Open Badges Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Presentation on digital badging at The Open University for ALTC 2015

The Design Principle Documentation Project has followed the development of thirty digital badging projects as they moved from their intended practices outlined in their initial proposals to their enacted practices constrained by their audience and the badging platform. The DPD Project aimed to capture the knowledge that emerged in this shift before it evaporated. The result was the derivation of ten design principles for designing assessments in digital badge systems that is relevant beyond badging systems. A scholarly review of the literature related to the design principles revealed aspects of assessment functions that badging projectsor anyone designing assessments for a learning systemshould consider as they make decisions about the kind of learning they wish to foster.

- by Daniel Hickey
- •
- Educational Technology, Assessment, Open Badges, Digital Badges

Digital badges are web-enabled tokens of accomplishment that contain specific claims and evidence about learning and achievement along with detailed evidence supporting those claims. Badges traditionally consist of an image and relevant metadata (e.g., badge name, description, criteria, issuer, evidence, date issued, standards, and tags). This column features findings from recent research examining the design principles for open digital badges that emerged across the 30 organizations awarded grants to develop badge content in the 2012 Badges for Lifelong Learning Initiative. The column focuses this inspection of the principles identified in the research (recognition, assessment, and motivation) on one student in the MOUSE outreach program. Results from this column provide guidance for educators in and out of traditional learning contexts.

- by W. Ian O'Byrne and +1
- •
- Education, Assessment, Digital Literacy, Educational Measurement

The concept of badges to acknowledge skills and competencies is not new as anyone who has been in the Scouts of Girl Guides can attest. The term digital badge, however, has only recently emerged and is fast gaining momentum as a potential system for credentialing skills, knowledge and accomplishments achieved by individuals within and across businesses and learning organisations. Digital badges evolved from the gaming industry as a form of digital reward, however, it was only when the MacArthur Foundation, in collaboration with Mozilla, created the concept of Open Badges and launched the ‘Badges for Lifelong Learning Competition’, that its potential value as a legitimate and creditable accreditation tool has been considered. Universities here in Australia and overseas, as well as organisations such as the Smithsonian are engaged in rigorous discussion and debate about the merits of this new indicator of learning.

- by Leonie McIlvenny
- •
- The Australian Curriculum, Open Badges, Digital Badges

MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses) differ from typical Higher Education courses as they are open to everyone over the age of 13 regardless of learners’ age, educational level, motivation, experience or demography. MOOC are heavily criticised for their attrition rates of between 90-95 percent. Numerous studies have highlighted that large number of MOOCs learners who don’t complete the whole course do in fact access substantial amount of content. This highlights the different motivations MOOCS learners have. The traditional MOOCs criteria for completion is not suited to measuring this micro learning within MOOC. The paper aims to propose a new methodology for measuring learner achievement that would take account of the overall completion rates plus the micro learning that takes place within MOOCs.

