There is a growing interest in business and technology certifications and many Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are funded based on the number of credentials earned. For example, Business Technology program at my school is doing really well, because my colleague and I are working hard to prepare our Digital Information Technology (DIT) students for Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) industry certification. Florida Department of Education allocates funding for CAPE certifications. More information is here: http://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/cape-secondary, if you are interested in learning more.

I am very proud of my students this past school year, even though all of my DIT students were 100% online. The pass rate of 80% was a bit lower than usual but we have experienced all kinds of technology issues and struggled to find online proctors, as availability is very limited and appointments must be scheduled well in advance.

Next year, I am launching Entrepreneurship and Small Business (ESB) certification, as it was finally approved by FL DOE for 2021-2022 school year! 

However, I want to make sure my students are well prepared, and so I am super excited to add badges to my business course. Micro-credentials via badges will gradually build towards ESB certification. I think badges are extremely beneficial because they increase student engagement and offer skill and knowledge scaffolding. 

Here is a great article on this topic: Brauer, S., Korhonen, A. M., & Siklander, P. (2019). Online scaffolding in digital open badge-driven learning. Educational Research, 61(1), 53-69.