Presentation at the ICWL 2016 - 15th International Conference on Web-based Learning. 26 October 2016, Rome, Italy. Publication: Põldoja, H., Jürgens, P., & Laanpere, M. (2016). Design Patterns for Badge Systems in Higher Education. In M. Spaniol, M. Temperini, D.K.W. Chiu, I. Marenzi, & U. Nanni (Eds.). Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Vol. 10013, Advances in Web-Based Learning - ICWL 2016 (pp. 40–49). Cham: Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47440-3_5

1. Design Patterns for Badge Systems
in Higher Education
Hans Põldoja, Pirje Jürgens, and Mart Laanpere
Tallinn University, Estonia

2. Open Badges

3. http://openbadges.org

4. (Class Hack, n.d.)

5. (Open Badges, n.d.)

6. Badge systems

7. Learning context
• Educational techology master programme
• Blog-based open online courses

8. https://oppematerjalid.wordpress.com

9. Supporting learners with different
learning styles

10. Learning styles by Honey and Mumford
• Activist
• Reflector
• Theorist
• Pragmatist
(Honey & Mumford, 1992)

11. The First Iteration:
Outcome-Based Badges

12. Basic knowledge badges
Basic
knowledge on
learning
objects and
repositories
Basic
knowledge on
authoring tools
Basic
knowledge on
computer-
based
assessment
Basic
knowledge on
new
technologies
Basic
knowledge on
copyright of
digital
learning
resources
Basic
knowledge on
quality of
digital
learning
resources
Content
package author
Assessment test
author
e-Textbook
author
Advanced
knowledge on
learning objects
and repositories
Advanced
knowledge on
authoring tools
Advanced
knowledge on
computer-based
assessment
Advanced
knowledge on
new
technologies
Advanced
knowledge on
copyright of
digital learning
resources
Advanced
knowledge on
quality of digital
learning
resources
Blogging assignment 1 Blogging assignment 2 Blogging assignment 3 Blogging assignment 4 Blogging assignment 5
Group assignment on
developing a digital
learning resource
Blogging assignment 6 Literature review
Describing the
advantages and
disadvantages of learning
objects approach
Searching for learning
objects from learning
object repositories by
metadata and licenses
Creating simple content
packages, tests and e-
textbooks, and describing
these with metadata
Following copyright
principles for digital
learning resources
Evaluating the quality of a
learning resources using
an evaluation framework
Using one authoring tool
to create a more
comprehensive digital
learning resource
Analyzing the current
issues, research studies
and trends in one sub-
topic related to digital
learning resources
Learning outcomes
Assignments
Advanced knowledge badges
Skills badges

13. Arvutipõhine
testimine
Sisupaketi
koostaja
Uued
tehnoloogiad
Õpiobjektid Autorvahendid
Testiküsimuste
koostaja
e-Õpiku
koostaja
Autoriõigus Kvaliteet
Õpiobjektid Autorvahendid Arvutipõhine
testimine
Uued
tehnoloogiad
Autoriõigus Kvaliteet
Süvendatud
teadmised ühel
õppematerjalidega
seotud teemal

14. Badge points
• Basic knowledge badges — 10 points (6 badges)
• Skills badges — 20 points (one of 3 badges)
• Advanced knowledge badges — 20 points (one of 6 badges)

15. Põldoja, H., & Laanpere, M. (2014). Exploring the
Potential of Open Badges in Blog-Based University
Courses. In Y. Cao, T. Väljataga, J. K. T. Tang, H.
Leung, & M. Laanpere (Eds.), New Horizons in Web
Based Learning (Vol. 8699, pp. 172–178). Cham:
Springer. http://doi.org/
10.1007/978-3-319-13296-9_19
Exploring the Potential of Open Badges
in Blog-Based University Courses
Hans Põldoja(&)
and Mart Laanpere
Institute of Informatics, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia
{hans.poldoja,mart.laanpere}@tlu.ee
Abstract. Recent developments with personal learning environments and open
online courses have led educators to experiment with opening up their formal
higher education courses. In these courses, the online learning activities take
place in open learning environments based on various Web 2.0 tools such as
blogs. Although this type of courses have a number of pedagogical benefits, they
also raise issues related to private grading of students’ works and recognizing
the learning of informal participants. This paper presents our exploratory study
on addressing these issues by introducing open badges to master’s level course
that takes place in a blog-based learning environment. Students’ perspectives on
using open badges were evaluated through focus group interviews. The results
of the study indicate, that badges could have a potential in formal higher edu-
cation, if they are used more widely and provide an explicit choice of personal
learning paths for learners.
Keywords: Open badges Á Assessment Á Blog-based courses
1 Introduction
One of the recent trends in education is the blending of formal and informal learning.
This is supported by introducing social media, personal learning environments and
various open educational practices to formal higher education [1, 2]. Students can
enrich their learning experience by using open educational resources from other uni-
versities and taking part in Massive Open Online Courses.
In many cases, such developments have led university lecturers and professors to
increase the degree of openness in their courses. One approach is to move online
learning activities to open learning environments that are based on social media and
Web 2.0 tools such as blogs. The use of blogs in online courses provides a number of
pedagogical benefits such as motivating learners, enhancing the development and
expression of ideas, fostering interaction, collaboration and group work, inviting
feedback from other learners, and enriching the learning environment [3]. The use of
blog-based learning environments also allows educators to open up their course for
informal participants or members of professional communities who are not officially
enrolled to the course.
Open blog-based courses in formal higher education raise also a number of issues
that are not present in traditional courses. For example, blog-based learning environ-
ments typically lack special features that support private feedback and grading of
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
Y. Cao et al. (Eds.): ICWL 2014 Workshops, LNCS 8699, pp. 172–178, 2014.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-13296-9_19