- by Syed Munib Hadi
- •
- Instructional Design, Retention, MOOCs, Open Badges

In the digital era, institutions of vocational education and training (VET) have emerged as transformational and flexible development environments; consequently, it is important to develop digital professional learning opportunities for vocational teachers who need to meet the requirements of their working lives. More research regarding such opportunities is needed in order to find new tools for planning and conducting studies on continuing professional development and to achieve and maintain the versatile competences required in vocational teachers’ demanding careers. This study aims to fill a research gap regarding advanced competence-based professional development by investigating the process of digital open badge-driven learning in the context of professional teacher education (vocational teacher education). The research question considers how digital open badges structure the gamified competence-based learning process in the continuing professional development of vocational pre- and in-service teachers. Theoretically, this study draws attention to the motivational effects of digital badging, gamification and the competence-based approach. The research aimed to explore vocational teachers’ different ideas, views and experiences of the competence-based approach to professional development of digital pedagogical competences; it also sought to investigate the structure and process of digital open badge-driven learning. The data were collected from Finnish pre- and in-service vocational teachers (n=29) in 2016 via group online interviews (n=6) and via online questionnaires in 2017 (n=329). The study draws on descriptive mixed research methodologies: qualitative content analysis, constrained correspondence analysis (CCA) and phenomenography. All of these approaches provide researchers with deep conceptual understandings and opportunities to draw new concepts and derive implications for novel educational practices. Further, the latter two studies provide a strong underpinning for further research related to the descriptive quantitative methodology and CCA. 8 • Digital Open Badge-Driven Learning – Competence-based Professional Development for Vocational Teachers The aim of the first sub-study was to reveal what motivates students in the badge-driven learning process. The study focused on mapping students’ experiences of stimulating and supportive digital open badge-driven learning, ultimately determining motivational factors affecting the digital open badge-driven learning process. The findings present a multifaceted model of recognising competence and embracing gamified learning to encourage students’ achievement orientation and intrinsic motivation. In the second sub-study, we viewed the process from the perspective of guidance and scaffolding, asking how students experience scaffolding in badge-driven learning. The results indicate that a stage model of scaffolding and instructional badging holds value in structuring the badge-driven learning process. The third study aimed to identify students who were particularly motivated by digital open badge-driven learning. The research question sought to explore what triggers learning in the badge-driven process, with results indicating similarities and differences in experiences based on the achieved skill-set level and competence-development continuum for vocational teachers. The findings also suggest the value of applying gamification and digital badging in the professional development of both pre- and in-service teachers. Based on our findings, we propose digital open badge-driven learning triggered by flexible study options that include customising studies and learning new and up-to-date competences. The final and fourth study further describes vocational pre- and in-service teachers’ experiences of the competence-based approach in digital open badge-driven learning. By explaining different aspects of the phenomenon, the study employed both constrained correspondence analysis and phenomenography to deepen our existing knowledge of digital open badge-driven learning. The results describe the impact of the competence-based approach on teachers’ professional development during the digital open badge-driven learning process. Each of the four sub-studies contribute to answering the study’s overarching research question: how do digital open badges structure the gamified competence-based learning process in the continuing professional development of vocational pre- and in-service teachers? The primary results from the various sub-studies and theoretical approaches culminate in defining digital open badge-driven learning process grounded on the badge constellation of competences. The entity of digital open badge-driven learning includes learning materials, badge criteria, instructional badging, scaffolding and peer support. This study offers insights into the process structure and layered design for applying the competence-based approach, digital open badges and…

- by Sanna Brauer
- •
- Psychology, Digital Pedagogy, Doctoral Dissertation, Open Badges

