Open Badges: Lessons Learned in the Developing Ecosystem

Case Studies

Lessons learned in the developing open badges ecosystem

Madison Area Technical College

Kate Radionoff, DeanLeslie Voight, Instructional Designer

http://madisoncollege.edu/badges

Badges for non-credit learning

Goals:Shifting away from seat time to badged assessmentsCredentialing non-formal learning

Status of badge system:Transitioning to Pearson AcclaimDeveloping badges for all PD classesExpanding system to include other colleges

Lessons Learned• Needed instructional resource:

– to act as a point person within the org to lead project– to connect with busy instructors

• Know your resources:– staff– technical

• Badge business model:– business plan– design strategy– resources

• Know your goals:– lay out goals from the beginning – identify steps needed to achieve goals– define what 'success' means for your system

• Buy-in:– Faculty: allow time for gaining faculty buy-in and provide training / information– Employers: look at existing value structures / standards that can add value to badges

Penn State

Chris Gamrat, Instructional DesignerChris Stubbs & Bart Pursel

http://bit.ly/Case_PennState

Catalyst for Change

Goals:recognize personalized learningsupport teacher PD and cont’d learning

State of badge system:currently in pilot phaseplanned release: fall 2014

Lessons Learned (so far)

• Peer assessment:– advantages and disadvantages to this method

• Quality of evidence:– can be difficult to get ‘good’ evidence for badges

• Know your use strategy:– don’t develop badges if you aren’t sure how you’re going to use

them– understand your students’ and employers’ needs

• Know your limits:– understand the time (and price) of building your system– what barriers are there to learning?– what about the intangibles?

Borders College, Scotland

Suzanne Scott, eLearning Coordinator

http://bit.ly/Case_Borders

Replacing Paper Certs. with Badges

Goals:increase student engagement & retentionbuild student employabilityacknowledge student use of Moodlerecognize staff PD

State of badge system:currently in pilot phaseongoing pilots to assess badges’ long term potential

Lessons Learned

• Challenges & Concerns:– overloading lecturing staff

• automated Moodle reports• staff badges recognizing PD• ongoing support for staff

– ensuring badge value• Lessons Learned:– gaining faculty support beneficial before starting– allocating more time to educate / inform– visual design important for overall impact

UC Davis SA & FS Major

Joanna Normoyle, Learning CoordinatorExperiential & Digital Media Learning

http://bit.ly/Case_SAFS

Capturing Varied Learning Experiences

Goals:support learning in & out of the classroomcreate student-driven, outcomes-based systemimprove quality of interactions between students, mentors, faculty and advisershelp students track progresspromote varied learning modelsprovide an elegant, achievable, scalable model for implementing competency-based education using the principles of connected learning

State of badge system:initiating student pilot of systemredesigning learning portfolios as road maps

Lessons Learned

• Focus on user experience– it’s about the learning, not the earning– focus on faculty as well as students

• Faculty buy-in– faculty adoption is key; don’t overlook their experience– make the system desirable and rewarding to use– consider technical / structural barriers

• Strategy & vision:– create a strong vision and team– technology, content and design are all important– find the right technical partner(s)– start with learning objectives and work from there

Providence After School Alliance

Hillary Salmons, Exec. DirectorAnn Durham, Director of Quality Improvement

http://bit.ly/Case_pasa

Building Learning Pathways

Goals:recognize, motivate, and validate students’ learningconnect students’ interests and achievementscreate seamless learning pathwaysconnect middle/high school, college & career

State of badge system:scaled back system from 6-12th grade to HSslowly expanding system

Lessons Learned

• Understand badge concepts• Tie badges to quality learning experiences:

– badges are more than just ‘trophies’• Stakeholder buy-in:

– familiarize stakeholders with badges early on– provide continued support and info– pull industry leaders into conversation early– build badge relevance and demand early

• employers & higher ed.

• Challenges:– integrating badges with existing technological platforms and

systems

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)Linda Braun, Ed Tech Consultant

Nicole Gibby Munguia, YALSA Program Officer for Continuing Education

http://bit.ly/CASE_yalsa

Recognize Staff Skill Development

Goals:improve, and enhance library staff skillsrecognize skill development based on YALSA’s ‘Competencies for Serving Youth’

State of badge system:testing phase in progressfull system launch later in 2014

Lessons Learned• Importance of robust LMS:

– badge activities, tasks, artifacts etc. need a place to live• Know your goals:

– don’t create badges for the sake of badges– has to be market need

• System development process:– think about the entire process ahead of time– badges are ‘at the end’: focus on learning objectives and how to get

people there• Costs:

– the more complex the system, the more costly• Partnerships:

– partners can be helpful– make sure you find the right partners for your organization

Common themes

• Identify your goals and ‘success’ first• Think carefully about partnerships• Know your resources & limitations• Start small, think big:– think about expansion but don’t try to do too much

too fast– allow [lots of] time for stakeholder buy-in– find the shortest path to achieving your goals

“It’s about the learning, not the earning”