Badges for lifelong learning

Citizen Science & Biodiversity: Meeting at the crossroadsThe Open University, 21st-23rd October 2011

Jon RosewellJ.P.Rosewell@open.ac.uk

A badge is a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality or interest that

can be earned in any environment

http://www.dmlcompetition.net/

Mozilla badge infrastructurehttp://openbadges.org

• Badges Competition– Awards: $10K to $200K

• Stage 1: 14th Nov 2011• Stage 2: 12th Jan 2012• Stage 3: 28th Feb 2012

• Research Competition– Awards: $5K to $80K

• Nov 28th 2011

DML Competition

DML pitch• Internationalise our framework

– Should skill earned by identifying European organisms transfer to the rest of the world?

• Find new international partners– Developing new partnerships to provide expertise and

promotion in different regions of the world

• Re-articulate our badges as Open Badges– Align terminology and mechanisms to Mozilla

• Participate in the open badge ecosystem– Become badge providers and importers

Where next?• Ideas for badges?• Assessment / validation?• Partners or joint submission to DML competition?• Content schemes (Stage 1) and/or technical (Stage 2)?• Beyond the competition

Jon RosewellDept Communication & Systems, MCTThe Open UniversityWalton HallMilton KeynesMK7 6AA

J.P.Rosewell@open.ac.uk

www.open.ac.uk

Badges• Goals

– Set challenges & reward– Represent accomplishments– Communicate success

• Community– Support participation– Enable identity and reputation

Digital badges• Online record of achievement• Validated• Trace back to issuing organisation / individual• Collect, carry and display on social spaces

• Mozilla badge infrastructure– http://openbadges.org

Description of the badge opportunity, supporting content and curriculum, assessment criteria and any existing technology systems

Design, technology, or early prototypes for badging systems, using content proposals from Stage 1

Combine winners from Stages 1 & 2, ie content and technology,