This document discusses open badges, which are digital credentials that recognize skills and achievements. Open badges contain metadata that link to evidence of qualifications and can be earned through both formal and informal learning. They are designed to provide flexible recognition of skills across different contexts and platforms. The document outlines the history and standards of open badges, how they are used in areas like education, employment and online courses, and the technical infrastructure that supports open badges systems.

1. AARHUS | 04.05.2018 | ILONA BUCHEM | CC BY-SA
Prof. Dr. Ilona Buchem
Beuth Hochschule für Technik Berlin
Twitter: @mediendidaktik
Photo: Pixabay, CC0 Public Domain
INTERNET WEEK DENMARK
OPEN BADGES /
OPEN CREDENTIALS
FOR RECOGNISING, DOCUMENTING
AND COMMUNICATING SKILLS
ACROSS PLATFORMS AND CONTEXTS
Open Badges

2. Photo: Pexels CC0 License Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
Why Open Badges?

3. Photo: http://publicdomainpictures.net Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
“The Web has blown
documents apart.”
David Weinberger (2003)
Small Pieces Loosely Joined.
The unified theory of the Web.

4. OPEN BADGES / CREDENTIALS
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0Photo: http://sportthieme.scene7.com/
“Open Badges form a loose
federation of many small
digital credentials.”
(Casilli & Hickey, 2016)
(Mozilla)
[ ]“Digital credentials enable the data-
rich recognition, communication,
and tracking of achievement.”
(Credly)[ ]

5. Open Badges can be issued
not only from
teacher to student,
but also
peer to peer,
student to teacher,
student to university,
teacher to university,
employer to employee,
employee to employer,
or even
me to myself.
Student
Employee
Teacher
University
Employer
DISRUPTING CREDENTIALING PRACTICE
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0

6. VALUE OF OPEN BADGES
“A fundamental value of the open badge movement
is that badges will democratize learning by recognizing more
diverse kinds of learning than academic credentials
recognize, by not costing as much in time and money to
acquire as conventional higher education, and by being
available in ways that permit learners at various stages
and in various circumstances of life to become badge
earners. In short, the amount of recognized learning and
the number of badge earners will, in principle, be unlimited.”
Michael R. Olneck (2015), Whom Will Digital Badges Empower? Sociological Perspectives on Digital Badges. In: D.
Hickey, J. Jovanovic, S. Lonn, J.E. Willis, III (eds.): Proceedings of the Open Badges in Education (OBIE 2015)
Workshop, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA, 16-Mar-2015, published at http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1358/paper1.pdf
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
[ ]

7. 1998 2001
Open Courseware
2002
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
2007 2012
Open Content
Open Licence
Open Source
Open Access
Open Resources Open Courses
Open Data
Open Badges
OPEN MOVEMENT
Open Certificates

8. OPEN CLOSED
OPEN EDUCATION
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0Bildquelle: https://www.futurelearn.com
LEARNING CREDENTIALS

9. Photo: Pexels CC0 License Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
Recognition of prior learning
Recognition of student skills
Recognition of student engagement
EDUCATORS CAN USE OPEN BADGES FOR …

10. LEARNERS CAN USE OPEN BADGES TO …
Share in social
networksShowcase in a
digital CV / job
application
Collect in
ePortfolio
Publish on
blog / website
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0

11. Photo: Pexels CC0 License Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
Online Recruiting
Talent scouting
Skill recognition
EMPLOYERS CAN USE OPEN BADGES FOR …

12. Ilona Buchem
Professor for Media and
Communications
12 800 students
290 professors
500 lecturers
8 departments
70 study programs
Open Badges since 2012
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
Digital Strategy at university and department levels since 2014
More information: https://projekt.beuth-hochschule.de/digitale-zukunft/

13. OPEN BADGES FOR MIGRANT ACADEMICS
Photos: BeuthBonus Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
BeuthBonus program was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, and Education, the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs and the German Federal Employment Agency. URL: http://beuthbonus.beuth-hochschule.de/

14. OPEN BADGE NETWORK
visit us
http://www.openbadgenetwork.com

15. OPEN VIRTUAL MOBILITY
virtual courses
or seminars
virtual study
programs
virtual
placements /
internships
virtual labs
virtual communities
• VM Skills of students & teachers
• Digital skills
• Intercultural skills
• Social skills
• Research skills
• Competency frameworks:
• EU Digital Competence Framework for
Educators (DigCompEdu)
• EU European Skills, Competences,
Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO)
• UNSESCO Intercultural Competencies
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0

16. Photos: (1) Pexels CC0 License, (2) Erik Knutson, Concentric Sky, CC-BY Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
Open Standard How does it work?

