Presented at ALT-C 2016 Digital Badges, particularly those that are Open (Mozilla, 2014) are gaining traction as a means of evidencing experiences, achievements and skills acquired as part of learning but which are not otherwise accredited or evidenced. For example, digital badges are specifically encouraged by the new 2014 school computing curriculum (Computing at School and NAACE, 2013). It seems likely that our students will soon be bringing their badges in to higher and further education, with the expectation of adding institutionally ‘endorsed’ badges to their collection. Indeed, some UK institutions have already started offering badges and others are considering the many ways in which they might be used. However if badges are to be valuable and sustainable, an approach is required that is flexible enough ‘endorse’ non-accredited activity but retains sufficient control to manage issues such as quality, value, rigouressness and institutional reputation. This is a difficult balancing act and informal enquiries through professional higher education networks have revealed a degree of interest but no actual means of addressing this challenge. The added value that digital badges could bring in terms of helping students to articulate and evidence unaccredited achievements whilst on a programme of study makes it worth grappling with this knotty issue. Therefore we have looked at digital badges primarily as a means of enhancing employability in line with extra and co curricular activities, institutional awards, graduate attributes mappings and other frameworks. These are suitable for inclusion in the Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) but are often managed and delivered through a variety of on and off-line systems. During the session we will present a framework that draws these elements together into a coherent system for recognising non-accredited activities, linking together a range of delivery methods, activities, storage and display systems. This is done with the primary aim of enabling students to provide prospective employers with a richer picture of their achievements. However this will not be achieved without addressing changes to policy, practice and technology. Of these, technological modifications are the least problematic as they take place in the background and should be largely invisible to the end user. Bigger challenges that will be discussed centre on amendments to policy and practice. For example, explicitly addressing elements of the framework at the programme development stage entails changes in academic regulations, curriculum design documentation and the process itself. All require championing at high level and support from a robust approach to staff support and development until new priorities and ways of working are embedded.

1. @PlymUniASTI /PlymUniASTIasti@plymouth.ac.ukwww.plymouth.ac.uk/asti
Digital badges and your institution’s non-
accredited activity ecosystem – pulling it all
together
Dr Anne McDermott, Prof Neil Witt, Emma Purnell,
Joan Gavin and Mark Eggins

2. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
 Conventional badges used by organisations
to reward, recognise, and shape
accomplishments for many years. e.g.
Scouts, Red Cross.
 Digital badges gaining traction as a means
of recognising otherwise unaccredited skills,
activities and knowledge.
 Project team awarded PEDRIO funding to
explore issues around Digital Badges
Digital Badges

3. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
 The unique feature of a digital
badge is that it is an electronic
image linked to a web page of
information which includes
issuing criteria, date, evidence,
skills and knowledge represented
and issuer’s identity.
What is Digital Badge?

4. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
 Open Badge takes the
concept of a digital badge a
further step, allowing users
to take their Open Badges
and display them anywhere
across the web.
 Open Badges
are portable credentials.
Open Digital Badges

5. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
 In the educational context they can be used as a form of
micro credentialing with the aim of allowing students to
articulate and evidence a richer description of their learning
for potential employers, for example, their ability to work
collaboratively, or use a particular piece of software
Why investigate Digital Badges?

6. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
 However, the fact that
digital badges can be
created and issued by
anyone brings a host of
challenges for both
collectors and issuers.
Challenges
 Expectations
 Perceptions
 Process
 Technical
 Value / Quality
 Portability
Digital Badges

7. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
 It is likely that future Plymouth
University students will arrive
with a portfolio of badges issued
through their schools, exam
boards, and outside interests,
and may well expect to add
university ‘endorsed’ badges.
Expectations: A vision of the future?

8. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
Perceptions

9. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
Process
http://gaming.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1895/2013/06/L3_System_Overview.jpg

10. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
 Badge functionality already
built into Moodle
 Can be set to be site-wide
or for specific module(s)
Technical

11. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
Current non-
accredited
ecosystem

12. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
Value/Quality
Now many more
avenues for
surfacing skills,
knowledge and
accomplishments

13. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
 Moodle issued badges
can be accessed while
user has DLE access
 Badges can be exported
to Mozilla Backpack (and
shared)
Portability

14. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
 Guidelines and criteria will need to be determined to ensure
the badges are credible as awards of the institution.
 Consideration should be made as to whether the badges are
linked to the Plymouth Award.
 Soon to set up a task and finish group, linked to Academic
Regulations Sub Committee
 The use of Badges needs to be sustainable
Next moves

15. Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
Thank you.
Questions?