ISTE Seal
Forward Edge is excited to officially announce the ISTE Seal for the Edge•U Badges program!
About Edge•U
Edge•U is a professional learning system designed by teachers, for teachers to provide professional development in the use of technology tools, web applications, and strategies for instructional leadership. The platform is set up so that participants earn “badges” that correlate to a specific number of points (e.g. one to five) depending on the scope of the work or how in-depth the participant will need to get with the tool. Edge•U reaches all learners with its broad net reaching from basic productivity tools to presenting tools on a grander scale; i.e. state or national presentations. Edge•U gives participants the chance to align their professional development goals to an anytime, anywhere learning platform.
About ISTE
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the premier nonprofit membership organization serving educators and education leaders. ISTE is committed to empowering connected learners in a connected world and serves more than 100,000 education stakeholders throughout the world.
About the ISTE Seal
Earning the ISTE Seal demonstrates that a solution, regardless of its grade level, purpose, or subject, effectively supports best practices in digital age teaching and learning by aligning with the ISTE Standards. This alignment is confirmed through a rigorous review process conducted by trained ISTE Seal reviewers, ensuring the solution meets all critical requirements of specific standard indicators. Products awarded the ISTE Seal also feature a strong user interface and are grounded in research-based teaching and learning principles.
By earning this Seal, ISTE verifies that our product:
- Promotes critical technology skills
- Supports the use of technology in appropriate ways
- Contributes to the pedagogically robust use of technology for teaching and learning
- Aligns to the ISTE Standards in specific ways as described in the review finding report
90% of Educators say
Edge•U Badges is valuable
professional development!
Based on Surveys completed
by Edge•U Badges Users.
Summary of Findings from the ISTE Seal Review Process
To achieve the seal from ISTE, the Edge•U Badge platform went through a two-step review process with a select group of ISTE review committee members of education and instructional experts. The reviewers examined all aspects of Edge•U including evaluating the 300 badges currently available in the badge library to assess its alignment to the ISTE Standards for Educators. This process took over three months of work for the team to work through all the badges within the platform to determine if standards were aligned.
Click Here to Read ISTE' s Report on Edge•U!
After the detailed review process, Edge•U Badges was determined to meet the ISTE Standards for Educators at the Foundational and Applied levels!
Our results have proven that this program is a fun and engaging way to participate in professional learning, while also giving the administration at districts across the country insight into teachers' professional development and continuing education like never before! For example, Skycrest Christian School in Florida has experienced 98% staff participation since the program began in their district. At Loveland City Schools, educators earned over 500 badges within the first 3 months of Edge•U. Additionally, teachers at Three Rivers have completed enough badges in 3 months to have over 660 classroom hours impacted! Edge•U is a proven way to increase engagement in district technology integration initiatives, with over 90% of educators using the program saying that Edge•U is valuable professional development!
