Open Badges have been used at Newcastle University since 2015 when they were first awarded to students completing the ncl+ award. Since then the number of Open Badges awarded across the University has been steadily increasing with a variety of subject areas introducing badges. Claire Burnham, Learning Enhancement and Technology Co-ordinator, will cover the range of badges that have been introduced, how they worked to get the design right, the exploration of the best methods of evaluation and the resulting governance processes aimed to ensure controlled, scalable growth of digital credentialing.

1. From Newcastle. For the world.
Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)
Getting the most out
of Open Badges at
Newcastle
University
Claire Burnham
Learning Enhancement and Technology
Coordinator
Learning and Teaching Development Service

2. Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)
ncl.ac.uk/ltds
Who we are
Russell Group University
Ranked in the top 150 universities in the world (QS World University
Rankings 2020)
4 campuses Newcastle, London, Singapore and Malaysia
21,881 undergraduate students
6,788 postgraduate students
Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)
ncl.ac.uk/ltds

3. From Newcastle. For the world. Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 3
Open badges at Newcastle University

4. From Newcastle. For the world. Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 4
Open badges at Newcastle University

5. ncl.ac.uk/ltds
Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)
Open Badges implementation

6. From Newcastle. For the world.
2179
badges
issued
since 2016
995 (46%)
of these
have been
accepted
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS)
ltds@ncl.ac.uk
6
NCL+ Award
NCL+
Award

7. From Newcastle. For the world.
NCL+ advanced awards
• Career Preparation
• Leadership (Chartered Management Institute Level 3 Award)
• Digital Storytelling
• Research
• Communication with Santander
• Project Management with NSPCC
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS)
ltds@ncl.ac.uk
7
Open badges at Newcastle University

8. From Newcastle. For the world. Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS)
ltds@ncl.ac.uk
8
Numbers of NCL+ Advanced Award badges accepted since they
were introduced
3
10
38
5
55
33
5
8
23
9
52
26
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Career Preparation
Project Mangement
Leadership
Digital Storytelling
Research
Communication
Accepted Not received

9. ncl.ac.uk/ltds
Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)
Open Badge Research

10. From Newcastle. For the world.
Open Badges in Education, Graeme Redshaw-Boxwell,
Newcastle University
The first survey had 62 responses. The main purpose of badge
implementation identified by respondents was for Staff CPD.
A second survey received 123 responses from 27 different
countries. 28.5% of respondents had awarded badges for Skills
Development.
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS)
ltds@ncl.ac.uk
10
Open badges at Newcastle University

11. From Newcastle. For the world.
Conclusions
The technology is in the early adopters’ stage of Roger’s (2010)
innovation adoption lifecycle.
There is strong academic interest in the use of Open Badges.
8 respondents had assessed their students’ opinions of Open
Badges. The student responses were mainly positive.
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS)
ltds@ncl.ac.uk
11
Open badges at Newcastle University

12. ncl.ac.uk/ltds
Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)
Innovation Fund: Open Badges in an
academic context

13. From Newcastle. For the world.
Academic Units
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 13
Open Badges at Newcastle University
School of Psychology
Newcastle University Business School
INTO Newcastle University: Chemistry

14. From Newcastle. For the world.
Degree programmes should assess and give credit for all intended
learning outcomes
Degree transcript should be sufficient give evidence of students’
attainment.
But:
Many programmes develop skills and outcomes that are not directly
assessed in academic work.
Some voluntary activities have no formal recognition.
Employers look for graduates that stand out.
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS)
ltds@ncl.ac.uk
14
Open badges at Newcastle University

15. From Newcastle. For the world.
Enterprise Challenge
This badge shows that the bearer has participated in the Psychology Enterprise challenge
2018 in collaboration with Youth Foundations. To meet the challenge, a team has to develop
and then pitch an idea for a product, service or initiative to support young people in the North
East who are affected by loneliness and social isolation.
. Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 15
Open Badges at Newcastle University

16. From Newcastle. For the world.
Enterprise Challenge Criteria
The badge demonstrates
1. Ability to work effectively as part of a team
2. Creative application of psychological literacy to address real -world
problems.
3. Effective presentation of ideas in the form of a pitch.
To attain the badge a candidate must:
1. Attend the Enterprise challenge.
2. Work as party of team to creatively develop a product or service to
support young people affected by loneliness and social isolation;
3. Consider financial, ethical and practical constraints in relation to the
idea, and include these in the pitch.
4. Pitch the idea in the format specified to a panel of judges.
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS)
ltds@ncl.ac.uk
16
Open Badges at Newcastle University

17. From Newcastle. For the world.
Badge design process
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 17
Open Badges at Newcastle University

18. From Newcastle. For the world. Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS)
ltds@ncl.ac.uk
18
Badges awarded as part of the innovation fund project
16
6
3
14
9
8
7
12
23
32
2
11
17
14
10
21
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Student Voice
Psychology Enterprise Challenge 2018
Psychology Enterprise Challenge Winner 2018
INTO-Titration
INTO- Molar Calculation
INTO- Preparation of a Standard Solution
INTO-Safety in the laboratory
INTO- Peer tutoring badge
Accepted Not received

19. ncl.ac.uk/ltds
Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)
Evaluation of Open Badges in an
Academic Context

20. From Newcastle. For the world.
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk
20
Do you think you deserved the badge you received?
Open Badges at Newcastle University
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Unsure
Yes
Respondents
Respondents

21. From Newcastle. For the world.
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk
21
Do you think that use of Open Badges as rewards by academic departments would
motivate students to put in more work on extracurricular activities such as intra-
department competitions?
Open Badges at Newcastle University
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Unsure
Yes
No
Respondents
Respondents

22. From Newcastle. For the world.
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk
22
Did you attempt to attach your Open Badge to your LinkedIn profile?
Open Badges at Newcastle University
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Yes
No
Respondents
Respondents

23. From Newcastle. For the world.
Why did you not attach your Open Badge to you
LinkedIn profile?
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 23
Open Badges at Newcastle University
10 respondents didn’t have a LinkedIn
profile
2 respondents didn’t know how to add
this

24. ncl.ac.uk/ltds
Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)
Increasing institutional capacity

25. From Newcastle. For the world.
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk
25
Open Badges at Newcastle University
Integration with
University
ePortfolio system
Careers Service
administered the
awarding of NCL+
badges in 2019
Integration with University systems
Ability for other
members of staff
to award specific
badges

26. From Newcastle. For the world.
Governance
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS)
ltds@ncl.ac.uk
26
Getting the most out of Open Badges
Members of staff submit an
open badge application
Learning and Teaching
Development Service work with
the applicant
Student Experience Sub
Committee consider the
application

27. ncl.ac.uk/ltds
Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)
Future of Open Badges

28. From Newcastle. For the world.
Increasing interest
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 28
Open Badges at Newcastle University
Student Voice Badge that was part of the Innovation Fund bid
evolved into Student Representation Badge. Piloting in other Schools.
Approved following new governance processes:
• Peer Mentoring
• Biomedical, Nutrition and Sport Sciences:
Career Development
Good Citizen
Demonstrator
• Total of 19 Open Badges currently being awarded,

29. From Newcastle. For the world.
Challenges
Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 29
Open Badges at Newcastle University
Evaluation: Limited responses to evaluation.
Issues of assessing badges that are awarded across
the Institution
Continue to ensure that badges are difficult to
achieve

30. From Newcastle. For the world. Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 30
Thanks for listening
From Newcastle. For the world.
Learning and Teaching
Development Service
(LTDS)

31. From Newcastle. For the world.
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Learning and Teaching Development Service (LTDS) ltds@ncl.ac.uk 31