In the digital era, institutions of vocational education and training (VET) have emerged as transformational and flexible development environments; consequently, it is important to develop digital professional learning opportunities for vocational teachers who need to meet the requirements of their working lives. More research regarding such opportunities is needed in order to find new tools for planning and conducting studies on continuing professional development and to achieve and maintain the versatile competences required in vocational teachers’ demanding careers. This study aims to fill a research gap regarding advanced competence-based professional development by investigating the process of digital open badge-driven learning in the context of professional teacher education (vocational teacher education). The research question considers how digital open badges structure the gamified competence-based learning process in the continuing professional development of vocational pre- and in-service teachers. Theoretically, this study draws attention to the motivational effects of digital badging, gamification and the competence-based approach.
The research aimed to explore vocational teachers’ different ideas, views and experiences of the competence-based approach to professional development of digital pedagogical competences; it also sought to investigate the structure and process of digital open badge-driven learning. The data were collected from Finnish pre- and in-service vocational teachers (n=29) in 2016 via group online interviews (n=6) and via online questionnaires in 2017 (n=329). The study draws on descriptive mixed research methodologies: qualitative content analysis, constrained correspondence analysis (CCA) and phenomenography. All of these approaches provide researchers with deep conceptual understandings and opportunities to draw new concepts and derive implications for novel educational practices. Further, the latter two studies provide a strong underpinning for further research related to the descriptive quantitative methodology and CCA.
8 • Digital Open Badge-Driven Learning – Competence-based Professional Development for Vocational Teachers
The aim of the first sub-study was to reveal what motivates students in the badge-driven learning process. The study focused on mapping students’ experiences of stimulating and supportive digital open badge-driven learning, ultimately determining motivational factors affecting the digital open badge-driven learning process. The findings present a multifaceted model of recognising competence and embracing gamified learning to encourage students’ achievement orientation and intrinsic motivation. In the second sub-study, we viewed the process from the perspective of guidance and scaffolding, asking how students experience scaffolding in badge-driven learning. The results indicate that a stage model of scaffolding and instructional badging holds value in structuring the badge-driven learning process. The third study aimed to identify students who were particularly motivated by digital open badge-driven learning. The research question sought to explore what triggers learning in the badge-driven process, with results indicating similarities and differences in experiences based on the achieved skill-set level and competence-development continuum for vocational teachers. The findings also suggest the value of applying gamification and digital badging in the professional development of both pre- and in-service teachers. Based on our findings, we propose digital open badge-driven learning triggered by flexible study options that include customising studies and learning new and up-to-date competences. The final and fourth study further describes vocational pre- and in-service teachers’ experiences of the competence-based approach in digital open badge-driven learning. By explaining different aspects of the phenomenon, the study employed both constrained correspondence analysis and phenomenography to deepen our existing knowledge of digital open badge-driven learning. The results describe the impact of the competence-based approach on teachers’ professional development during the digital open badge-driven learning process.
Each of the four sub-studies contribute to answering the study’s overarching research question: how do digital open badges structure the gamified competence-based learning process in the continuing professional development of vocational pre- and in-service teachers? The primary results from the various sub-studies and theoretical approaches culminate in defining digital open badge-driven learning process grounded on the badge constellation of competences. The entity of digital open badge-driven learning includes learning materials, badge criteria, instructional badging, scaffolding and peer support. This study offers insights into the process structure and layered design for applying the competence-based approach, digital open badges and gamification in professional development. Further, the process approach embodies the ideal of study path customisation and personalisation in order to meet teachers’ personal needs for their working lives.

- by Sanna Brauer
- •
- Digital Pedagogy, Open Badges, Competence based Approach, digital open badges

One of the biggest challenges facing the badging community is an overall lack of rigor in the quality of badging systems, stemming from a misunderstanding of the basic concepts of assessment, credentialing, and the signaling benefits of a credential. In this chapter we discuss the concept of lightweight versus heavyweight badges and explain the argument for lightweight badges along with our counter argument. We then present proposals for how to strengthen the rigor of the badging systems we all use in an attempt to increase the meaningfulness of open badges to end users.

- by Richard West and +1
- •
- Educational Technology, Open Access, Preservice Teacher Education, Open Badges

With increasing interest in competency and outcome-based education, and the blending of formal and informal learning, there is increasing need for credentials to match these learning paradigms. In this article, the authors discuss the benefits, challenges, and potential future directions for open digital badges-one potential alternative credential that is gaining in popularity. They also share examples and case studies from successful badging programs, and conclude with challenges for the academic community for future research and design of open badgi ng systems.

- by Richard West
- •
- Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Instructional Technology, Open Badges

Hamari et al. (2014) reviewed 24 peer-reviewed empirical studies on gamification and concluded that gamification works, but that both the role of the context and the qualities of the users constitute confounding factors for its success. We suggest that there is a third aspect to be taken into account: the design quality of a gamified system. Using a design-based methodology and both qualitative and quantitative data this empirical study addresses the following question: How can a gamified learning website be designed, developed and implemented? The goal is to show educators and researchers how they can build their own gamified learning website with limited resources (time, money and personnel) and highlight confounding factors. This is important, because gamified systems can only be compared properly if they are designed well and in a similar fashion. The description of the design process of the gamified learning website follows the ADDIE-model that defines five steps: analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. We illustrate our approach with an experiment conducted with undergraduates in two classes between 2013 and 2015. The class website was built with WordPress, an open source content management system, and some additional plugins. The quality of a gamified system does depend on the types of design elements that are being used, but even more so on the behaviors that these design elements stimulate in learners and how they are embedded within a website. Led by theory, we show how a well designed reward system for gamification might look like. Compared with previous classes, the gamified learning website led to more activity and better grades. These positive aspects are due to the extrinsic effectiveness of the gamified system. Negative voices from learners concerned: too much content, too few popular content types and usability issues. The process of reading this paper is also gamified.

