In today's world, Concentric Sky has become a topic of great relevance and interest to people of all ages and backgrounds. Its impact has been felt in different aspects of society, from the personal to the global level, generating debates, reflections and significant changes in various areas. As we move forward into the 21st century, Concentric Sky continues to be a topic that awakens emotions, challenges and opportunities, forcing us to rethink our actions and decisions. In this article, we will explore different perspectives and dimensions of Concentric Sky, analyzing its evolution, its impact and possible implications for the future.
Concentric Sky is a software development company located in Eugene, Oregon. The company was founded in 2005 by Wayne Skipper, and grew to nearly 90 employees prior its sale to Instructure in April 2022. In 2015, Cale Bruckner was promoted to President of the company. Skipper continued to serve as CEO until the company's sale. Concentric Sky is the maker of Badgr and is a well-known contributor to the development of open technology standards focused on advancing equity outcomes for learners and workers.
History
Concentric Sky grew steadily from its founding in 2005. In 2008, the company announced a partnership with GoldMoney to create an iPhone app to allow the transfer of digital units of gold.
In 2010, Concentric Sky Founder Wayne Skipper was asked to submit expert testimony to the Federal Trade Commission regarding Google's acquisition of Admob. That same year, the company partnered with the World Bank to develop a series of data visualization apps and partnered with National Geographic to design and build a series of official study apps for the National Geographic Bee. In 2010, the Internet Engineering Task Force voted to make the company a development partner.
In 2011, the company partnered with the United Nations to develop a data visualization app to support the UN's annual reports. That same year, the company was named "the only App Developer officially endorsed by Mashable."
In 2012, the company designed and built an iPad version of the Encyclopædia Britannica. The app received widespread recognition, including an Appy Award.
In 2015, the company led the development of Open Badges 2.0 in partnership with MacArthur Foundation spin off, Collective Shift. That same year, the company launched the Badgr project with partner edX. The use of Badgr grew rapidly, and by early 2018 the product had grown to serve nearly 10,000 organizations around the world.
In 2016, the company announced a broad partnership with Collective Shift focused on advancements in education technology and workforce readiness. Under this partnership, the company developed LRNGArchived 17 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine and took over development of GlassLab Games, which included the educational variants of several popular video games including Civilization and SimCity. GlassLab Games was shutdown at the end of 2018, and Concentric Sky worked to release many of the games open source.
In 2017, the company became a founding member of the IEEE Industry Consortium for Learning Engineering, and announced partnerships with the California Community Colleges System,Georgia Department of Education, and SURFnet. The success of the company's Badgr product led to Founder Wayne Skipper being interviewed broadly in the education community, as well as Badgr's inclusion in the European CommissionJoint Research Centre's 2017 "Blockchain in Education" report. That same year, the company offered digital badges to commemorate The Great American Eclipse, and another product featuring the company's work for partner Cengage Learning won a Codie award.
In 2019, SURFnet announced a plan for The Netherlands to adopt a national digital credential strategy based on the company's Badgr platform, the company launched a series of tools in partnership with the California Community Colleges System designed to help prospective community college students and their families identify regional educational programs and employment opportunities, and company founder Wayne Skipper was invited to speak at SXSW EDU on the topic of “Open Standards & the Quantification of Learning." During 2019, the company's work was featured by Digital Promise,EdSurge,Educause,IBM, The Inter-American Development Bank, and the Technology Association of Oregon.
In 2020, Microsoft announced the integration of the company's Badgr product into Microsoft Teams, the company co-founded the Open Skills Network with partners including Western Governors University and Walmart, the company's Badgr product was included as part of Learning and Employment Record pilots presented by Salesforce and Walmart to the United States Department of Commerce, the company launched a first-of-its-kind comprehensive learner record with the University of North Texas, and the company announced partnerships with The International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), Credential Engine, and Emsi. In December 2020, Concentric Sky and partners including Instructure and Zoom wrote a public letter to the incoming Biden administration urging an immediate focus on education equity in order to address ongoing issues impacting the US education system.
In 2021, the company announced a proposal for version 3.0 of Open Badges, bringing together the company's work across the World Wide Web Consortium and Decentralized Identity communities, the company released the Open Skills Management Toolkit in partnership with Western Governors University, and the company announced several new partnerships including Blackboard, Postman, and Open eLMS. During 2021, the company's work was featured by the American Institutes for Research, Futuro Health, and numerous other organizations around the world.
Named as one of Oregon's Top Workplaces of 2021 by The Oregonian, Concentric Sky is known for its creative company culture. In 2012, the company dubbed its local metro region the Silicon Shire, and hosts Shire-themed events to promote the region including the annual Shire for the River fundraiser in partnership with the McKenzie River Trust. In 2013, members of Concentric Sky launched an award-winning technology design team known as Light At Play. In 2015, this team developed a series of LED-powered art installations that were showcased in several events around the world as part of the International Year of Light, including displays at the Smithsonian and the National Academy of Sciences.
^Gretch, A. & Camilleri, A. F. "Blockchain in Education"(PDF). European Commission Joint Research Centre.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)