When we started Building 21 over 11 years ago, we had to create our own platform to measure and track progress for our Lab Schools because there was nothing on the market that met our needs. We needed to be able to capture evidence of learning that occurs anytime, anywhere and ways to transparently measure growth over time. Most importantly, the platform had to be more than a gradebook for teachers; it had to be a new kind of platform that truly places the learner at the center.

We created our first set of tools in Slate, an open source platform. This was our solution to create a competency-based tracking system that supported our model. We were able to use this with our lab schools and with a few school partners that wanted help implementing our competency framework. Using Slate helped us learn so much about what it takes to do this work. It helped us prototype ideas in our innovative schools but it wasn’t built to scale the way we needed it to be.

Now, we are excited to share Beacon Learning with the world.

Our new platform is making our vision of anytime, anywhere learning a reality.

Beacon isn’t just another tool; it’s an innovative learning platform designed to empower both educators and learners. Whether you’re a teacher, a student, or a school leader, Beacon breaks free from traditional constraints and offers a platform tailored to meet your needs.

In today’s ever-changing world, education must be as dynamic and flexible as the learners it serves. Traditional systems often fall short, confined by age, time, and rigid course structures. Beacon dismantles these barriers with a competency-based, project-focused, and anytime, anywhere learning approach.

Here’s how Beacon can help you transform how you organize learning:

Say farewell to the limitations of standards-based grading and welcome competency-based progressions. Beacon ensures that progress is meaningful and understandable.

Beacon fully supports competency-based progressions. In Beacon, you can track a set of competencies across time and experience and communicate progress, performance, and growth.

If you need to track standards along with competencies, Beacon can do that. Beacon can also accommodate tracking of graduation requirements, experiences, and any other data you need to report.

Beacon’s innovative tracking system captures progress and growth over time, offering a clear picture of a learner’s journey. No more struggling with systems that fail to accommodate the complexities of real-world learning.

Whether you’re part of a traditional school, a non-traditional learning organization, or something entirely unique, Beacon fits your way of doing things. Customize your competencies, create scales, and configure levels that align with your learning model.

Capture learning as it happens, wherever it happens. Students can earn credit for work experience, sports, music lessons, and more.  We want to ensure that every learning moment in and out of school is valued and tracked.

Empower learners to take control of their educational journey. With Beacon, learners can create tasks, add evidence to their portfolios, and receive feedback from evaluators.

When we started Building 21 over 11 years ago, we had to build our own competency-based LMS from scratch. Nothing on the market could do what we needed: capture evidence of learning anytime, anywhere, and measure real growth over time. Most gradebooks track points. We needed a platform that tracked learners. One that placed the student — not the schedule, not the course, not the grade — at the center of everything.

We believe in the power of Beacon to transform education because it allows you to track learning anytime and anywhere, at a personalized pace.

Curious to learn more?  Visit our website and sign up for a free consultation to see how Beacon can bring learning to light for your students.