- by Björn Lefers and +1
- •
- Gamification, Gamification in Education, Open Badges

Digital badges provide new affordances for online educational activities and experiences. When used with points and leaderboards, a badge can become a gamification element allowing learners to compete with themselves or others, and to know how close they are to accomplishing a goal and acquiring its accompanying reputation. In this role, badges motivate continued engagement, which increases time on task and supports skill acquisition through performance. Learning outcomes signified by badges can also be displayed in an e-portfolio or on web sites and are highly transportable to social media sites. In this role they summarize achievement and signal accomplishment. With these characteristics, digital badges have the potential to become an alternative credentialing system, providing visible recognition in digital symbols that link directly via metadata to validating evidence of educational achievements in public displays. This paper will trace the brief history of digital badges, define what they are, give examples of their use, and discuss their educational affordances.

- by Erin Knight
- •
- Education, Gamification, Assessment of learning, Open Badges

Open badges, as the new currency of learning, has the potential to motivate learners to participate in granular, evidence-based and portable learning interventions in organisations in support of lifelong learning. However, there is surprisingly little adoption of this new digital recognition scheme in South African corporate training and educational institutions.
The purpose of this study was to examine the obstacles that may prevent organisations from using the National Qualifications Framework accreditation and open badges for micro-credentialing. It also investigated the factors that contribute to the lack of enthusiasm for the Open Badges Framework in South Africa.
Two separate questionnaires for learning practitioners and for learners were completed by participants from various South African organisations. Participation observation was also used to gain access to the opinions of key role players in the South African Learning & Development fraternity as well as some international practitioners taking part in online discussions. Activity theory elements were used to analyse the responses and potential contradictions were identified.
The main findings indicate that none of the obstacles seem to be of such a nature that open badges cannot be implemented in South Africa. Furthermore, there is consensus that the education and training industry can greatly benefit from such an implementation. One hundred percent of respondents are in favour of a learning landscape where non-traditional credentials become more valuable.
However, action has to be taken to overcome the following obstacles: 1) Lack of understanding the benefits to the South African population at large as well as applicability in organisations. 2) Lack of South African best practices. 3) Lack of resources: funds, tools and technical expertise. 4) Resistance to change and the anticipated struggle to obtain management buy-in.

In general, participants use MOOCs for individual learning purposes by selecting certain contents of a MOOC in which they are interested. Simultaneously, MOOCs are used in the context of online-lectures offered to students who must or may enroll for a specific course to earn credits. However, many participants do not successfully complete all units of a MOOC. Therefore, completion rates – in general – are rather low. Certificates like PDF-documents or electronic badges can be an adequate stimulation to complete a course. This research raises the questions, how the certification of MOOC-participants can be managed and if certificates have an impact on completion rates. Firstly, general aspects of certification are discussed. This is followed by a practical insight into the certification practice based on experiences of the Austrian MOOC-platform iMooX operators. As a conclusion, results are summarized and related challenges and further research questions are addressed.

- by Martin Ebner
- •
- Education, Educational Technology, Higher Education, Technology Enhanced Learning

У тезах обґрунтовано можливість використання відкритих цифрових бейджіву роботі соціального педагога з формування безпечної поведінки підлітків в Інтернеті. USING OF OPEN BADGES IN SOCIAL PEDAGOGUE’S PRACTICE An opportunity to use Open... more

