Skip to content

Published on

What is it?

A way to demonstrate and communicate an achievement to a wide variety of online platforms.

Why is it important?

Being able to communicate effectively what you know and are able to do to others is an essential component of being an effective learner and successful in your career.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Successful learners do more than accumulate knowledge and skills. It is also important to communicate effectively what you know and are able to do. On the surface, a digital badge typically consists of a brief title and an image representing an activity. When you click on the badge you access the details of the activity, including who issued the badge, what was done to earn the badge, and sometimes a link to evidence demonstrating the skill or knowledge signified by the badge.

A digital badge is more specific than a resume or CV (which is only a summary of your experience and credentials) or an academic transcript (which typically lists only courses and grades).

Digital badges are commonly issued to recognize achievement in formal educational settings as well as in continuing education, training, and professional development. A digital badge is easily shared via online platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter and can also be embedded in a web page or e-portfolio.

As you accumulate badges, you acquire a visual representation and summary of your knowledge and skills, making it easier to identify strengths and gaps in your education and professional development activities.

Digital badges also help gamify an experience when grouped together to demonstrate an increasing level of mastery. Digital badges can be stacked into something more comprehensive that is sometimes labeled a micro-credential.

References

About Chris Price

Photo of Chris Price

Chris Price is the academic programs manager for the SUNY Center for Professional Development (CPD). At the CPD, Chris designs and implements professional development programs for faculty and staff both in and outside SUNY. Prior to his position with CPD, Chris was director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at The College at Brockport, SUNY, for 12 years. He received his PhD in political science from the University at Albany in 2004.

Term: Digital Badges

Email: chris.price@suny.edu

Twitter: @chrisprice117

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chrisprice117

Published on

What is it?

A validation of competence, as compared against a set of standards and rigor, by a third-party certifying organization. Certification is like licensing, but licenses are legally required for certain jobs. Certifications are voluntary.

Why is it important?

The knowledge, skill, and attitudes assessed for a certification come from a competency model, which is a framework of interrelated knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values derived through a rigorous research and validation process.

Certification plays two roles in the work of professionals. It may be required as a work assignment, or a person may choose to seek certification. Certifications exist in many fields. See the notes for several in the learning field(CPTD)(CPT)(CTT+).

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Business professionals might encounter certification in their work. They might also be responsible for launching or managing a certification program and need an awareness of how to create and manage these programs.

Establishing a certification program includes the development of:

  • A competency model
  • A certification exam
  • Assessment criteria for demonstrating competence
  • Training to ensure that assessors act consistently
  • Requirements for maintaining the certification
  • A code of ethics to which professionals who receive certification must adhere
  • Training to prepare people for certification

If you are seeking certification, whether for yourself or members of your staff, make sure that the certification is a useful credential—​rather than a certificate that is inappropriately marketed—​and that hiring managers recognize the certification.

Business professionals might also need to assess or validate a certification provided on a job applicant’s resume to determine whether the certification validates the competence claimed by the applicant.

Certification is often confused with certificates. A certificate recognizes the successful completion of the requirements of an educational program. However, those who receive certificates are not certified. Certification typically requires a test of knowledge, ensuring familiarity with the body of knowledge of the field and its application in common work situations. Candidates must also demonstrate competence at doing the work, as assessed by a review of completed work or a demonstration of skills to a panel of assessors. Certification may also require real work experience, meaning a minimum specified number of years working in the field.

Most certifications require maintenance or re-certification through the completion of continuing education and other requirements to stay current in the field.

References

About Saul Carliner

Photo of Saul Carliner

Saul Carliner, PhD, CTDP, is a Professor of Educational Technology at Concordia University in Montreal. Also an industry consultant, he specializes in the design of instructional and informational materials for the workplace, managing groups who produce those materials, and related issues of policy and professionalism. His books include the best-selling Training Design Basics, award-winning Informal Learning Basics, and the recent An Overview of Training and Development: Why Training Matters and Career Anxiety: Guidance Through Tough Times. He is President of the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education, a Fellow and past board member of the Institute for Performance and Learning, and a Fellow and past international president of the Society for Technical Communication.