17. Foto: Pixabay, CC0 Public Domain
OPEN BADGES ARE INFORMATION-RICH
“Open Badges are not just visual symbols
of accomplishment. They contain detailed
descriptions of recipients’ achievements and may
link to evidence of individuals’ work toward
earning the badge.”
[ ]

18. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
{
"@context": "https://w3id.org/openbadges/v2",
"type": "BadgeClass",
"id": "https://example.org/robotics-badge.json",
"name": "Awesome Robotics Badge",
"description": …,
"image": "https://example.org/robotics-badge.png",
"criteria": …,
"issuer": …,
"alignment": …
}
Linked Data
png 250 x 250
Open Badges Metadata:
OPEN BADGES SPECIFICATION
“90% of an Open Badge is not visible.”
Klein, J. (2013)
Klein, J. (2013). Design feedback for badge systems. URL: http://jessicaklein.blogspot.com/2013/01/design-feedback-for-badge-systems.html
Figure: DigitalMe

19. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://www.imsglobal.org
OPEN BADGES V2.0 EVIDENCES

20. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://www.imsglobal.org
OPEN BADGES V2.0 ENDORSEMENT

21. OPEN BADGE INFRASTRUCTURE (OBI)
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Badges

22. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
OPEN BADGE INFRASTRUCTURE (OBI)

23. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://openbadgepassport.com
USER HUB
“Manage all your badges in one place, but issue them in different systems”

24. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://credly.com/solutions/opencreditapi
SEAMLESS DISPLAY
Open Credit API integrated in over 700 platforms

25. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://www.badgelist.com/how-it-works
EVIDENCE PORTFOLIO
“Every user has a sharable badge profile and every badge is backed by a portfolio of evidence.”

26. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://bestr.it/organization/explore
E-TESTS AND CERTIFICATION
“Certification: Prove and verify your competencies, by taking tests to get the Badge.”

27. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
ENDORSING BADGES
“Endorsing Badges: Find Badges describing the competences you need - and endorse them.”
More information: https://bestr.it/organization/explore

28. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://info.badgr.io/
BADGE PATHWAYS
Example pathway: https://pathways.badgr.io/public/pathway/5ad8eee4c9494851f4893554
“With Pathways, badges from any Open Badges compliant platform can be stacked together.”

29. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
ALIGN TO COMPETENCY FRAMEWORKS
Open
Badges
Competency Directory
Competency
Frameworks
More information: http://www.openbadgenetwork.com/outputs/infrastructure/

30. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: http://www.blockcerts.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXxNkgXVdmQ
OPEN BADGES
ON THE
BLOCKCHAIN

31. Photo: Pexels CC0 License Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
Use cases How are Open Badges used?

32. More information: https://www.cityandguilds.com/digital-credentials Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
WORKPLACE SKILLS

33. More information: http://www.bebadges.be/ Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
“Be Badges is a digital platform where training centers, companies and selection agencies
issue badges to people they have trained, screened or tested.”
SHOWCASING TALENTS

34. More information: https://www.openbadgeacademy.com/o2digitalskills Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
PROMOTING DIGITAL SKILLS OF YOUNG PEOPLE

35. Open Badges are issued within National Digital Skills Framework by the National University of Ireland
Galway and the All Aboard project.
DIGITAL SKILLS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: http://www.allaboardhe.ie/

36. More information: https://www-03.ibm.com/services/learning/ites.wss/zz-en?pageType=page&c=Q600125I65952Z65 Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
ONLINE COURSES FOR EMPLOYEES

37. More information: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/get-started/badges-come-openlearn Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
OPEN ONLINE COURSES / MOOCS

38. More information: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-6557-badging-platforms-for-canvas Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

39. More information: https://moodle.org/plugins/?q=badges Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

40. Open Badges issued to university teachers as part of the teacher training program
and recognised by the Berlin Center for Teacher Training (BZHL).
More information: https://projekt.beuth-hochschule.de/digitale-zukunft/die-fortbildungsreihe/
TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0

41. Open Badges for migrant academics to recognise 21st century skills and improve employment opportunities.
PROGRAMS FOR SPECIAL GROUPS
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://www.openbadgeacademy.com/beuthbonusbadges

42. Open Badges are issued to recognise student engagement in Department I Economics and Social
Sciences, Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Germany.
RECOGNITION OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0

43. Open Badges are issued as awards for student volunteering, additional learning and research activities
and achievements at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania.
AWARDING ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://students.ktu.edu/digital-badges/

44. WHERE TO LOOK FOR
OPEN BADGE PROJECTS?
Photo: Pexels CC0 License Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0

45. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: https://sites.google.com/site/openbadgesinhighereducation/case-studies
OPEN BADGES IN HIGHER EDU

46. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: http://www.badgetheworld.org/
OPEN BADGES AROUND THE WORLD

47. Ilona Buchem CC BY-SA 4.0More information: http://www.openbadgenetwork.com/outputs/infrastructure/
OPEN BADGES USE CASES

48. E-Mail: buchem@beuth-hochschule.de
Twitter: @mediendidaktik @OpenBadgeNet #OpenBadges
Vielen Dank!
Foto: DigitalMe
Thank you!
Mange tak!