#accredible

[indieversal]

Get To Know Accredible.com

Are you a professional looking to showcase your credentials and build your online reputation? Accredible.com allows members to easily create and share digital versions of their certifications, degrees, and other qualifications.

Are you a professional looking to showcase your credentials and build your online reputation? Look no further than Accredible.com – the leading platform for digital credentialing. Accredible.com allows members to easily create and share digital versions of their certifications, degrees, and other qualifications. This can help you stand out in a crowded job market and make it easier for potential…

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[lmspulse]

Merry Moodle 3.2 Holidays! 'Early Bird' Badge Recognitions

Merry #Moodle 3.2 Holidays! 'Early Bird' Badge Recognitions #moodlenews #EdTech

We believe developers who go the extra mile in keeping Moodle tidy and sleek for the benefit of the world’s learning community deserve to be acknowledged. Here are the recipients of Moodle official “Early Bird” badge, due to its compatibility testing for Moodle 3.2 just in time for its release. We have covered only some of these plugins in the past. Check out our ad hoc curation here: Adaptable…

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[accredible]

Hack 7: Filling Your Skills ToolBox: How to Brainstorm

Brainstorming is a popular technique for finding solution to particular problems by generating multitude of ideas. The method was created in 1952 by Alex Faickney Osborn. You’ve probably heard that the best method to brainstorm is in group, but in this article we’re going to walk you through brainstorming for certificate on your own.

Image courtesy to Adi Respati.

Step 1. Formulate problem. Everything begins with the right question to ask. Try to stick to one specific question, not lots of them. For certificates and learning these questions might sound like:

How will I study for this course?

What techniques will I use for the course?

When will I study?

What kind of notes will I write?

What will I put onto my Cert?

Step 2. Take your time.

The main idea of brainstorming is generating ideas without assessing them. Quantity will transform into quality. Rather than finding one perfect solution for a problem, your goal is to discover as many solutions as possible. You can use the pomodoro technique for brainstorming. Set 15-25 minutes and think about the problem. Generate as many as you can ideas and write them down. No editing. No judging. No eliminating. Sometimes the most ridiculous ideas are the most insightful, original and interesting. An obvious reminder is to avoid distractions - turn off your phone and computer, since they might be detrimental to brainstorming.

Step 3. Use different approaches.

You can use the traditional method - a simple list of ideas. However, techniques from completely diverse areas may be really effective.

Mind maps are powerful way not only to organize, but also to generate ideas. You can use them at the beginning to get more ideas, using associations and branches. You can also use it after initial brainstorming to organize your ideas. You can work on one branch or jump from one to another.

Mind Map of creating study plan for Coursera's Grow to Greatness 2: Smart Growth for Private Businesses course

    The Method of 5 Why’s and How’s was originally used to identify problems and their causes. You can apply it to brainstorming, too. How does it work? Begin with a simple statement. Example:

“I need to create cert” “How?” “Using notes” “How?”  “Writing by hand” “When?”  “Right after each lecture, whilst watching the video or after one week of lectures”.

…

Questions may vary - the best are how, what, why who, when, etc. It’s very easy to reach a standstill during brainstorming. The method of 5 why’s will help you to start afresh. This method allows you to provide more concrete questions for your mind to answer. Use as many ideas and questions as you can.

Freewriting is a technique used by writers to overcome writer’s block and begin writing. According to Wikipedia, freewriting is completely different from brainstorming because  in brainstorming ideas are simply listed while in freewriting you deal with a text. However, it is indeed a fantastic technique to get your brain working. Freewriting helps you to collect ideas and thoughts on particular topic, using your associative thinking.

How does it work? Set 15 minutes and just begin writing about a course and the problems you need to solve. Don’t get distracted, ignore grammar and forget editing - just write down all of your thoughts. After the time is up, look through your notes and highlight the interesting ideas.

Rules:

1) Your goal is to create lots of ideas. Work for quantity not quality.

2) Don’t restrict yourself. Don’t eliminate some ideas because they seem ridiculous - every direction is good. Sometimes you’ll find unexpected, creative solutions in unknown territory.

3) No distractions. Brainstorming is a time when you and your ideas are meeting. Spend these 15 minutes offline.