Term: Certification

Email: saulcarliner@hotmail.com

Published on

What is it?

An assortment of methods and tools used to measure the acquisition of knowledge and skills one has acquired during a course of study.

Why is it important?

Assessments are one way to determine what someone has learned at a particular point during a course. For example, end-of-course or section testing can assess a learner’s progress, which can then be compared with expected outcomes. Results are not always meant to be final, but they can be guideposts to help learners know where they might need help.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

As the science of assessment changes, so does the definition of assessment and testing. Technology and the pace of information transfer are both critical factors that have an impact on the science and practice of assessment. Technology advances in performance support tools have given you a more granular view into the learning experience. In addition, data and learning analytics reveal factors about the performance of an individual that couldn’t be measured before.

Business professionals can take advantage of these advances to better understand how effective their training is. Of course, business professionals need to remember that assessments are only as good as the data from which they were created. The old maxim, garbage in garbage out, applies here.

Because assessments are often linked to ROI in corporate settings or funding initiatives in educational ones, they can be highly political. The elephant in the room is that testing or assessment data is often manipulated to show better results than actually exist.

Accepting this reality is a practical place to start any methodology related to assessment. What is essential to assessment is accurate data collection and honest reporting of the data and conclusions. If the data you collect is relevant to the learning outcomes, then the data will be accurate.

At the end of the day, the most important piece of assessment is data accuracy. What good does it do to record data if it is not accurate? You must begin by being very careful about what you measure, why you measure it, and what its relationship is to your learners’ performance.

References

About Myra Travin

Photo of Myra Travin

Myra Travin is an accomplished educational program manager and learning solutions designer, known for implementing innovative programs in global IT, leadership, change management, and performance. As a respected industry leader, Myra speaks at top conferences such as SXSW, SciTS, and ATD, and has been published in Training Magazine and major US newspapers. Her passion for creating impactful learning experiences inspires others to embrace learning innovation and drive meaningful change.

Term: Assessment

Email: myratravin48@gmail.com

Website: myratravin.me

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/myratravin

Published on

What is it?

The process whereby a third-party authority acknowledges or affirms that academic, business, or industry quality standards have been met by an organization.

Why is it important?

Accreditation sets an organization apart because it proves that the organization has been assessed against the accrediting body’s defined standards in a professional or academic area and been found to meet those standards. Accreditation is important because it may be required in order for a company to operate in certain areas. For example, academic accreditation is required for a college or university to offer degree programs.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Accreditation is an indicator of the quality and effectiveness of the services or products an organization provides. Some industries, such as education, healthcare, information technology, travel, engineering, fire and security, and public health, require industry accreditation. Business professionals can use accreditation as part of evaluating potential business partners or vendors.

Regulations for required accreditation in particular industries may vary by country or nation and in some cases by state. Accreditation is specific to a particular institution and indicates that the institution (hospital, college, school, etc.) or a particular program (specialty accreditation) within the institution meets the accrediting body’s standards. Accreditation by a third-party accreditor indicates that the provider meets certain standards essential to providing services in that industry or practice.

Related to accreditation, but different from it, are certification and licensure. Some industries require individuals to be certified (to have completed a recognized program of study, such as some IT certifications) or licensed (to have passed state or national standards to be able to practice in areas such as law and medicine). Certificates are usually earned by individuals. Licensure can apply to an individual or to an institution.

These regulatory requirements aim to ensure that consistent quality standards for care or service are provided to customers of that particular industry or service. Each business needs to understand and comply with the requirements for accreditation for their industry and the requirements for certification and licensure for their employees.

References

About Karan Powell

Photo of Karan Powell

Karan Powell, PhD, is president of KHP Consulting, providing organization transformation consulting and coaching services to higher education and business. Dr. Powell is president (retired) of American Public University System, having 35+ years in higher education as faculty, administrator, and executive. Dr. Powell was instrumental in earning and maintaining regional and multiple specialty accreditations during her tenure at APUS and has 15+ years of service on the peer review corps of an institutional accreditor.

