This document discusses open badges, which are digital credentials that represent skills and achievements. It provides an overview of open badges, including their growth and new developments. It then discusses potential uses of open badges, such as employer pathways that outline skills required for jobs and allow job seekers to showcase their qualifications. The document promotes open badges as a way to recognize lifelong learning and connect people to opportunities.

1. Creating a new learning
currency with Open Badges
Gráinne Hamilton & Anna Sheard
@grainnehamilton
grainne.hamilton@digitalme.co.uk
anna.sheard@digitalme.co.uk CC BY-NC 4.0

2. What are
open
badges?

3. A web standard
which captures &
communicates
skills and attributes

5. http://openbadges.org

6. Silo 1 Silo 2
Silo 4
Formal
qualifications
After school
club certificates
Online
learning
Silo 3
Professional
development

8. CC BY-SA Kyle
Bowen

10. March 2015:
- 14,000 issuers worldwide
- 2 Million badges issued
- 342,300 badges sent to backpacks
- 88,585 backpacks

11. April 2015:
- IMS announcement
May 2015:
- Endorsement and annotation built
into OBI

12. 12
IMS Digital Credentialing
Initiative
• Establish Digital Badges as
common currency for K-20
and corporate education
• Partnership with Mozilla
• Further adoption, integration
and transferability
• Extend digital transcripts and
competency-based
education interoperability
From Flickr, William Warby, Pound Coins CC By 2.0

13. For further information on the Open Badges endorsement features, see Nate Otto’s slides
at: http://bit.ly/obendorse

14. Open Badge: A statement of
trust in an individual.
Open Badge Endorsement: A
statement of trust in an Open
Badge or issuer.

15. Possibilities…
A statement of
trust in an Open
Badge or issuer.
You can better
trust a badge if
you trust its
endorsers.

16. What can be
endorsed?

17. Annotation is a partner extension to
endorsement that lets 3rd parties contribute
to badge object meaning.

18. “The Digital Practitioner
Badge aligns to the
UKPSF Areas of Activity:
A4”
Annotation Assertion
example:

19. One backpack or
federated backpacks?
From Flickr, Matthias Ripp, Backpacking CC By 2.0

21. University of Sussex - badges to recognise staff CPD
Edinburgh University Students Association - badges to recognise
skills gained by Class Reps and enhance employability
Abertay University - badges to showcase HEAR related activities
University of Dundee - badges to recognise skills gained by
students while co-creating the medical curriculum
University of Sheffield - badges issued during a MOOC by the
radiology dept. Those applying for a degree can use their badges for
a reduction in fees and as credit towards modules

22. Badges schemes created with...

23. Open Badge projects

27. Mozilla Discover Open Badges
• Badge-based pathways to employment proof of concept

28. Interviews with employees

29. Employee pathways

30. 30
Brian B. Senior Engineer at Mozilla
Brian loves words, whether those
words make up hundreds of lines of
code or the sentences of a novel. His
job at Mozilla involves a combination
of both, since he codes and writes
specifications for others who want to
use the tools he builds. Words aside,
he loves playing games, chopping
wood(!) and cooking. Did we mention
he rocks a bass (and a wicked hairstyle)
in more than one band?

31. Employer pathways logic

32. Employer pathway
trees
• Pathways for particular jobs
• Clear statement about the
employer’s needs
• Highlight skills and attributes
required
• Templates showcase employer
issued badges
• Placeholders for formal
qualifications or badges linked
to open learning opportunities,
eg Mozilla Web Literacy badges

33. 33
Earner /
employee…
• Fills in pathways with badges
• Tell their story
• Set goals (unearned badges)
• Plan a career
• Copy pathways to explore
options

34. Matt B. Senior QA Engineer at Mozilla
Matt likes breaking things and then
putting them back together to
improve them. His job as a QA
engineer in the Firefox team involves
everything from finding things that
don't work - otherwise know as bugs
- to coordinating projects within the
open source community, such as new
feature requests. His path is full of
different jobs and adventures from
rock-climbing to making tofu and
being a psychologist at a youth
detention center.

35. Employer
ExpertPeer

36. Evidence Skills | Build Networks

37. Discover and capture learning
wherever it happens

38. Evidence Work

39. Gain Endorsement

40. Share achievements to
unlock opportunities
My interests
My training
My experiences
My achievements
My work

41. of lifelong learning
Begin the journey

42. ● Recognize the skills you need
● Incentivise and engage people
● Connect and grow your network
Organisations
● Evidence all your achievements
● Build and expand your capabilities
● Connect with opportunities
Individuals
Connecting

44. The OBA will launch with an innovative
app so you can earn, issue and share
badges on the move

45. Launch your academy and create badges
Create your badges Learners find your badgeLaunch academy
Award badges Learners add evidenceGrow and track your
network of talent

46. OBA launches with TechFuture
Academy
“Employers will be able to set industry relevant challenges and
badge the recognised skills to further employability skills, with
employer reference on the badge showing the company support.
This will enable young people to develop their employability skills
recognised by employers”,
Julie Feest, Head of Strategic Partnerships | On Behalf of the Tech
Partnership
*TechFuture Academy is a collaboration amongst Tech Partnership
members
(formerly e-skills) with support from Telefonica

47. Follow your interests
to find possible routes
to new opportunities.
Build your capabilities to
stand out from the crowd.
Create your ideal career.

50. Gráinne Hamilton & Anna Sheard
@grainnehamilton
grainne.hamilton@digitalme.co.uk
anna.sheard@digitalme.co.uk