4) Try no rules. If after 15 minutes you’re still full of ideas - don’t stop! Setting a time limit is more for you to begin working and doesn’t need to be strictly followed. If you find that mind-mapping doesn’t work for you and you’re better work with simply listing, or if you feel that freewritng helps you generate more ideas - go with it! The point is to find the most creative solutions for a particular problem.

Brainstorming is a powerful tool for discovering your inner genius. Moreover, it unlocks your creativity - a crucial skill in our modern world. In the next article, we’ll talk more about creativity.

Stay tuned!

If you have any questions, ideas or feedback, feel free to comment or drop a line to [email protected]. How do you brainstorm? What other ways for getting ideas do you use?

Share it with us and Accredible community on Facebook | Twitter |Google+ or in comments.

This post is part of a series on the Hacks to Create Winning Certs:

0. Contest Announcement

1. MOOC Certs

2. “Saylor category for self-paced learning” Certs

3. Formal Learning Certs

4. Knowledge/Skill Certs

5. How to Make the Most of Accredible?

6. Skills ToolBox. Overview

7. Filling Your Skills ToolBox: How to Brainstorm(current post)

[catherinestevens-blog]

With all the changes in education that have occurred in the past few years, the one thing that hasn’t changed is certification. 

This was originally published on the UnCollege blog. 

[accredible]

Hack 6: Skills ToolBox. Overview.

There’s an old maxim that states “there’s a tool for every job”. Creating a great Cert without some tools may be difficult and sometimes even frustrating. In the last blog posts we introduced features which enable you to make perfect certs. But it’s not enough for having fun with building your intellectual portfolio. Today we will share with you some ideas and review the skills which will be covered in future hacks to make building intellectual portfolio more fun.

Tool 1: Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a very effective technique to find multiple creative solutions for particular problems. The rules are simple: for a particular problem, you try to generate as many ideas as you can without judging or eliminating them. Then, you look at your ideas and choose the best ones.

Brainstorming is a powerful tool to get truly innovative and great ideas and solve even the most challenging problems in an original way. How to formulate questions? How to brainstorm effectively on your own? How can it help you to create awesome Certs? In one of the next blog posts, we’ll take a deeper dive into it.

Tool 2. Creativity.

Some people associate creativity with artists, poets and geniuses in general. Creativity is seen as a phenomenon, an impressive gift which ordinary people cannot possess. Others discard creativity telling that there’s no place for it in a practical world. However, creativity allows you to generate amazing projects and artifacts. There’s no mystery about it and we firmly believe that creativity can be unlocked in every person regardless of his or her age, nationality, profession or interests.

Tool 3. Planning.

Can you get from New York to Los Angeles without seeing a roadmap or any signs along the way? Can you achieve a Big Goal without seeing the steps that will lead it to you? No.

Planning is one of the most important skills in our century. It allows you to be productive, successful and stress-free. You need a roadmap to achieve any kind of goals, be it creating a winning Cert, mastering code or getting a promotion at job. Certs can help you to enhance and organize your knowledge along with planning and achieving your learning goals. We will show you how you can create study roadmaps using Accredible.

Tool 4. Kindergarten Method.

Do you remember being a kid? Life was full of wonders, dreams, and new discoveries. Kids are fearless, inquisitive and fast learners. Unfortunately, children grow up and we, adults, forget many useful techniques, unique mentality and childish attitude which could be of a great help today, in the grown-up world. This tool is about recalling this sunny and careless period and learning to do many great things again. It’s about giving you a new pair of wings to fly.

Tool 5. Friends.

People are important in life. Friends and peers are crucial for learning. We learn not from books - we learn from other people. Most online courses are great not because of knowledge - information has been there before MOOCs. They are valuable because they gathera multitude of students with different background but similar interests in one place to share ideas and help each other. That’s why learning via MOOCs is so popular now and much more effective than before. However, peer-to-peer learning is not the only way to use society to learn in a better way.

Today we have shown you 5 important skills that will help you not only create a winning cert, but also to succeed in your learning in general. In the next 5 hacks we’ll take a closer look at each of them. Stay tuned!

If you have any question, ideas or feedback, feel free to comment or drop a line to [email protected]. What do you think - what skills are the most important for self-learner? What are your personal hacks to succeed?

