Session 404How to Increase MOOC

Completions with Open Badges

David Leaser, IBM

Las Vegas, NV • November 16 – 18, 2016

THE IBM OPEN BADGE STORY

BIGDATAUNIVERSITY.COM

@david_leaser

ATTRACTING NEW TALENT: WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

CAN WE INCREASE

ATTENDANCE BY 10% AND

COMPLETIONS BY 25%?

Digital emblem

which symbolizes

skills and

achievements

SHAR

E

Contains metadata

with skills tags and

accomplishments

Easy to share in social

media: LinkedIn,

Twitter, FB, blogs

Tethered to badge issuer

to validate and verify

achievement

Provides a progression

path to advance

commitment

Analytics provide

insight into how a

program is performing

@david_leaser

OPEN BADGES: VERIFIED WITH METADATA

BIGDATAUNIVERSITY.COM BADGES

@david_leaser

THE RESULTS FOR IBM HAVE BEEN SUBSTANTIAL

87% say they are now

more engaged with IBM

57% increase in

certification pass rates

64% increase in product

trial downloads

92% say badges are

valuable to verify job skills

Engagement Certifications Product Trials Employability

NOTE: LinkedIn profiles with certifications and badges receive 6x profile views.

RESULTS: WAY BEYOND TRAINING INCENTIVES

2.5 million potential views for every 10,000 badges

@david_leaser

SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS ARE SUBSTANTIAL

WHY DO MOOCS FAIL?

Problem

Solversseek solutions for a

real-world problem in

the workplace

Networkerswant to be part of a

community of people

with a similar interest

Benefactorswish to learn about

innovations for the

benefit of others

Innovation

Seekerswish to stay informed

about innovations in

their field

Complementary

Learnerswant to expand their

school curriculum with

worldwide knowledge

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO YOUR MOOC?

@david_leaser

1. Intrinsic ‘motivation to learn’ and enjoyment

2. Extrinsic motivation, such as obtaining a reward or avoiding punishment

3. Personal relevance and career motivation toward the the learner's goals

4. Self efficacy and confidence that they can achieve high outcomes

5. Self-determination and control over their learning process

FIVE THINGS THAT MOTIVATE PEOPLE TO COMPLETE MOOCS

@david_leaser

No marketable benefit

toward employability

Anonymity

or lack of shame

No penalty

or consequence

No interaction

or late engagement

No symbol

of achievement

“Finishing a course is like giving yourself a pat on the back.”

FIVE REASONS WHY MOOCS FAIL

@david_leaser

ENOUGH

KNOWLEDGEAND LEARNING

ARE NOT

@david_leaser

MOOC participants expect you to provide two benefits, or they will drop out:

Achieve Status Signal employability

@david_leaser

EIGHT STRATEGIES TO MAKE MOOCS BETTER WITH OPEN BADGES

MARKET THE BENEFITS OF YOUR BADGES

USE STRONG MESSAGING USE SOCIAL PROOF SHOW CASE STUDIES

I LOVE

THIS!

@david_leaser

1

Scarcity

Free / no risk

Easy

Why you should care

Benefits

* You should A/B test your letters!

WRITE COMPELLING BENEFITS-DRIVEN LETTERS

I was having a tough time

finding a job because my

computer skills were

considered 'out of date'

and the IBM badges were

the perfect way to show

employers that I could

easily get back up to speed

and learn new skills.

After sharing her badge to LinkedIn, Twitter and to her online portfolio,

Coletta received a job offer after an employer verified her badge.

IBM OPEN BADGES ARE CREATING JOBS!

2

EVERY HOUR! SHOW MILESTONES USE MENTAL TRICKS

@david_leaser

REWARD PROGRESSION

SHAR

E

Provide a progression

path to advance

commitment

@david_leaser

BUILD PROGRESSION RIGHT INTO THE BADGE

3

PARTICIPATE IN FORUMS MENTOR OTHERS PROVIDE LEADERSHIP

@david_leaser

REWARD ACTIVE LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

Will you capture interests in addition to knowledge and skills?

@david_leaser

BEYOND KNOWLEDGE: WHAT SHOULD YOU RECOGNIZE?

