Ever wonder how certain kinds of credentials mean more than others? What does it mean to have credentials? Why do people work so hard to get them?
A micro-credential is a certification indicating demonstrated competency in a specific skill. Micro-credentials are also on-demand, shareable, and personalized. Learners have voice and choice in what credentials they want to pursue and can create their own education playlists. So why are we so caught up with full certification you may ask?
微凭证是表明在特定技能中表现出的能力的认证。 微凭证也是按需，可共享和个性化的。 学习者可以在他们想要的证书上发表意见和选择，并可以创建自己的教育播放列表。
Well the answer is really simple. That certification or degree or diploma means a lot to define your level of a certain skill or knowledge compared with others. However, that was all in the past. The future lies in comparing the abilities & character of individuals and it shouldn’t always take 4 years for us to get there. Hence, we turn towards competency driven assessments rather than grades.
According to a report on the future of competency-based education (a collaborative report published by iNACOL in partnership with CompetencyWorks and several other leading partners) the following are true of competency-based systems:
- Learners advance upon demonstrated mastery
- Competencies include explicit, measurable, transferable learning objectives that empower students
- Assessment is meaningful and a positive learning experience
- Learners receive timely and differentiated support
- Learners develop and apply a broad set of skills
根据基于能力的教育的未来报告（由iNACOL与CompetencyWorks和其他几个主要合作伙伴合作发布的协作报告），基于能力的系统如下：
- 学习者在表现出掌握的情况下取得进步
- 能力包括明确，可衡量，可转移的学习目标，赋予学生权力
- 评估是有意义的，也是积极的学习经历
- 学习者获得及时和差异化的支持
- 学习者开发并应用广泛的技能
This all leads back to the movement of micro credentials, where can we get started with them? Well, take a look at the following MOOC platforms to compare. In the future, we will definitely see more micro credentials pushing through on the online system at least starting with higher education, due to the growing demands of the workforce for competency validation.
For more about these micro credential programs, I'd suggest you to check it out yourself online. It's a new era of learning assessments & hopefully one that our next generation can appreciate.