Share it with us and Accredible community on Facebook | Twitter | Google+ or in comments.

  This post is part of a series on the Hacks to Create Winning Certs:

0. Contest Announcement

1. MOOC Certs

2. “Saylor category for self-paced learning” Certs

3. Formal Learning Certs

4. Knowledge/Skill Certs 

5. How to Make the Most of Accredible?

6. Skills ToolBox. Overview(current post)

[accredible]

Hack 5: How to Make the Most of Accredible?

In the last few blog posts we gave you some insights about general creation of Certs. Today we’ll show you how you can use all the features of Accredible to make truly Awesome Certs.

  Step 1. Organize.

Like a book begins with a prologue, your Cert begins with a Summary. We’ve already talked a lot about it but it’s crucial for reviewers of your Cert to see the right Summary. First of all, they should cover the most important points of your learning experience. Secondly, your Summary should be readable - people will appreciate your work more if the summary is pithy and clean. Try to include only the most relevant information and to use bullet points for dividing the knowledge/learning.

Work. One of the most useful features for organizing the work is the ability to move position. Put the most important, like Statement of Accomplishment or Diploma, at the top. If some documents are important, but you cannot place them in the top you can use either - change the size or highlight them.

Keep the similar docs together(like homeworks in one place, quizzes in another, your reflections and essays in a third, etc). The alternative is to use labels for particular types of work. Earlier you could use only defaults such as “course work”, “notes”, “grades”, “extra work”. Now Certs have evolved and you can edit labels which makes your Certs more flexible and personalized.

  Step 2. Beautify.

For making  beautiful Certs you can use the following ideas:

Position work wisely. Put one size docs on a row, larger size pictures or mind maps on another row. Highlight the most interesting and beautiful pieces of your Cert and place them in a particular pattern. When you are polishing your cert, remember that people like symmetry.

Edit the image of Cert. For formal and informal learning we introduced all the MOOC platforms and most universities. But what if you do a Cert for a skill you’ve learned but there aren’t any images in the library? Don’t worry, you can upload your own image which will make your cert more creative and personal.

Beautifying Certs- have fun! Don’t stick to one course of action or take beautifying as a requirement. Just play around with your docs, change the sizes of pictures, move positions, try different images. Some people already submitted Certs that impress us with a beautiful overall appearance.

  Step 3. Make it Accredible.

Some people believe that it’s impossible to achieve perfection. We believe that everyone can do their best and be exemplary. When you have uploaded all your notes, homework and statements, the only last piece that separates you from perfection (exemplary cert) are endorsements. Share your achievements with colleagues via Linkedin, with family via email, with friends via Facebook or with the whole community (including the Accredible community) via Twitter.Show what you’re worth. You’re more than numbers or obscure lines in CVs and this is your chance to prove it.

Moreover, you can talk  about what you know. It’s better one time to see, than one hundred times to hear. Grab your webcam and shoot a video of you explaining different concepts from your Cert. Or tell people about your work experience. Or what you learned beyond official syllabuses. That will sound persuasive.

  Your Cert is a piece of you, which shows your intellectual identity. Also, it’s your chance to save what’s really important to remember. We live in a century when overabundance of information makes people to forget significant things. Accredible is your personal wiki which allows you to remember everything that matters. In the next few hacks we’ll open you a ToolBox of skills that will help you to be in shape, unlock creativity, plan wisely and play with work.

If you have any question, ideas or feedback, feel free to comment or drop a line to [email protected]. What features do you like the most? What would you love to have? What are you struggles connected to self-learning?

Share it with us and Accredible community on Facebook | Twitter | Google+ or in comments.

  This post is part of a series on the Hacks to Create Winning Certs:

0. Contest Announcement

1. MOOC Certs

2. “Saylor category for self-paced learning” Certs

3. Formal Learning Certs

4. Knowledge/Skill Certs 

5. How to Make the Most of Accredible?(current post)

6. Skills ToolBox. Overview

[accredible]

Hack 4: How to Create Winning Knowledge/Skill Cert?

