Open ed 13: Learner-Driven Liberation: Open Badges & New Knowledge Sharing

Emily Goligoski (Photo credit: jdlasica)

"In an age of anywhere, anytime learning, learners and educators who design Open Badges are re-inventing recognition. Credentials no longer need to be limited to transcripts or printed certificates; now they can be virtual, shareable and peer-issued. Advocates of open educational resources can use Mozilla's open technical standard to make symbols of skills and interests portable and interoperable. Our conversational panel will feature badge issuing educational organizations and employers interested in using badges to identify talent. Together, we'll examine real world examples of badges in the wild. Our panel will also explore: a) the ways in which badges can be used to demonstrate interests and competencies; and b) the methods by which individuals are using badges to access new educational and professional opportunities. The conversation will focus on current and future interpretations of skill and interest recognition for organizations, educators, and learners."

Emily Goligoski presented on open badges. I am interested in this because we would like to use a badge system in eLearning 101 - our online orientation. She works with the Mozilla Foundation as a researcher.

What would it look like to use badges for learning? Badges have been used in social networks and in Khan Academy but what would it look like for competency-based learning.

Mozilla is building a shared, universal standards. There came up with a metadata scheme that includes badege name, description, criteria, issuer, evidence, date issued, standards, etc. The badges can show employers what a learner can actually do above and beyond just a transcript. NPR is endorsing badges for Youth Radio for instance.

Digital badges can be used for prior learning and life-long learners.

A learner can earn badges from formal classes, MOOCs, volunteer programs, etc.
The badges are stored in a digital space called a "Badge Backpack" The learner can set display permissions.
There is a Wordpress backpack plugin and one coming for LinkedIn.
Potential employers can tell exactly what the learner can do.
They are making it easier to earn, issue, & display badges across the web.
 More and more companies are looking for these because the badges are endorsed and vouched for where as a resume is not.
Looking forward - from earn, issue, adn display to consumption and discovery of open badges. They are using these for employee training and professional development.
They can represent hard & soft skills, peer assessment, & stackable, life-long learning.

Why Integrate with Open Badges?
Increased learner engagement
Easy integration with prior learning
Alignment with paths & programs

They are rolling out "BadgeKit"
Buikd Issue, Assess, Analyze, Discover, Share, and Endorse - all the tools will be free and open source. You can pick and choose to use this with a number of outside assessment tool.  

OpenBadges has Community Member Profiles

There is also a weekly community phone call on Weds. mornings

http://ommunity.openbadges.org

Related articles

• State of the Union: Mozilla Badges (carlacasilli.wordpress.com)
• Badge-Based Professional Development: Purposes and Possibilities (hastac.org)
• Open Badges Hackery at Mozfest (weblog.lonelylion.com)
• Design Principles for Motivating Learning with Digital Badges (hastac.org)
• Better Futures for 2 Million Americans Through Open Badges (macfound.org)
• Do-It-Yourself Badges (hastac.org)