open learning badges and higher education - threats and opportunities

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Open Learning Badges and Higher Education: Threats and Opportunities ALT-C 2012 Conference Manchester, September 11-13, 2012 Brian Mulligan Institute of Technology Sligo, Ireland Kyle Peck David Passmore Rose Baker Penn State University, USA

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Mulligan, B., Passmore, D, Baker, R., Peck, P., "Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities", ALT-C 2012 Conference, Manchester, 11-13 Sep, 2012

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Page 1: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

Open Learning Badges and Higher Education: Threats and Opportunities

ALT-C 2012 ConferenceManchester, September 11-13, 2012

Brian MulliganInstitute of Technology Sligo, Ireland

Kyle PeckDavid Passmore

Rose BakerPenn State University, USA

Page 2: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

Learning is happening everywhere!

Page 3: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

Most does not "count"

• Skills assessment and communication is limited in the current system, – e.g. GPA, Bachelor or Master degrees, static resume

• Few alternatives to the current accreditation/credentialing system

Page 4: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

The “Badging Movement”

• Badges were:– Physical or graphic icons representing a rank or

accomplishment.• Badges are becoming:– Digital, “clickable” representations of lifelong

learning.• This seemingly simple notion has potentially

significant implications for vocational training as well as for K-12 and higher education.

Page 5: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

Badging and Mastery Learning.

• In Higher Education:• Outcomes often poorly defined and

communicated.• Assessment currently weak.• Grades don’t guarantee competency

– But we can dodge the accountability for this failure.• Better for sorting students than for developing

higher-order skills.

Badging, if done well, may help us solve these problems.

Page 6: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

Emerging Interest in Badging

• MacArthur Foundation Competition– Kicked off by Secretary of Education Arne

Duncan as well as representatives from NASA, NSF, NAM, NEA

– 30 demonstration projects funded

• Mozilla has been funded to develop an “Open Badging Infrastructure”

Page 7: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

The Open Badging Infrastructure

• Will manage badges, worldwide– Tools for badge issuers– Tools for badge recipients– Tools for badge displayers (like FaceBook, LinkedIn,

etc.)

• Badges will contain data and be “clickable,” with links to:– The criteria for earning the badge (Often “mastery”)– The assessment used to award the badge (optional)– The work (documents, videos, etc.) submitted as

evidence of learning.

Page 9: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

Threat to Higher Education?

• Is there a cartel in Higher Ed qualifications?• Why do employers value them so much?• What if there was an alternative system?• Why might employers like badges?– Ease of verification– Detailed information– Mastery / Competence based

• What if they liked them a lot?

Page 10: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

What would it need to succeed?

• Authentication• Reliability• Robustness• Cascading• Quantification• Aggregation

Page 11: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

Opportunities?

• Could drive important changes:– Could improve focus and assessment

• What do we really care about in this course?• What do we need to see to certify that someone can DO something?• How will we define competence and communicate progress to learners?

– Could lead to “mastery learning” and individualization– Could change “TEACHing”

• Less focus on presentation / More focus on formative assessment and “certification”

– Could it be the end of “courses” and semesters?

Page 12: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

• Could influence students’ enrollment choices.– Course credits & degrees, or Badges? Or both?

• Why take a course and get only “course credits” when you could get badges AND course credits?

• Could raise employers’ expectations for quality and for information communicated about what people know and can do.

• Could challenge long-standing reputations:– Standing of institutions not willing to use badges and reveal

their expectations and assessments could quickly dive.– Institutions ready to do this well (existing or new) could

rapidly develop strong reputations for quality.

Opportunities?

Page 13: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

• Accreditation could change:– From accreditation to offer degrees to accreditation to offer badges– From accrediting institutions to accrediting individuals.

• Accountability could change:– Feedback loop? like Amazon.com? – When employers find a badge-holder who can’t perform, that could

be conveyed to the accrediting agency or to the general public, like reviews of online products.

– Accreditation could be revoked, and others granted badges by the same examiner could be asked to perform again.

Opportunities?

Page 14: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

• Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)– Quickly verify previous learning• Including MOOCs

– Aggregate achievements

• Impact on Motivation

Opportunities?

Page 15: Open Learning Badges and Higher Education - Threats and Opportunities

What do you think?

Let’s talk.