- by Olena Chernykh
- •
- Open Badges, Human Rights Online

Author Biographies All three authors are affiliated with the Instructional Psychology and Technology department at Brigham Young University and are instructors for the preservice instructional technology course that is the subject of this article. Daniel L. Randall is a doctoral student studying online learning in higher education, collaborative innovation, and the use of video and storytelling in instruction. His research is available on Mendeley and his website, http://danrandall.com. J. Buckley Harrison is pursuing a master's degree and is studying the sense of community and learner satisfaction in blended environments. Other interests include alternative credentialing systems and instructional design theory. His research is available on his website, http://buckharrison.com. Richard E. West is an assistant professor who teaches courses on instructional technology foundations, creativity and innovation theories, and academic writing and research. He researches how to evaluate and design environments for fostering collaborative innovation, as well as the development of online learning communities and technology integration in secondary and higher education. His research is available on Mendeley, Academia.edu, and his website, Abstract This paper describes the design, development, and implementation of Open Badges into a secondary education preservice course on instructional technology. Open Badges provide a new way of issuing credentials to individuals who demonstrate knowledge, skill, or ability in a particular domain. Badges provide a simple system for communicating a skill along with specific information about the evidence connected with earning the badge. In this paper, we describe the course in detail along with the several iterations of design that resulted in the development of the badge system, along with the challenges faced and lessons learned for future design and use of Open Badges.

Lo que voy a presentar aquí recoge las preocupaciones del Doctor acerca de la acreditación y certificación de los saberes. En primer lugar, me referiré a la acreditación y sus formas conocidas, y luego a los sistemas de acreditación por créditos. En segundo lugar, a la emergencia de otros actores que disputan a las Universidades el valor de las certificaciones. Seguido a ello, me referiré las certificaciones, con foco en las micro-credenciales que acreditan competencias específicas. Luego presentaré propuesta del Doctor acerca de un pasaporte académico. Finalmente veremos cómo una nueva tecnología, la blockchain, puede hacerla realidad.

- by Federico del Carpio
- •
- Educación, University, Evaluación y acreditación, Educación superior

Chronic disease has reached global epidemic proportions in the past decade with millions dying each year from diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. All of these diseases have one key attribute in common: they are nearly 100 percent avoidable with proper lifestyle habits and requisite lifestyle modifications. This paper examines how these life-saving and life-extending behaviors can be instilled in individuals from a young age, utilizing an open badging strategy from lessons learned by analyzing similar programs in the targeted demographics.

- by Leslie Eldridge
- •
- Education, Health Promotion, Obesity, Diabetes

2014 l'accreditamente del corso base e avanzato per l'ottenimento della Bibliopatente avverrà attraverso il rilascio di 2 distinti BADGES che possono essere scaricati, archiviati e conservati dallo studente anche dopo il completamento del corso o la disiscrizione. Il badge è un 'distintivo virtuale' costituito da un'icona a cui sono abbinati i dati dell'ente (in questo caso la Biblioteca di Lingue dell'Università di Parma) che rilascia il badge e il tipo di corso o di capacità acquisita rappresentato dal badge.

- by Marina Usberti
- •
- Open Badges, Mozilla Badges, Certificazione, Teaching With Moodle

Though MOOC platforms offer quite good online learning opportunities, thereby gained skills and knowledge is not recognized appropriately. Also, they fail in maintaining the initial learner's motivation to complete the course. Mozilla's Open Badges, which are digital artifacts with embedded meta-data, could help to solve these problems. An Open Badge contains, beside its visual component, data to trustworthy verify its receipt. In addition, badges of different granularity cannot just certify successful course completion, but also help to steer the learning process of learners through formative feedback during the course. Therefore, a web application was developed that enabled iMooX to issue Open Badges for formative feedback as well as summative evaluation. A course about Open Educational Resources served as prototype evaluation, which confirmed its aptitude to be also used in other courses.

Extensive research on student development and learning theory shows that the value of a college experience can be challenging to measure since its impact is not strictly academic but holistic (e.g., Evans, Forney, & Guido-DiBrito, 1998). ePortfolio programs have been successfully implemented at many campuses as one way for students to collect, reflect, select, and project evidence of their learning across academic and co-curricular dimensions. This article will explore several other promising models for implementing emerging evidence-based, digital technologies and pedagogies that can be used with ePortfolios to strategically inspire a holistic, digital sense of self in students.

