1. Geoffroi Garon-Épaule is a PhD candidate researching digital credentials for skills developed in Fab Labs. 2. Digital badges can recognize a wide range of formal and informal learning, help map learning pathways, and motivate learner engagement. 3. At Fab Labs like echoFab Montreal, digital badges are used to document technical skills, soft skills, training programs, projects, and community involvement.

1. Geoffroi Garon-Épaule, M.A., PhD Candidate
Researcher and PhD Candidate in communication, UQAM (Montréal, Canada)
Entrepreneur – Human Capital Valorization, Digital Pygmalion
Conference | Paris, France, October 25, 2018
Digital credentials for Fab Lab
with digital badges
ePIC 2018

2. 10 years digital consulting
(SME, Education, Health, Culture)
8 years in Open innovation
(Living Lab, Fab Lab, Blockchain, AI)
3 years in Digital Badges
(Startup + PhD)
Profile
http://digitalpygmalion.com

3. PhD codirection
Pierre-Léonard Harvey
Organizational Communication
Community
Informatics
Design Applied
to Digital Social
Systems
(Springer)
Ann-Louise Davidson
Educational Technology
www.educationmakers.cawww.lca.uqam.ca

4. Hub for experimentation and
training in technological and
social open innovation
8
2011
First in Canada
2010
Community Association Partner
2015-2018
Fab16 + FabCity
In Montreal, Canada
In 2020
Social inclusion – Education – Economy – Digital Fabrication
www.communautique.quebec

5. Fabrication Laboratory (Fab Lab)
https://www.echofab.quebec

6. Fab Lab

7. International Fab Labs Network
+1500 Fab Labs accredited by the
Fab Foundation in 110 countries.
https://www.fablabs.io
http://www.fabfoundation.org

8. Digital badges

9. From authority to credibility.
(Sheryl Grant)

10. They can be hosted, manage and shared across
digital files containing a set of encrypted metadata
that describe skill, experience or level of
accomplishment.
Digital badge is a digital file (web
page) that is a data and visual
representation of a learning or
accomplishment. It’s a tool that
confirms the evaluation of specific
experiences.
Digital Badges Definition

11. +
https://openbadges.org

12. Digital Badge
https://www.cadre21.org/membres/thibaultm/accomplissement/badges/thibaultm-badge-classe-inversee-1-explorateur-5

13. Evidence associated with a badge
https://www.cadre21.org/app/uploads/preuves/55-1280.pdf
Image
Text
Video
PDF

14. Digital Badge Portfolio
https://www.cadre21.org/membres/thibaultm

15. CADRE21 Certificate
https://enseigneraluniversite.com/members/geoffroi/badges/competences-de-base-en-pedagogie

16. Public education, social engagement
(volunteering), learning spaces
(Fab Lab, Living Lab), online training
(applications, MOOC)
Improve talent management,
increase organizational
effectiveness and marketing
Support and motivate students,
customize learning,
complement (co-curriculum)
3 Contexts of Use of digital credential
Academia
Workplace
Society

17. Advantages of digital badges
The main advantage of this technology is to recognize formal
and non-formal learning and generate trust. There are also :
•Valuing a greater diversity of learning and skills
•Mapping learning pathways
•Motivate the level of learner engagement and retention
•Recognize the different paths leading to a badge
•Develop and enhance cross-curricular competencies and skills
that are often difficult to qualify (communicate, collaborate,
creativity).
•Support the implementation and recognition of learning with
pedagogical approaches based on skills and projects (learning
experience).
•Increase the identity and reputation of learners
•Increase the brand of an organization

18. 3 Uses of Digital Badges
Evaluate
Communicate
Structure
Motivation
Recognition
Certification
Artefact
Portfolio
Data
Learning
Organization
Ecosystem

19. Badges in Fab Labs

20. Uses of badges in fab labs
https://www.echofab.quebec/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Rapport-Badges-numeriques-Fab-Lab-Living-Lab-Communautique-Geoffroi-Garon-Epaule-LCA-UQAM-2016.pd