In the previous blog posts we explored three types of Certs: MOOCs, Formal Learning and Self-paced learning Certs. You may find some similarities between them. Knowledge/Skill Certs are totally different from any of those. Because you are not given any kind of instructions, you can do this Cert  for everything: books, skills or even hobbies. Every type of learning should count, and this Cert is your chance to show who you are behind the traditional courses and ubiquitous lines of your CV. Moreover Knowledge/Skills Certs helps you to save all the learning you’ve ever done.

  How to work with  Knowledge/Skills Certs?

First of all, you need to decide what the Cert will be about. The content of the Cert will mainly depend on the topic. The hobby Cert will be completely different from the skill Cert. Without clearly defined goals, working further on your Cert will be very hard.

Secondly, the Cert summary might baffle you. “What should I write in it, if I haven’t had any syllabuses or other hints?”. Don’t worry. Think about what you want to save and show the world. Most obvious solutions are not the best in this case. If it’s book learning you want to save, the table of contents won’t tell other people anything about your Cert. However, brief notes of the work you’ve done, skills you mastered or essays you’ve written will show much more.

We advise you to work on your Cert summary twice. The first time is when you are just start creating your Cert, since it’s a great way to think about what you can put into it, kind of like sketching a roadmap. The second time is when you’ve already put all of the materials into your Cert for your summary; be more complete and relevant, which will also give you more ideas on what you will work on further.

Thirdly, use different kinds of tools to help you. Here we list just a few things that may do it:

Mind maps for organizing thoughts and ideas.

Infographics for remembering data and visualization of information.

Docs on motivation and reasons for creating this cert. Why is it important for you? Why did you decide to master this skill?

Plan for further development. Learning is never over and a roadmap might be very helpful for you to not be too distracted.

Presentations and videos.

You can put any kind of projects and essays into your Cert. The more methods you use, the more valuable your Cert is for both, you and community.

Pro tip 1.

Since learning is never over, your Cert may grow from just one skill to another. Try not to follow the plan too strictly. Sometimes you may get new ideas for your Cert - do not hesitate to change the direction. Learning is an unpredictable journey full of adventures and surprises. You should be flexible to get the most of it.

Pro Tip 2.

You can save not only knowledge and learning into your Cert, but also experience. Are you fan of Russian Literature and going to visit Moscow next month? Put into your Cert the personal reviews and photos of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Museum and travel notes on Russian Culture as a whole. Or maybe you’re learning Chinese cuisine - why not to insert pictures of your own Chinese cooking into it? Do not restrict yourself only to bookish knowledge, use every kind of learning, experience included, to show your expertise, enthusiasm about topic and proactivity.

  It’s the last post of our sub-series on Creating Winning Certs (have you submitted yours to our AwesomeCerts Contest?). In the next sub-series we’ll explore the ToolBox of Skills that will help you to fight procrastination, unlock your full potential, and come up with great ideas. You’ll learn how to use Accredible to the fullest and make your Certs better.

Stay tuned!

  If you have any question, ideas or feedback, feel free to comment or drop a line to [email protected]. What skills do you want to master? How do you plan not instructed self-learning? What are your personal hacks to turn your life into School?  Share it with us and Accredible community on Facebook | Twitter | Google+ or in comments.

  This post is part of a series on the Hacks to Create Winning Certs:

0. Contest Announcement

1. MOOC Certs

2. “Saylor category for self-paced learning” Certs

3. Formal Learning Certs

4. Knowledge/Skill Certs (current post)

5. How to Make the Most of Accredible?

6. Skills ToolBox. Overview

[openbadges]

The Chronicle | College Graduates Deserve Much More Than Transcripts

Kevin Carey wrote this story for The Chronicle of Higher Education about the need for information-rich forms of accreditation. It's told from a hiring manager's perspective and includes mentions of the work that Degreed and Accredible are taking on in this space. Carey writes:

Colleges will have to grapple with issues of privacy and control. While students are shielded by strong federal privacy laws, they're also given little control over personal information—like how their transcripts are formatted—that's vital to their education and eventual employment. Credible evidence of learning needs to be liberated from the bureaucratic clutches of the registrar and made available to students so they can present it to others as they choose.

Much of the interesting work in this area is taking place outside the academy. The Open Badges project, sponsored by the Mozilla Foundation, is at work on a system that allows students to earn and display credentials from participating organizations in a standard format that can be universally recognized.

Read the story in its entirety here.