- by Michael Goudzwaard and +1
- •
- Eportfolio, Integrative Learning, Identity Development, Open Badges

Open Badges are digital representations of achievements or skills which describe the framework, significance, and outcomes of a learning procedure based on specific criteria. The Open Badges' collection can be used by its holder as a virtual CV of skills and qualifications. The practice of development, issue, and use of badges is connected with gamification elements, as badges are seen as incentives towards positive behavior and are powerful pedagogical tools. Furthermore, the use of Open Badges could become an alternative certification system for skills and knowledge acquired in online, blended and other informal learning environments and systems. In this article, we present case studies in which Open Badges have been used as credentials for educational practices in pilot educational systems, either in non-formal or informal learning systems, with specific emphasis on open learning environments. Key insights from these case studies highlight the extended use of Open Badges and stress the need for a common evaluation and accreditation system in open online learning environments.

- by Sofia Papadimitriou and +1
- •
- Lifelong Learning, Gamification in Education, Open Badges, Open Distance Learning

- by David Gibson and +2
- •
- Education, Gamification, Assessment of learning, Open Badges

E-Learning in India received a boost from the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission, which identified five key areas - access to knowledge, knowledge concepts, knowledge creation, knowledge application and knowledge services, transforming India into a knowledge society. Various eLearning
solutions, services and platforms are available to students, teachers and institutions. A-VIEW is one of such interactive multimedia e-learning platforms which has been developed as a part of “Talk to a Teacher” programme under the Indian Government’s National Mission for Education using Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) by Amrita E-Learning Research Lab, Kerala, India in association with IIT Bombay.

This paper describes a method for studying programs that issue Open Badges to recognize learning. The Design Principles Documentation (DPD) Project followed the development of 30 educational programs that planned to issue open digital badges to recognize "lifelong learning" accomplishment. The DPD Project's aim was to formulate general design principles based on the practices observed among the 30 research subjects. Analysis yielded 37 principles across four researcher-selected functions of digital badge systems: recognizing learning, assessing learning, motivating learning, and studying learning. This work describes this research methodology and its affordances for uncovering relationships between different elements of badge system design and between those elements and the larger project contexts in which they operate.

- by Daniel Hickey
- •
- Learning Ecologies, Open Badges

Badge systems, a common mechanism for gamification on social media platforms, provide a way for users to present their knowledge or experience to others. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of why social media users publicize their achievements in the form of online badges. Five motivational factors for badge display in public networked environments are distinguished—self-efficacy, social incentives, networked support, passing time, and inattentive sharing—and it is suggested that different badge types are associated with different motivations. System developers are advised to consider these components in their designs, applying the elements most appropriate to the communities they serve. Comparing user motivations associated with badges shared across boundaries provides a better understanding of how online badges relate to the larger social media ecosystem.

- by K. Hazel Kwon
- •
- Social Media, Twitter, Uses And Gratifications, Open Badges

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are open to all, regardless of learners’ age, educational level, experience, or demography. MOOCs allow enrolled learners a flexible learning environment in which they can study at their own pace without one to one support. Yet, this may result in many learners feeling unsupported and disengaged. Although peer support mechanisms have been tried in a MOOC context, this paper aims to consider whether replicating a degree of structured learning support as provided within conventional Higher Education courses can improve engagement and completion rates among MOOC learners. This paper will draw conclusions based on evidence from two MOOCs, as well as consider limitations and suggestions for further improvement.

Open badges are a digital representation of skills or accomplishments recorded in a visual symbol that is embedded with verifiable data and evidence. They are created following a defined open standard, so that they can be shared online. Open badges have gained popularity around the world in recent years and have become a standard feature of many learning management systems. This paper presents a systematic literature review of the published open badges literature from 2011 to 2015. Through database searches, searching the internet and chaining from known sources, 135 relevant peer-reviewed papers were identified from a corpus of 247 publications for this review. The authors believe this to be the first effort to systematically review literature relating to open badges. The review categorised publications while also providing quantitative analysis of publications according to publication type, year of publication and contributors. After assessing the literature suggestions for future research directions are presented, based on under-represented areas.

