This document discusses skills gaps and the need for new education paradigms. It notes rising costs of higher education, declining completion rates, and youth unemployment. Technical skills are still needed but personal and social skills will be in higher demand. Open badges can recognize modular learning pathways and provide clear progress markers through a digital, shareable credential. Examples show how badges are used for course completion, competency certification, membership, experience, and self-issued badges.

1. Adapted from
The Ontario Open Badge Forum
March 1, 2019
@donpresant
“Open Badges 101”

2. Is there a “Skills Gap”?
The Association Role in the New Education Paradigm
critical skills
shortages
affecting productivity
“traditional” educational approaches can’t keep up!
rising cost
of higher
education
declining
degree
completion rates
high youth
unemployment
“non-traditional”
students: 73%
PSE enrolment
World of Work: volatile,
uncertain, complex,
ambiguous

3. Technical skills yes, but also personal and social skills:
World Economic Forum: Future Of Jobs 2016
Across nearly all industries, the
impact of technological and other
changes is shortening the shelf-life
of employees’ existing skill sets.
Overall, social skills – a such as
persuasion, emotional intelligence
and teaching others – will be in higher
demand across industries than
narrow technical skills
Top 10 Skills in 2020
1. Complex problem solving
2. Critical thinking
3. Creativity
4. People management
5. Coordinating with others
6. Emotional intelligence
7. Judgment & decision making
8. Service orientation
9. Negotiation
10.Cognitive flexibility

5. T or T–T–T..? Hard skill “top-ups” enabled by deepening soft skills
Accenture – NEW SKILLS NOW 2017
Strada Institute – Robot Ready

6. BUT – Disconnected Expectations & Realities
Ryan Davis, CSW Digital Credentials Summit

7. Learner diversity
New Game, New Rules: Strategic Positioning for Workforce Development.
Warford, Larry J.; Flynn, William J. Adapted Radionoff, K – Madison College

8. Education-Up is giving way to Employer-Down
Ryan Craig, UV - Digital Credentials Summit 2019

9. Competition: Last Mile Training Providers
Ryan Craig, UV TechCrunch 2017
Ryan Craig, UV - Digital Credentials Summit 2019

10. Paper silos: issues with hard copy credentials
freedesignfile.com/92259
Transparency issues
OPAQUE: often needs other documents, e.g.
syllabus, which is often hard to understand
QA mechanisms are cumbersome, often buried
Can be hard to authenticate, easy to forge
Physical issues
Difficult to share, easy to lose
Recognition issues
Lack of context - no links to supporting evidence
Experiential learning is typically not valued
Transversal skills are typically not tracked
Lack of granularity, “stackability”
Uncertain alignment, transfer, articulation

11. Flexible learning pathways
 modular, stackable,
multi-source, remixable
Clear progress markers
 Visualize learning
Visual branding
 issuers and earners
Online trust system
 issuer backing, evidence
 3rd party endorsement
 community socialization
A digital representation of an skill, accomplishment or affiliation that is visual, shareable online and contains
credentialing information in standardized format, including trusted links that help explain the context,
meaning, process and result of an activity.
Open standard -> share badges across situations, silos. Supports transition!
Open Badge – micro-credential… or alternative credential?
Portable record of learning, owned by the learner

12. Badge example

13. Mapping badgespace
credentials
digital badges
Open
Badges
micro-
credentials
CC BY Doug Belshaw dougbelshaw.com
Standards-based
& interoperable
No image
requirement

14. Some ways to recognize with Open Badges
Program/course/module completion
eLearning or Face to Face; “high stakes” or “light touch”;
developmental or compliance
Competency certification
Can be flexible assessment: exams, portfolios,
skills demonstrations, etc. Also compliance.
Membership
Associations, organisations,
professional and industry bodies
Experience, expertise, service, achievements
Projects/missions, years of service, awards,
professional contributions
Values, interests, goals
Self-issued, endorsable by others

15. Useful institutional taxonomy
Chris Long, Penn State

16. Badges: transparent lenses to focus on different aspects of learning

17. QUICK EXAMPLES

19. Student Transformative Learning Record
bit.ly/TLR_UCO
bit.ly/STLRrubric bit.ly/STLRintegration
Co/extracurricular – aligned to university “tenets” (ILOs)

20. 21st Century Skills Badging Challenge
Cross-sectoral, scalable networks
eddesignlab.org/badgingchallenge/ * see p21.org

21. Education Design Lab – 21C Skills
Education Design Lab Digital Credentials Summit 2019

22. Colorado State University
Granular learning pathways
Community focused
Industry driven
Learner centric
Ecosystem friendly
slideshare.net/secret/xBjQY3Ipdsc06l bit.ly/1E0TqAM
“...an opportunity to
facilitate large
numbers of learners
from across the world
with just-in-time
education from a
multitude of
educational providers.”

23. Trades Certification - City & Guilds/Worldchefs
worldchefs.org/Certification
Issued using
sharable
Open Badges

24. Association: membership, awards, accreditation, certification
thelpi.org/digital-badges/

25. Private sector: technical and business skills
youracclaim.com/organizations/ey/badges

26. LRNG/SNHU Digital Credentials Summit

27. LRNG/SNHU Digital Credentials Summit

28. @donpresant
don@learningagents.ca