16. The Second Iteration:
Multiple Levels of Badges

18. Badge points
• Basic knowledge badges — 10 points (6 badges)
• Skills badges — 20 points (one of 3 badges)
• Advanced knowledge badge — 20 points
• Golden badges — 15 and 30 points

20. The Third Iteration:
Multiple Learning Pathways

25. Badge points
• Basic knowledge badges — 10 points
• Golden badges for basic knowledge — 15 points
• Broken badge for basic knowledge — 5 points
• Learning resource author — 24 points (36 points for a golden badge)
• Researcher — 36 points
• Enlightener — 10 points
• Wikipedist — 12 points

26. Recommended learning pathways

27. “Researcher”
• 6 blogging assingments on basic knowledge — 60 points
• Writing a literature review — 36 points
• Total 96 points (grade A)
• Workload 78 hours

28. “Practitioner”
• 6 blogging assingments on basic knowledge — 60 points
• Developing a learning resource — 24 points
• Total 84 points (grade B)
• Workload 68 hours

29. “Non-blogger”
• Writing a literature review — 36 points
• Developing a learning resource — 24 points
• Presentation in the seminar — 10 points
• Writing a Wikipedia article — 12 points
• Total 82 points (grade B)
• Workload 79 hours

30. Learner perspectives on Open Badges

31. Learner control
• Learning contracts
• “...learners had the possibility to choose their paths: some learners
created learning objects, some wrote a literature review. This was
possible only thanks to the open badges system that gave a good
overview of the weight of the assignments and helped to plan the
work”
• “My goal was to get A and I liked that I could choose whether to do
all the assignments or not, for example — I deliberately didn’t write
one post…”

32. Awareness
• “It really was a good way for me to keep track of my
progress”
• “If there was an automatic score table for achieved badge
points in Moodle, it would have a practical value”

33. Motivation
• “The motivating aspect of open badges was the possibility to
choose my own learning path and to find the assignments that
interest me the most”
• “I planned to get B ... The first golden badge however made
me make an effort, because just so little was missing from A”

34. Learning styles
• “I liked the idea that I could choose the types of assignments
that felt more natural to me”

35. Open Badges ecosystem
• “Maybe I would use it if we could earn open badges in
different courses” (about Mozilla Backpack)
• “... the system is not complete. I can’t make my earned
badges fully work for my benefit. I added my badges to
Mozilla Backpack and shared in LinkedIn, but appa- rently
this will be the end of its life cycle...”

36. Assessment criteria
• Assessment criteria for golden badges was deliberately not
specified
• “What is still unclear to me, is the criteria of earning the
badges. What were the deadlines, what was the criteria for
the golden badge, and what is the amount of badge points?”

37. Badge metadata
• “When I opened the badge, there was no next level
information. I guess I expected the learning outcome. This
would be useful information to possible employers who would
also like to understand the “evidence” of what the person
knows/can do and if these are the competences his company
needs”
• Badges described in Estonian are less useful internationally

38. Design Patterns for Outcome-Based
Badge Systems

39. Badge levels
• Pass/fail assessment is too limited for measuring the quality of
learners’ work and motivating them
• Badge systems should have multiple levels (e.g. regular
badges, golden badges; Gold, Silver, Bronze)

40. Badge points
• Badge points enable to translate badges into course grades

41. Broken badges
• Broken badges are used to point out unwanted behaviour
(e.g. being late with the assignments)

42. Deconstructed badges
• Large learning activities should be deconstructed into
separate independent badges (e.g. peer review badge for the
literature review assignment)

43. Learning pathways
• Badge system should be designed so that it provides a
possibility of multiple learning pathways
• Most common learning pathways could be recommended as
readymade “packages” for learners

44. Personal learning contracts
• Learning contracts help learners to plan their learning goals and
strategies
• Learning contracts provide an overview of the learning pathways
that learners plan to take
• Learning contracts could be used for self-assessment
• Open badges, multiple learning pathways and personal learning
contracts form a triangle of educational tools that complement
each other when used together

45. Directions for further research

46. Directions for further research
• Mapping badge systems to institutional outcome-based
learning frameworks (learning outcomes of study programmes
and course descriptions)
• Designing more elaborated learning-style-based learning
pathways

47. References
• Honey, P., & Mumford, A. (1992). The Manual of Learning Styles.
Maidenhead: Peter Honey Publications.

48. Used images
• tommydgnr8, https://www.flickr.com/photos/theweddingoftheyear/
5993598429/
• Class Hack: Open Badges Anatomy, http://classhack.com/post/
45364649211/open-badge-anatomy-updated
• Open Badges, http://openbadges.org/about/

49. Hans Põldoja
hans.poldoja@tlu.ee
@hanspoldoja
Pirje Jürgens Mart Laanpere
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this
license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/