letting in the maximum number of people while still offering a quality experience, microcredentials must be scalable in both delivery and assessment. Assessing the application of skills by hand is a time-consuming process. Simulation-based skills assessments help address this issue by providing learners with authentic assessment opportunities that can be autograded.
For skills-based assessments to successfully become automated, providers need to begin by identifying the ways people who have mastered those skills will actually solve the problems. To make microcredentialing scalable, the same skills need to be assessed across platforms and across industries. Many skills are transferable, but if learners are not able to demonstrate their skills, they may have a hard time clearly establishing what they have gained from their work.
Microcredentialing addresses many of the problems associated with modern learning programs. As increasing numbers of students look for ways to advance their skills through these programs, it is increasingly necessary for a system to be put in place that addresses any potential inconsistencies in the learning and credentialing process. This will give students a clear standard that establishes what they have learned and how they can apply it on the job.
About the Author
Dave McCool is the President and CEO of Muzzy Lane, which helps education institutions and companies identify and deal with the skills gap in the workplace through the use of simulations. He can be reached at [email protected] or via LinkedIn.