Term: Accreditation

Email: dr_kmhp@outlook.com

Published on

What is it?

A statement of one or more goals of a learning experience that identifies the specific knowledge, skills, or behaviors that a learner should be able to demonstrate after the learning experience.

Why is it important?

Learning objectives are the foundation upon which a curriculum is based, and good clear learning objectives can be critical for creating good instruction. Sometimes, designers differentiate between learning objectives and performance objectives but learning design for adults should be guided by the concrete, visible behaviors that the learner will actually need to perform in the real world.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Developing learning objectives is one place where a business professional can collaborate with learning professionals to ensure that the business goals for the organization align with the educational offerings the organization offers.

Collaboration between business and learning professionals can create learning objectives that will guide the curriculum development process. Good learning objectives help you eliminate unnecessary content that doesn’t support your business objectives. Learning objectives also help you focus the learner’s attention, evaluate the effectiveness of training, and establish performance standards.

A single set of learning objectives may not serve all those purposes, and you may need to have different versions of learning objectives for different audiences or purposes.

Business professionals can also benefit from learning objectives because they document the goals of a training activity and provide a benchmark for assessing the value of training.

References

About Julie Dirksen

Photo of Julie Dirksen

 Julie Dirksen is a consultant and instructional designer with more than 20 years’ experience creating interactive e-Learning experiences. She loves brains, and games and evidence-based practice, and her current focus is the science of behavior change.  She wrote the book Design For How People Learn, and she’s happiest whenever she gets to learn something new. 

Term: Learning Objectives

Email: julie@usablelearning.com

Website: usablelearning.com

Twitter: @usablelearning

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/juliedirksen/

Facebook: facebook.com/groups/designforhowpeoplelearn/

Published on

What is it?

A software application used to administer, track, report, and deliver training to a range of learners, including internal employees, software users, and university students.

Why is it important?

Learning management systems (LMS) make it easier to disperse knowledge to multiple audiences and make eLearning more efficient, scalable, and effective. LMS technology is evolving, and with newer technologies, they are becoming more widely used in the corporate environment.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

A large part of how businesses create value is through distributing knowledge. Knowledgeable employees are able to effectively help their customers, knowledgeable customers are able to successfully use the business’s products, and knowledgeable prospective customers are able to confidently choose the right product in the first place. A learning management system helps businesses systematically store, deliver, and track content so they can more effectively distribute knowledge.

If your company does not have an LMS, you should investigate to see if one can help your company. If you do much in-house training, the odds are that one will.

If your company has an LMS, then you should gain at least a basic understanding of its capabilities and its impact on your business. This enables you to take advantage of those capabilities to increase your knowledge, and the knowledge of your employees.

Capabilities vary by vendor, what features have been purchased, and what level of access you are allowed to have. If you know the features that are available to you, you can make the best possible use of your LMS.

References

About Phily Hayes

Photo of Phily Hayes

Phily Hayes has worked on 100s of LMS implementations from the vendor side and spoken at multiple conferences internationally on the topic.

Term: Learning Management System

Email: phily@zerve.ai

Published on

What is it?

A set of tools, processes, templates, and conventions that ensure that the materials created to support learning in an organization are consistently designed, developed, deployed, and tracked in support of business goals.

Why is it important?

Learning takes resources. To obtain the resources needed to sustain a learning culture, you need to think strategically about how you will use those resources. Having a strategy with respect to learning content standards helps ensure that decisions about allocating resources are always made in the context of the bigger picture.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Business professionals know that learning is a key strategic activity. However, learning departments are under pressure to reduce costs and justify their spending. Because they are a cost center, they must have a demonstrable strategy as to how they deliver value and manage costs. Having solid learning content standards helps ensure that their investment is worthwhile and reflects the needs of the business.

