Digital currencies for employability and lifelong learning

Dr Nicola Pallitt@nicolapallitt nicola.pallitt@uct.ac.za

Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT), UCTAssociation for Business Communication Conference, Cape Town

6 January 2016

Introduction• Students and employees share micro-credentials on their

LinkedIn profiles to showcase skills, competencies & professional learning• Collectively displayed, micro-credentials may be seen as

digital currencies for employability and lifelong learning• ‘Micro-credentials’ or ‘professional digital currencies’

include:• Verified certificates (online courses)• Statements of participation & completion (MOOCs)• Open badges

• Have been more popular among ed-tech companies than at traditional universities BUT this is changing…• Boundary between formal and informal learning blurring

Digital currencies – why the hype? • What has changed?• Way we learn• How we share what we have learned • Credibility of those we learn from is being disrupted= how we validate learning & the kind of learning valued

in the workplace is changing

• New models of learning, assessment and accreditation emerging• More opportunities for à la carte professional

learning • Employers consulting potential candidates’

LinkedIn profiles before hiring = increasing

University degrees & diplomasCertificates

… fancy sheets of paper?

Verified certificates & statements of participation & completion on LinkedInOpen badges

…. connected learning made visible, showcase diverse learning pathways

Why micro-credentials?• Alternative to years-long degree programs • Heralded as the future of professional learning • Give employers detailed information about the skills

students master• Demonstrated competence: “show what you know

economy” • DIY Higher Ed and ‘pay as you go’ (free opportunities

getting smaller, growing competition) but shorter and cheaper than conventional degrees• Way for adults to get career-oriented skills that are

marketable

Udacity nanodegrees & individual courses

Coursera specializations

Open badges

Old concept, new technology

• Sharing traditional qualifications and a CV is not enough – need for competencies and demonstration of these to be more transparent for employers • Need for more holistic representation of skills and

learning that is also relevant to boost employability• Emphasis on job-related skills and ways to

showcase these for employers • Various opportunities exist across the landscape of

micro-credentials, especially business-related

So far we know…

Discussion• Why are micro-credentials becoming popular in

business education? • What forms of micro-credentials will take hold in

business communication specifically and why?• What is regarded as ‘currency’ in this field and

community of practitioners?• Micro-credentials as solutionist fairytale – career

leverage for an elite few?• Whose interests are being served? (let’s be critical)