Digital Promise and Facebook Developing New Micro-Credentials Program

Digital skills are skyrocketing in demand, and that is a trend that will only continue to increase in impact. More than 8 in 10 middle-skill jobs (82%) require digital skills, and tech companies everywhere often have trouble finding candidates with the right know-how.

One recently announced effort to address this challenge that has us excited is Digital Promise’s partnership with Facebook, in which the two groups have collaborated to create a set of micro-credentials (a form of digital badges) focused on helping adults in the workforce learn these “middle” skills in the area of digital marketing.

We think that this new set of micro-credentials, the pursuit of which will include successive series of in-person workshops organized and implemented by local partners (Digital Promise will train organizations across the state of Michigan to deliver the workshops to their local communities starting in November), is a great way to address the challenge of reaching those who need this type of adult education the most.

Facebook has pledged to train 3,000 Michiganders in digital skills focused on social media over the next two years through these workshops. In the workshop, students will learn some of the basics of social media marketing, and have the opportunity to earn four micro-credentials that demonstrate the skills they have learned:

• Social Media Marketing Basics
• Marketing with Facebook Pages
• Marketing with Facebook Ads
• Marketing with Instagram

Over four weeks, students will develop a Facebook page and Instagram account for a local community organization or business of their choice; use that page to create awareness, drive traffic, and/or attract customers; and create advertising campaigns in support of that page. We think this approach is exactly the kind of authentic, real-world PBL that will encourage adults to seek these new skills.

In our recent analysis of adult entrepreneurship education (a big upcoming trend), we found that a lack of respected micro-credentials was one of the biggest missing components of entrepreneurship education. The program being developed by Digital Promise and Facebook appears set to provide a model for those looking to address this challenge. Our team is looking forward from hearing more from Digital Promise when we attend EdSurge Fusion later this week.

For more, see:

• Moving PD from Seat-Time to Demonstrated Competency Using Micro-credentials
• 15 Elements of Next-Gen Learner Experiences
• The Future of Professional Learning: 5 Design Principles that Transform

Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update.