Instructure Partners with Concentric Sky's Badgr to Offer Digital Badge Compatibility within Canvas

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Oct 06, 2015, 11:00 ET

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Instructure, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company and creator of the Canvas learning management system (LMS), today announced a premier partnership with Concentric Sky, an Oregon-based software developer and creator of Badgr, an open source tool for issuing and managing digital badges. This partnership will allow institutions to create open badges that are compatible within the Canvas environment.

"We hear increasing demand for digital badges from our users and Badgr offers an easy-to-use interface that aligns seamlessly with Canvas," said Melissa Loble, vice president of partners and programs at Instructure. "It's difficult for schools to create badges that are portable and have all of the necessary data embedded. This partnership with Concentric Sky allows us to offer a powerful and dynamic open source option that makes it easy for institutions to adapt badging to match their needs."

Digital badges are used as online representations of skills and achievements. Open Badges takes that concept one step further, allowing for verification of those skills and achievements through credible organizations. Because the system is based on an open source standard, Open Badges is fully portable. This allows badge earners to combine badges from multiple different sources to tell a more complete story of their achievements – both online and off.

"I believe portable digital micro-credentials will play a vital role in the future of education," said Wayne Skipper, CEO of Concentric Sky. "Badgr is designed to make Open Badges easily accessible for both educators and students, and Instructure's keen focus on learning outcomes makes them a natural partner for us."

Open Badges started as a collaborative project between the MacArthur Foundation, HASTAC and Mozilla and has continued to grow through an open, highly collaborative community led by the Badge Alliance.

"The badges community is growing quickly," said Nate Otto, director of the Badge Alliance. "Partnerships like this help immensely by getting Open Badges into the hands of learners, to help them track their progress and success over time."

Canvas has consistently emphasized the importance of open standards and interoperability as central elements of community-driven innovation. The integration of Badgr will allow Canvas users to explore new types of pedagogical models based on Open Badges.

In addition to being fully committed to supporting institutions in adhering to FERPA, Canvas is a signatory of the SIIA Student Privacy Pledge, which details Instructure's commitment to protecting users' personally identifiable data.

About Instructure

Instructure, Inc. is the software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology company that makes software that makes people smarter. With a vision to help maximize the potential of people through technology, Instructure created Canvas and Bridge to enable organizations everywhere to easily develop, deliver and manage engaging face-to-face and online learning experiences. To date, Instructure has connected millions of teachers and learners at more than 1,400 educational institutions and corporations throughout the world. Learn more about Canvas for higher ed and K-12, and Bridge for the corporate market at www.Instructure.com.

About Concentric Sky

Concentric Sky is an award-winning software development company with a focus on product design and realization. The company provides web and mobile application development services to a wide variety of prominent organizations including The World Bank, The United Nations, Intel and edX, as well as major publishers such as Encyclopedia Britannica, National Geographic and Cengage Learning. Learn more about Concentric Sky at www.concentricsky.com

Contacts:
Devin Knighton, Director of Public Relations at Instructure
(801) 722-8187 | [email protected]
Twitter: @devinknighton | www.instructure.com

Jessica Hutchison, Method Communications
(801) 461-9779 | [email protected]

Instructure, Canvas, the Instructure logo, Canvas logo, and Bridge logo are registered trademarks of Instructure, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brands and names may be claimed as the property of others.

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SOURCE Instructure