Learning content standards help leverage the power of these technologies:

  • Learning Management System (LMS): a platform to support the deployment of learning events, launch learning content, and return data about the completion of learning experiences and satisfaction of learning requirements. Note: one reason eLearning is possible is because an LMS can record course completion without the intervention of an instructor (see Learning Management System).
  • Learning Experience Platform (LXP): a platform to enable users to find needed learning experiences by organizing resources based on their relevance to skills, business goals, and related offerings(LXP).
  • eXperience Application Programming Interface (xAPI): a standard for capturing and storing data about learner behavior. xAPI can capture test scores and completion status as well as other information about what users do during the learning experience(xAPI).

References

About Adam Weisblatt

Photo of Adam Weisblatt

Adam Weisblatt is passionate about building the resilience of learning and development organizations so they can create business value. Adam has experience in all aspects of workplace learning and a proven track record of implementing global enterprise-wide projects using an agile, collaborative, and creative approach to meeting organizational needs. He has the ability to analyze systems, processes, and team dynamics and uses outstanding visuals and storytelling to explain them to a wide audience. He provides consulting and design services for companies throughout their digital transformation. Adam speaks at conferences and writes for industry magazines. He is also a cartoonist and puppeteer.

Term: Learning Content Standards

Email: adamjweisblatt@gmail.com

Twitter: @weisblatt

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adamjweisblatt/

Published on

What is it?

Collecting and curating knowledge from experienced workers and sharing it with others, especially those who will continue their work.

Why is it important?

Experienced workers possess vast knowledge about their jobs and roles. When these workers leave, whether through retirement or other reasons, their work still must continue. Without some form of knowledge transfer, all that collective knowledge walks away with them.

Knowledge transfer helps businesses identify, understand, and document what must be done, so operations continue after an experienced worker leaves.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Knowledge transfer isn’t just about writing step-by-step procedures on how to carry out a particular function. It also entails any activity in which experienced workers share their knowledge, including mentoring, videos, and even informal chats.

Although many aspects of knowledge transfer relate to older generations who are beginning to retire from the workplace, the term experienced worker pertains to anyone, regardless of age, who has significant experience in a particular realm.

Knowledge transfer is not just sharing the what or how but also why things are done. When businesses can tap into this collective wisdom, they will have not only clear-cut documentation for others to follow but also building materials through which to analyze the big picture, so they can potentially streamline processes or see where to allocate resources more efficiently.

Be aware that some workers may feel threatened by being asked to share what they know. They may fear that their jobs will become obsolete or, worse, that they will be made to feel useless. Although knowledge transfer is vital to continuing operations, it’s crucial to remember that we are dealing with people first and foremost. Businesses must remain sensitive to these feelings and reassure experienced workers that they are not simply being siphoned for their knowledge and later discarded.

Overall, knowledge transfer helps businesses not only capture knowledge but also potentially identify more efficient processes. Ultimately, successful knowledge transfer can save money and time because of these efficiencies and the ease with which successors can pick up the torch.

References

  • (Training Industry 2013) Knowledge Transfer: Training Industry. (2013). Overall definition of knowledge transfer.
  • (Spacey 2018) 8 Types of Knowledge Transfer : Spacey, John. (2018). Simplicable. Great description of various methods of knowledge transfer.

About Jamye Sagan

Photo of Jamye Sagan

Jamye Sagan has over 15 years of technical communication experience. As the pharmacy communication advisor for H-E-B (Texas-based grocery chain), she helps design training programs and deliverables, while managing communications between corporate and retail. Jamye also volunteers with the Society for Technical Communication in various capacities and has spoken about instructional design, all while sharing her love of knitting, Harry Potter, and cats. She lives in San Antonio, TX.

Term: Knowledge Transfer

Email: jamye.sagan@gmail.com

Twitter: @gimli_the_kitty

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jamye-sagan-15416434/

Facebook: facebook.com/jamye.sagan

Published on

What is it?

The way learning content is presented to learners. Possibilities include in-person, lecture, digital, electronic, synchronous, asynchronous, and more.