Knowledge

Skills

Portfolio

Assessment

Award

Presenter

Participant

Volunteer

Advocate

Member

Leader

Credential

Knowledge Skills Proficiency Certified General

Badges are how we will measure resume-worthy skills in the market

LIMIT YOUR BADGE DESIGNS: IBM HAS ONLY FIVE

@david_leaser

4

LEADER BOARDS TWITTER FEEDS

@david_leaser

BUILD SOCIAL PROOF INTO YOUR PROGRAM

Anyone who has

been in sales

knows this!

LEADERBOARDS WORK!

@david_leaser

REDCRITTER FOR LEADERBOARDS

5

ONLINE CHALLENGES INVENTIONS PORTFOLIOS

@david_leaser

DEMONSTRATE REAL MARKETABLE CAPABILITIES

SQORE FOR CONTESTS

PORTFOLIUM FOR ONLINE PORTFOLIOS

MYSHOWCASE.ME FOR ONLINE PORTFOLIOS

@david_leaser

SHAR

E

6 CONNECT USERS WITH REAL OPPORTUNITIES

LEARNING INSTITUTIONS INDUSTRY LEADERS

@david_leaser

7 CO-BRAND WITH MARKET LEADERS TO ADD VALUE

• Javascript

• Swift

• Watson

• Javascript

• Swift

• Watson

• Javascript

• Swift

• Watson

@david_leaser

8 CREATE A STANDARD SKILLS TAXONOMY

Content Delivery Credentials Job Postings

You will need common skills tags to match these!

• Javascript

• Swift

• Watson

1. Market the benefits• Strong messaging

• Social proof

• Case studies

2. Reward progression• Badge hourly

• Create milestone visuals

• Use mental tricks

3. Reward engagement• Participate in forums

• Mentor others

• Show leadership

4. Use Social Proof• Leaderboards

• Twitter feeds

EIGHT WAYS TO MAKE MOOCS BETTER WITH BADGES

@david_leaser

5. Demonstrate marketable skills• Online challenges

• Inventions

• Portfolios

6. Connect users with opportunities• Job postings

• Internal opportunities

7. Co-brand with market leaders• Learning institutions

• Market-leading organizations

8. Create a standard skills taxonomy• Content > Delivery > Credentials > Job

Listings

• Website: ibm.biz/badging

• Twitter: @david_leaser

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/david-

leaser-6b95505

• IBM: david_leaser@us.ibm.com

Thank you!

@david_leaser

ibm.com/training

@david_leaser

Motivation to learn in online learning environments• Shroff, Vogel, and Coombes (2008) found that online learners were more

intrinsically motivated than their on-campus counterparts.

• Cho and Heron (2015) found that online learners' intrinsic motivation is positively related to their learning performance.

• In the context of MOOCs, because it is an open and free learning environment, participants tend to choose only segments of the learning environment, following their goals and interests (Kizilcec & Schneider, 2015; Wang & Baker, 2015).

• For example, Wang and Baker (2015) found that course completers tend to be more interested in the course content, whereas non-completers tend to be more interested in MOOCs as a type of learning experience.

• ANCOVA tests indicated statistically significant differences between English completers and non-completers for self-determination and self-efficacy

• The difference between completers and non-completers is mainly based on their self-efficacy, i.e. one's confidence in their ability to complete successfully a science learning task

• Non-completers rated low on career motivation (i.e. their belief that learning will benefit their professional development)

Engagement and Collaboration

• Participate with friends Learners who enrolled with friends were more likely to be engaged with course materials than their counterparts (Kizilcec & Schneider, 2015).

• Significant interactions MOOC participants who were engaged in significant interactions with peers were less likely to dropout (Ferguson & Clow, 2015; Halawa et al., 2014; Jordan, 2014; Onahet al., 2014).

• Posting messages There is a positive relationship between participants' motivation gain (i.e. the difference between pre- and post-ratings) and the number of messages they posted to the online forums. Posting two to three messages per week, (e.g. sharing knowledge, asking questions, and receiving answers from peers) has a significant impact on participants' motivation to learn

• Group projects Participants who worked individually or in dyads on the final project asserted relatively low motivation gain, while those who working in groups of four or five asserted relatively high motivation gain.

• Online forums are preferred communication method (Alario-Hoyos et al., 2013) and that engagement in significant interactions reduces dropout rates (Ferguson & Clow, 2015; Kizilcec & Schneider, 2015; Sinha, 2014).