Can Open Badges enhance inclusive teaching and learning?

Kerry Sorby, Eden Marrison and Daniel Mackley

January 2015

Why open badges?

• Brand new module: opportunity to create fresh material

• Practical sessions have always been well received by students and features informal feedback – but does any learning take place?

• Practical sessions do not overtly contribute to the summative assessment. Is there a way to recognise this informal learning?

• Concern that too much material could be “shoe horned” into 3 hour session. Can acquisition of knowledge, skills & attitudes be effectively achieved in 1 session?

What are Open Badges?

• Open Badges is a digital accreditation infrastructure from Mozilla.

• Open Badges are images with metadata hard-coded into them.

What are Open Badges?

• Open Badges is a digital accreditation infrastructure from Mozilla.

• Open Badges are images with metadata hard-coded into them.

• Visual representations of achievements, learning, skills, competencies etc.

• They can accommodate formal & informallearning pathways.

Open Badges ECO-System

Open Badges ECO-System

Open Badges ECO-System

Open Badges ECO-System

Format of practical sessions – an example

Building on students’ previous experiences of learning from level 1:

Using a flipped classroom approach • Pre-session SOL : 15 min Screencast = guiding

students to the theory underpinning the practical session

• Pre-session quiz: to self-regulate learning • Active participation in 3 hour practical session • Post Session SOL : reflection on professional skill

Resources required to achieve this

• Time ++++

• Support (and education) from TEL team to create screencast and on-line quiz

• Support from technician to facilitate formative feedback within session.

Impact on Learning ………….a lecturer’s perspective

• End of module review

• Attendance for practical session

• Reviewing each of the reflections took time but affirmed learning had taken place(reflection)

• Formative feedback on reflections provided via Moodle

• 1 badge endorsed by external company.

Inclusivity?

• Screencast and quiz – enables students to rewatch/revisit material in their chosen environment and in their own time– opportunity to formatively check their understanding of the subject area.

• Supports different learning styles as different media available to support learning. (screencast , documents to read , practical session)

• Opportunity to formatively check own learning and ask questions in safe learning environment (practical session) . This gives students the confidence to reflect on their own skills – evident in the post-session reflection.

Results55% students earned at least one badge.

NONE (45%)

ONE (27%)

TWO (16%)

ALL THREE (11%)

Interestingly, 7 students earned open badges

over the Christmas period.

Benefits to students

…..a student perspective

• Allows student to track own progress

• Sense of achievement

• Engaging & motivating

• Useful

• Post session reflection enables students to recap on session, fully understand the material

• Good for CPD

Barriers to complete the open badgesa student perspective

• TIME

• Lack of info re.badges : purpose, what to do with them

• Would a printed certificate be more beneficial, especially for CPD ?

• Some badges were too lengthy

What have we learnt?

……. Or future aspirations

• Restructure Moodle site: navigation is easy and intuitive.

• Each badge to clearly identify the criteria for completion.

• Introductory lecture to include rationale for the open badges and promoting the benefits for the student.

• Enhance inclusivity of screencast to include subtitles & more “interesting/ diverse” visual materials (photos)

What skills, knowledge, behaviours would you like to promote ?

http://www.jiscrsc.ac.uk/media/421718/jiscopenbadgesdesigntoolkit-print_1.pdf

Any Questions?