- by Tharindu Liyanagunawardena
- •
- Open Badges

This session will discuss how open badges were adopted at University College of Estate Management (UCEM) and how the process was managed in several phases: literature review on open badge implementations, staff survey, identification of suitable technology platforms and implementation and a proof of concept trial at UCEM Annual Conference. The success of open badges trial paved the way to another pilot study considering how to increase students' engagement using Open Badges. The main aim of this project is to increase students' engagement, experience and retention. Based on the 2016 module retention data, some postgraduate and undergraduate modules were identified for the project. Out of these, based on VLE logs, modules cross over and cohort size, a sample of 3 Postgraduate modules and 3 Undergraduate modules were selected for the trial. In this presentation, we will present our ongoing work with the open badges project and how it had evolved from its conception to implementation. The session will discuss the lessons learned and will help other institutions and/or individuals considering adopting open badges to understand what to expect and best practices to be used.

- by Tharindu Liyanagunawardena and +1
- •
- Open Badges

For several decades members of the American Evaluation Association have discussed and disputed the issue of evaluator certification. Our past inability to agree on a certification solution may have been partially caused by the weaknesses of traditional certification systems, which rely on candidates obtaining a degree and completing a comprehensive exam. In this article we propose a certification system based on digital open badges. The open badge framework uses a top-down design to structure and understand the certification process as micro-certification units. These types of systems are adaptable and clearly communicate the evidence of knowledge, skill, and experience represented by the credential. The potential benefits of using an open badge infrastructure make this an enticing option and viable solution for the AEA to establish policy and practice regarding an efficient, rigorous and credible way to certify evaluators.

- by Randall Davies and +1
- •
- Evaluation, Open Badges

Erin Knight is the senior learning director at the Mozilla Foundation and co-creator of Mozilla's Open Badges Infrastructure. Erin is leading the effort at the Mozilla Foundation to support the dynamic community that has emerged around... more

- by Daniel Hickey
- •
- Open Badges, Mozilla Badges, Digital Badges

There is broad interest in the use of open digital badges to enhance learners' motivation. These web-enabled tokens of learning and accomplishment have the potential to induce excitement and elicit powerful forms of engagement and learning. Researchers and developers, however, appear divided on the role of digital badges in motivating learners. Our paper addresses the skepticism and promise that surrounds badges and presents the design principles for motivating learning found among 30 digital badge projects and aligns them with research. In doing so, we consider how contextual factors-such as how badges are used recognize learning and how that learning is assessed-may play out to influence learner motivation in badge-oriented learning ecosystems.

In this paper, we investigate how a digital badging system was used as part of an informal, not-for-credit professional development project. Teacher Learning Journeys was designed for personalized science learning for educators in K-12 schools, museums, universities, and teaching colleges through employing two levels of micro-credentials: lower achievement digital stamps and higher achievement digital badges. Researchers conducted a qualitative collective case study centered on 36 teachers; the primary data were records from learners’ interactions within the digital badge system; secondary data came from a survey at the end of the experience and two interviews with 11 focal teachers. Findings suggest the following design principles: (a) two levels of assessment can support personalized learning, (b) mastery of learning can be demonstrated and assessed through reflective logs, (c) collaboration during and after badging activities can provide value to the learners, and (d) establishment of relevance of badging experiences can support the application of content outside the badging system.

- by Chris Gamrat and +1
- •
- Lifelong Learning, STEM Education, Learning Across Settings, Open Badges

- by Erin Knight
- •
- Education, Educational Technology, Electronic publishing, Gamification

The Design Principles Documentation Project traced the practices of thirty digital badge projects from conception to implementation in order to create design principles that may inform future design and implementation of digital badge systems. This paper uses collective case study methods to reflexively examine the specific practices for recognizing learning with digital badges as they relate to the broader design principles. While the projects implemented some of the same recognition principles, the specific recognition practices differed. Juxtaposition of the three cases confirms the absence of "best practices." Rather, there are many possible recognition practices that appear appropriate in some contexts, and that then have implications for assessing, motivating, and evaluating learning with digital badges.