Why is it important?

Delivery mode is important because the right delivery mode can help showcase content more effectively and facilitate learning and retention. While it is often considered a static concept that is either a designated location or type of technology, delivery mode is neither static nor one size fits all. Instead, the delivery mode should be chosen based on what is to be learned and the needs of the learners. Delivery mode can also be combination of two or more modes, often referred to as taking a blended approach.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Business professionals need to have an understanding of delivery modes so they can work with learning and development professionals to select the best delivery mode(s) for their needs. Factors to consider when selecting a delivery mode include:

  • Business reasons for requiring learners to complete training
  • Who the learners are, e.g., new staff or experienced staff
  • The learners’ current skill levels
  • Available resources, including people, budget, and time
  • How soon the learning needs to become a part of the learners’ routine
  • Size of the learner population
  • Aspects of existing training that are no longer relevant or effective
  • Nature of the content, e.g., completely new or a refresher
  • Complexity of the content
  • How learner proficiency will be evaluated, e.g., quizzes, proficiency tests, timed drills, observation, problem solving, and so forth.

Knowing the responses to these considerations can help you or your instructional designer assess how best to present the content. Methods for presenting content include the following:

  • Demonstration
  • Distance learning, whether synchronous or asynchronous
  • eLearning
  • Hands-on learning
  • Informal learning
  • Lecture
  • Lab
  • Job aids or performance support tools, e.g., labeled images, checklists, or step-action tables
  • Projects, e.g., individual or group
  • Peer mentoring and coaching
  • Microlearning modules
  • Simulation, whether on the job or using augmented or virtual reality
  • Social learning
  • Solving problems or resolving challenges
  • Video, e.g., tutorial, scenario, simulation, or interactive video

References

About John Vivolo

Photo of John Vivolo

For nearly 20 years, John Vivolo has dedicated his career to online learning. His experience includes being an instructor, instructional designer, educational technologist, director of an award-winning online learning unit at New York University (NYU) and, more recently, executive director at the Katz School of Science and Health. John is currently all-but-dissertation in the EdD program at Northeastern University.

Term: Delivery Mode

Email: johnvivolo@yahoo.com

Twitter: @vivolojohn

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnvivolo/

Published on

What is it?

Any sequence of planned activities or experiences that enables learners to explore materials, practice what they have learned, and achieve proficiency.

Why is it important?

Central to all learning experiences, a curriculum provides the core structure that guides learners on their path to meet set goals. In other words, a curriculum helps learners learn by creating a framework that communicates performance standards, key learnings, methods, projects, relevant metrics, evaluation plans, etc.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Imagine trying to assemble a structure without a cohesive plan. Yes, it is possible to build something, but how will you measure progress along the way? And how will you be able to recreate what was built later?

Creating a curriculum is creating a plan that lays out a set of expectations to help learners build towards their goals. The curriculum might include a sequence of courses, internships, mentorships, coaching sessions, or immersive simulations that, in essence, serve as the building blocks of learning.

Establishing a curriculum, in alignment with business or educational goals, provides a roadmap that enables learners to progress along learning pathways in support of their own or organizational growth. Alignment also enables learning leaders to invest in the future of their people in the organization and report to stakeholders on how their educational programs support the mission and vision of the organization.

References

About Bryan Alexander

Photo of Bryan Alexander

Bryan Alexander is an education and technology futurist. A senior scholar at Georgetown University, he helps colleges, universities, libraries, non-profits, and governments think about where education may be going in the coming decades. Creator of the Future of Education Observatory, Bryan publishes the monthly FTTE trends report, conducts the weekly Future Trends Forum, blogs, and runs an online book club. He speaks, consults, and publishes widely. His latest book is Universities on Fire: Higher Education in the Climate Crisis (Johns Hopkins University Press).

Term: Curriculum

Email: bryan.alexander@gmail.com

Website: futureofeducation.us/

Twitter: @bryanalexander

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bryannalexander

Facebook: facebook.com/bryannalexander