21. Digital Badges In Fab Lab
People
Learn
Make
Connect
Tools
Process
• Portfolio
• Skills
• Achivement
• Technical
• Access
• Security
• Instructional
Design
• Certification
• Pathway
• Recognition
• Learning by
doing
• Academic
• Organisation
• Endorsment
• Business Model

22. Impacts of digital badges in Fab Labs
• to improve the evaluation process of training and
apprenticeships
• better articulate and credibilize the offer of training
offered in relation to market needs
• to foster the networking and connections between the
actors of education and the labour market
• increase and support the development of skills for all
and lifelong learning
• to encourage the inclusion of Fab Lab organisation in the
various discussions on the formalization of the corpus of
competencies through digital badges
• contributed to the development of skills repositories in
Fabs Labs networks

23. Types of badges at echoFab Montreal
1. Technical badges
•Softwares (design)
• Vector (InkScape, Illustrator)
• Matrix (Gimp, Photoshop)
• 3D Edition (Autodesk Fusion, Blender,
Thinkercad, Sketchup, etc.)
•Machines (production)
• Additive printing (3D printing)
• Digital cutting (laser, vinyl)
• Electronics (arduino, programming, e-textile)
• Digital workshop (CNC milling, thermoforming)
• Other techniques (molding, hot press, digital
embroidery machine, etc.)

24. Types of badges at echoFab Montreal
2. Skills badges
•Professional
• Laser machine operator
• Mechanics
• Electronics
• Parametric and algorithmic design
• Instructional design
•Soft skills
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Social learning
• Design thingking
• Creativity

25. Types of badges at echoFab Montreal
3. Training badges
•Fab Lab Manager short program
•Workshops and security
•Youth internship program
•Drone training program
4. Projects badges
•First project, Pathway learning
•Startup project, Research project
5. Members badges
6. Events badges

26. échoFab/Communautique – Montréal (Canada)
http://echofab.org
3D Print
First Project
Drone
Piloting
Fab
Manager

27. San Diego Fab Lab, California (USA)
http://www.fablabsd.org

28. San Diego Fab Lab, California (USA)
https://www.lrng.org/o/fab-lab-san-diego

29. Le Dôme – Caen (France)
http://ledome.info

30. Asso BUG, Lab Fab – Rennes (France)
https://www.asso-bug.org
https://www.asso-bug.org

31. Catherine Cook School Makerspace, Chicago (USA)
https://medium.com/@jd_pirtle/getting-started-with-digital-badging-in-
makerspaces-classrooms-or-anywhere-2300365184f7
JD Pirtle

32. Learn&Work ecosystem design
Full Stack ecosystem structuration with
badges in Fab Labs networks
•Fab Labs
•Fab Labs regional network
•Fab Labs country network
•Fab Labs international network
Contexts :
•Schools, libraries, industries, incubators, communities,
manufacturing, clusters, etc.
•New narratives : Space exploration, Fab City mouvement

33. Change the narrative
EARTH
Create and valorize new skills
Training all actors in axes/clusters
Data to understand and make decision
Create inclusion and recognition
https://fab.city

34. Social driver
for transformation
in education (and Fab Lab)
- Willis III, Flintoff and McGraw

35. Tedx laval
badgetheworld
www.tinyurl.com/badgepourlespace
Badges pour l’espace :
La nouvelle frontière pour l’humanité
TEDxLaval Talks (2018, French)

36. Geoffroi Garon-Épaule, M.A., Ph.D Candidate
@geoffroigaron - www.geoffroigaron.com
Researcher and Ph.D candidate in Communication, UQAM
www.lca.uqam.ca
Entrepreneur, Digital Pygmalion
www.digitalpygmalion.com
E-mail : conseil@geoffroigaron.com
Phone : +1 514 773-3332
Thanks
This work shall be made available in
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Commons Attribution 4.0 International.