- by Daniel Hickey
- •
- Open Badges, Mozilla Badges, Digital Badges, Credentialing

Open Badges are digital representations of achievements or skills which describe the framework, significance, procedure and outcomes of a learning activity based on specific criteria. Open Badges’ collection can be used as a virtual CV of skills and qualifications of their owner. The practice of development, issuing, and using Badges is connected with Gamification practices, playing the role of incentive towards positive behavior and also could be used as a pedagogical tool. Open Badges are also able to become an alternative certification system for skills and knowledge acquired in online or blended learning environments or other informal learning systems. In this paper, we present case studies where Open Badges have been used as credentials for evaluation of educational practices in emerging educational systems either in non
formal education or informal learning putting emphasis in open learning
environments.

- by Sofia Papadimitriou and +1
- •
- Open Badges, Digital Badges
- by Sheryl Grant
- •
- Badges, Open Badges, Digital Badges, Alternative Credentials
- by Tara Fagan
- •
- Assessment Policy, Open Badges, Mozilla Badges, Digital Badges

Empirical evidence contained in open digital badges has the
capability to change educational curricula, assessments, and
priorities. Because badge data in educational, social media,
and workforce contexts is publicly available, questions of
privacy and ethics should be scrutinized. Due to change
driven by digital transparency, ethical questions at the
intersection of learning analytics and the data contained in
badges poses three distinct, yet related questions: within
learning analytics systems, can the use of educational data
in digital badges be used in a predictive manner to create a
deterministic future for individual learners? Can badge data
that is freely and openly accessible in social media be used
against individuals if it exposes intellectual weaknesses?
And, can the student data in badges be isolated to exploit
particular skills for nefarious reasons, i.e. surveillance or
hacking? These questions address ethical principles of
human autonomy, freedom, and determinism.

- by James Willis, III
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- Information Technology, Ethics, Educational Technology, Digital Media

- by Kim S Flintoff
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- Computer Science, Education, Educational Technology, Electronic publishing

- by Sheryl Grant
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- Open Badges, Digital Badges

October 06, 2014 This collaboratively written document is a product of the Badge Alliance , a network of organizations working to grow and evolve a selfsustaining open badges ecosystem. This document aims to provide a framework for open badges in higher educational institutions. A new, editable, 2015 version of this document can be found here. Our aims for this framework document Our goals for the development, use, and reuse of this document. 1. This document illustrates a possible framework for implementing open badges in an institute of higher learning. 2. This framework document is aimed primarily at colleges and universities interested in adopting and using open badges in an open and collaborative way. 3. This framework document focuses on open badges guidelines that enable college and university employees, and students (possibly in conjunction with external organisations) to build useful, meaningful, and valuable open badge systems. 4. This framework document references open b...

- by David Gibson
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- Assessment Policy, Open Badges, Mozilla Badges, Digital Badges

This design-based research study explored whether Sense of Community was maintained while flexibility in the course was increased through an adoption of a unique blended learning model. Data collected in this study show a significant drop in the sense of connectedness score from a mean of 50.8 out of 66 to a mean of 39.68 in the first iteration. The score then began to gradually increase, reaching 50.65 in the third iteration. Results indicate that transitioning to a blended learning environment may be a suitable option to increase flexibility while maintaining a Sense of Community in a project-based course. Future research into specific aspects of course design such as maturity of design, age-level of participants, and context would further develop understanding in this area.

- by Richard West
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- Feedback (Education), Online Learning, Design-based research, Blended Learning

This article defines the concept of open recognition and places its development within the context of the development of Wikipedia. The potential impact of open recognition on higher education is explored. This article defines Open Recognition as consisting of three elements a philosophy, a framework, and a practice. Open recognition has the potential to fundamentally alter higher education by lowering costs of reporting learner knowledge, skills, and abilities, while altering the scope of recognition to add informal recognition. Both open recognition and Wikipedia share common features and can both be categorised as open knowledge movements. However, in order to succeed as a robust network, Wikipedia had to overcome scepticism and public distrust around reporting accurate and relevant knowledge, partly by making its writing around knowledge formation visible. This article observes how Wikipedia overcame these obstacles and demonstrates how a fully mature and robust open recognition framework can create more durable experiences to connect learners to employers and the public.

- by Robert Cummings
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- Wikipedia Studies, Wikipedia, Open Knowledge, Open Badges