Concentric Sky
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Wayne Skipper |
| Headquarters | Eugene , United States |
Key people | Wayne Skipper (Founder, former CEO), Cale Bruckner (President from 2015) |
Number of employees | Nearly 90 (2022) |
Concentric Sky is a software development firm headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, established in 2005 by Wayne Skipper. Prior to its acquisition by Instructure in April 2022, the company grew to nearly 90 staff members. In 2015, Cale Bruckner assumed the role of President while Skipper continued as CEO until the company's sale. Concentric Sky is recognized for developing Badgr and actively contributing to open technology standards designed to improve outcomes for both learners and professionals.
History
Since its inception in 2005, Concentric Sky has demonstrated consistent expansion. In 2008, it collaborated with GoldMoney to create an iPhone application facilitating digital gold transactions. By 2009, the company partnered with Encyclopædia Britannica to introduce educational apps for K-12 on iOS and developed the official iOS app for NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day. Additionally, it constructed the website for Michael Moore's documentary Capitalism: A Love Story.
In 2010, founder Wayne Skipper provided expert testimony before the Federal Trade Commission regarding Google's acquisition of Admob. That same year, Concentric Sky worked alongside the World Bank to produce data visualization applications and teamed up with National Geographic to develop study tools for the National Geographic Bee. The Internet Engineering Task Force designated the company as a development partner in 2010.
The following year, Concentric Sky created a data visualization app for the United Nations’ annual reports and was distinguished as the sole app developer officially endorsed by Mashable. In 2012, it designed a highly praised iPad edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, earning an Appy Award.
By 2013, products crafted for partner Cengage Learning received two Codie awards, and the company was granted a US patent related to usability enhancements in electronic medical records.
In 2014, Concentric Sky engaged with the Open Badges initiative and launched the Oregon Badge Alliance alongside collaborators such as Oregon State University. It also introduced an open source Android viewer app tailored for Khan Academy content.
The year 2015 saw the company spearheading development of Open Badges 2.0 in collaboration with MacArthur Foundation spin-off Collective Shift and launching Badgr with partner edX. By early 2018, Badgr had rapidly expanded to serve nearly 10,000 organizations worldwide.
In 2016, Concentric Sky strengthened its alliance with Collective Shift to promote advancements in education technology and workforce preparedness. It developed LRNG and assumed control of GlassLab Games, which produced educational versions of popular titles like Civilization and SimCity. GlassLab ceased operations in late 2018, releasing many games as open source.
Concentric Sky became a founding member of the IEEE Industry Consortium for Learning Engineering in 2017 and established partnerships with organizations including the California Community Colleges System, Georgia Department of Education, and SURFnet. The widespread adoption of Badgr brought significant recognition to founder Wayne Skipper within educational circles. That same year, Badgr was featured in the European Commission's "Blockchain in Education" report. The company also issued digital badges commemorating The Great American Eclipse and secured another Codie award alongside Cengage Learning.
In 2018, Concentric Sky enhanced digital badge ecosystems by unveiling the open standard Open Pathways and launched a badge program aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Following Mozilla's discontinuation of its Backpack platform, users transitioned to Badgr. The company introduced new open source tools for edX, established Badgr as Canvas LMS’s integrated badging solution, partnered with Washington state's community college system on a four-year project, and earned additional Codie awards with Cengage Learning. Its EdRec blockchain-based digital transcript initiative was honored with the US Department of Education’s Reimagining Higher Education Ecosystem Challenge.
In 2019, SURFnet announced plans for The Netherlands to implement a national digital credential strategy utilizing Badgr. Concentric Sky launched tools alongside the California Community Colleges System to assist students in identifying academic programs and career pathways. Founder Wayne Skipper delivered a keynote at SXSW EDU on “Open Standards & the Quantification of Learning.” The company's work received coverage from Digital Promise, EdSurge, Educause, IBM, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Technology Association of Oregon.
In 2020, Microsoft integrated Badgr into Microsoft Teams. Concentric Sky co-founded the Open Skills Network together with partners including Western Governors University and Walmart. Badgr was showcased by Salesforce and Walmart to the US Department of Commerce within a program serving over two million employees. The company launched a comprehensive learner record system with the University of North Texas and formed collaborations with IACET, Credential Engine, and Emsi. In December, Concentric Sky joined Instructure and Zoom in urging the incoming US administration to focus on improving student learning outcomes.
During 2021, Concentric Sky proposed Open Badges version 3.0 integrating efforts from both the World Wide Web Consortium and decentralized identity communities. It released the Open Skills Management Toolkit alongside Western Governors University and announced new partnerships with Blackboard, Postman, and Open eLMS. The company’s initiatives were highlighted by organizations such as American Institutes for Research and Futuro Health.
At the beginning of 2022, prior to its acquisition by Instructure in April, Concentric Sky collaborated with National Student Clearinghouse and ISTE.
Culture
Concentric Sky earned recognition as one of Oregon's Top Workplaces in 2021 by The Oregonian, highlighting its innovative and dynamic organizational environment. In 2012, the company introduced the term Silicon Shire to describe its surrounding metropolitan area and initiated events to support this emerging technology community, such as the yearly Shire for the River fundraiser, conducted in collaboration with the McKenzie River Trust.
In 2013, members of Concentric Sky established the acclaimed technology design collective Light At Play. This group created LED-based artistic installations that were displayed internationally during the International Year of Light, featuring presentations at prominent institutions including the Smithsonian and the National Academy of Sciences.