New offering enables educators to earn credit for professional development through micro-credentials
BloomBoard, creator of an educator-focused professional development platform, has launched a new solution [1] in personalized, competency-based learning for K-12 educators and districts.
The new offering pairs highly-curated collections of learning resources with the use of micro-credentials, an offering released this fall, which recognize educators for demonstrating competency with a specific skill. Micro-credentials can be transferred into credit hours, positioning the BloomBoard platform to help districts implement a personalized, competency-based approach to professional development.
The new BloomBoard was developed exclusively for K-12 educators, allowing them to create collections of learning resources focused on problems of practice they face in their daily work. Collections are reviewed by BloomBoard’s team of master educators to ensure each resource can help a teacher succeed in addressing that problem of practice. Educators can then save, share and follow collections built by other educators, and use the platform to connect with those who share the same interests and professional challenges.
“There is no shortage of learning resources available to support educators, and sites like Pinterest and Google are especially popular amongst them. The problem is finding the time to sort through and find quality resources that address my specific and immediate needs,” said Ella Bowling, a middle school teacher in Maysville, Ky. “BloomBoard provides a better way for me to leverage the expertise of the educator community and quickly find solutions to the challenges that come up in my daily practice.”
BloomBoard will continue to offer private content tools for districts, and will now also provide a comprehensive set of collaboration management tools, as well as extensive analytics and reporting. These tools aim to help administrative staff better understand how to most effectively use their professional development budget. BloomBoard’s Transformation Services team is also available to help guide districts in their journey to personalized, competency-based educator development.
“We recognize that shifting to a competency-based model of professional development is a cultural change that needs to happen at the school building level,” said Jason Lange, CEO and Co-Founder of BloomBoard. “We are committed to providing not only the best technology platform available to manage that change, but also to ensuring school and district level leadership have the necessary coaching and support to lead the way.”
Additionally, as part of its partnership with Digital Promise, the new BloomBoard site enables educators to be recognized for the skills they’ve learned throughout their careers with micro-credentials. Micro-credentials provide educators with a concrete tool to personalize their learning and fulfill their desire to improve their practice. These micro-credentials can then be translated to professional development credit hours, providing formal recognition based on competency rather than seat-time. BloomBoard and Digital Promise are already approved for statewide credit hour equivalency in Texas, Illinois, and North Carolina, with additional states expected to provide approval in the coming months.
Educators can access the site for free at next.bloomboard.com [2].
To learn more about district and school offerings, visit schools.bloomboard.com [3].