CanCred's free trial offer for #ONPSE
CanCred is offering a time-limited opportunity to the 30 of the 45 publicly funded post-secondary institutions in Ontario who are not yet CanCred clients:
- Up to 7 months free trial, from 1 September 2020 to 31 March 2021 at the top (Pro) level
(See the various levels in our Detailed Feature Comparison) - No obligation
- Any digital badges and micro-credentials you issue up to 31 March 2021 will be hosted on an ongoing basis by CanCred, even if your institution decides not to renew
- If your institution participates in the trial and then contracts for a paid subscription from 1 April 2021 onward, it will need to commit to an 18-month term
Contact info@cancred.ca to learn more or to take up the offer.
Are there any restrictions in this free trial?
There are no restrictions beyond the normal terms and conditions published on our website. For example, you can use CanCred for the current eCampusOntario micro-certifications pilot, joining many ONPSE CanCred participants.
Why use CanCred for micro-certifications?
Here are some of the reasons several CanCred clients are using our platform for the micro-certifications pilot:
(See details and video tutorials on CanCred Factory’s Help page)
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Scalable automated issuing via LMS platform integration
Currently Brightspace, Canvas, Moodle/Totara and Wordpress. Blackboard soon, through a partnership project with an Ontario college now underway. Plus working strategies for platforms not yet supporting deep integration. Of course, you can also issue manually and via CanCred’s badge application forms, as demonstrated by Ontario Extend. -
eCampusOntario Passport integration
Micro-certifications issued from CanCred Factory flow smoothly to eCampusOntario Passport, the post-secondary recognition hub. Micro-certifications issued from other platforms must be manually uploaded one at a time. -
Branded endorsement of micro-certifications and organisations
A standards-based element to support formal and non-formal recommendations by partner and third party organisations. CanCred endorsements permit the endorser to say why they’re endorsing a micro-certification or organisation. These add authentic networked trust and value to your credentials. -
Alignment to common frameworks
Use CanCred’s standards-based Alignment feature to align your micro-certifications to Ontario’s Essential Employability Skills or to explicitly support eCampusOntario’s Principles and Framework. Or link directly to ESCO, the European skills database. Direct links to Canadian frameworks are coming soon, via a partnership project with St. Lawrence College and Shopify. -
Multilingual
Not just English and French but other languages including Cree, Ojibway and other Indigenous languages, to support bilingualism, multiculturalism and Truth and Reconciliation in Canada -
Milestone micro-certification pathways
Recognize larger learning programs by stacking micro-certifications -
Standalone verifiable PDF Certificates
Students don’t even have to upload their micro-certifications to share them via email and other means. QR codes in the certificates link to the hosted credential for verification. Validation confirms that the micro-certification has not expired, has not been revoked and has not been modified since issue. (Not blockchain-based - see below) -
Micro-certification sharing networks
Freely copy your micro-certifications to partners or share them as controlled links to build distributed issuing networks
But no blockchain. If blockchain is your aspiration, this offer might not appeal. CanCred has been cautious in adding this feature for a variety of reasons, a reluctance shared with several other platforms. We are currently exploring options for adding blockchain verification as an additional cost option for motivated institutions, but this option is not included in the current offer.
Why is CanCred doing this?
CanCred is proud of its formative role in getting digital badges and micro-credentialing started in Ontario and we look forward to helping the recognition ecosystem continue to grow.
We were disappointed to learn that CanCred Factory was not selected as the issuing platform for eCampusOntario’s current round of micro-certification pilots. It’s our belief that CanCred Factory supports the growth of a recognition ecosystem in many significant ways. We already serve 15 of the 45 institutions in your community, a significant piece of the ecosystem, along with the eCampusOntario Passport, which supports a growing community of badge earners with portfolio, social media and geo-tagging capabilities.
This is our chance to get your feedback on the importance of blockchain verification as compared with the ecosystem elements that CanCred supports.
CanCred’s capabilities demonstrated in video
CanCred is assembling a showcase of short tutorials that take you through the process of creating and issuing digital badges and micro-credentials on CanCred Factory. They embed advice on how to maximize the benefits of our platform to meet your objectives.
