2. Summary
What is a badge? What else is like a badge?
What are the issues with badges?
Four requirements ...
badges must add value over self-authored descriptions
nature and extent of any claim must be clarified
evidence and veracity must be checkable (where needed)
steps on ladders and paths must be sound
… for three interlocking badge systems
personal badge use system
badge quality system
pathways quality system for composite badges
2
3. What is a badge, anyway?
Wikipedia (2012-02-16)
"A badge is a device or fashion accessory, often containing
the insignia of an organization, which is presented or
displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special
accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an
oath (e.g., police and fire), a sign of legitimate employment or
student status, or as a simple means of identification. They
are also used in advertising, publicity, and for branding
purposes." [emphasis added]
So I include uniform, T-shirts, ties, colours as “etc.”
3
4. Badges etc. I may have worn ...
Staff ID Swimming badges
Conference attendee personal survival
perhaps categorised lifesaving
1999 path of totality Cub Scout badges
Conference helper PDSA Busy Bees
Choir member I am ...
Dysgwr
(number of years old)
(could have but I think not...)
siaradwch yn araf
Team supporter
Old school tie
NGO org member
School uniform
Religious symbol
Team player
4
5. So, agreement with Doug …
“visual representations of a skill or achievement”
ability
ability-related achievement
responsibility undertaken (needs abilities)
role (which is often “awarded” according to ability)
also simply completion of a defined experience
Also (but let's not focus on these):
skill aspiration?
identity
membership
support
5
6. … but issues remain
For “display layer” to be worth anything, people must
have confidence in the “assessment layer”
particularly employers and the like who rely on them
If badges are to be “credentials”, they have to be
effective in giving clarity and trust (“credence”)
How can we simultaneously
open up the issuing process
avoid hopeless over-proliferation
allow people easy ways of verifying and checking
to their satisfaction (that's the challenging part)
6
7. Requirement 1:
make things better
(than self-authored text and traditional certificates)
We already have electronic certificates and CVs
Badges can still add value in three basic ways
by giving a unique identifier for a self-claim, making it global
by having quality processes in place for something awarded
by plotting out good pathways to something desirable
These relate to three interrelated systems
Let's consider each requirement and system in turn
(The “looker” is the party wanting people with badge)
7
8. Requirement 2:
clarify nature and extent of claim
Self-awarded badges have value only if unambiguous
URIs give clarity independent of human language
then able to be searched for by machine
Awards in general vary in their detail
some are generic or broad, and imprecise
some are highly specific, detailing exactly what is entailed
Needs to be scope for claim to link to further detail
either terms from controlled vocabularies
or free text explanations
Badges may also be private and effective
credentials needed to view claim
8
9. The personal badge use system
Person claims a badge
Badge has an identifier (URI)
linking to overall description – many languages possible
Detail by further identifiers or free text (e-portfolio?)
E-portfolio claim includes link to issuer site
similarly to electronic certificate, maybe with “transcript”
maybe “issuer” is self or peer – OK if that is clear
Looker goes to issuer site to see claim detail
directly, or linked from badge or claim text
Ties in with systems supporting personal learning, action
planning, goal setting and achievement, matching
9
10. Requirement 3:
able to check evidence and truth
Lookers want to check credentials
they have seen the claim, but they still want
a good basis for trusting the claim
confidence in the assessment and awarding processes
to assess the badge claim's value for them
Portfolios can give particular personal evidence
Further evidence from site of awarding body
body may be well known with good reputation
or look for more information about the body
including the body's membership of wider bodies
body's credentials may include badges (meta-badges?) …
evidence of badge assessment (etc.) process quality
10
11. The badge quality system
Designing
Specifying and managing assessment
Providing information about significance
Ensuring award quality
Confirming awards and holders to third parties
Expiry or retraction for time-limited or revoked badges
Gathering statistics of use including employer use
Managing versions and revision
Protection against misuse
Managing badge reputation with employers and others
11
12. Requirement 4:
steps on paths must be sound
Open Badges white paper talks a lot about paths
an analogy: you can't trust a path with slippery stones
another: you can't trust a ladder with weak rungs
A badge may define pre-requisite badges
Pathways quality management means ensuring each
step is right to fit in with the other steps
select appropriate pre-requisites, not too strict or too lax
check and monitor quality of pre-requisite badges
Composite badges are useful for employers who look
the degree itself is a kind of composite badge, but losing support
time to create better ones
12
13. The pathways quality system
Devising new ways of reaching objectives
giving up reinventing wheels
adding value by putting together existing badges
Effective goal decomposition
mirroring personal action planning
Investigating providers of each step
Checking and matching quality of each step
Promoting composite badge to employers and others
Managing composite badge reputation
13
14. Open Badges metadata spec
Badge Title
Badge Image URL
Short Badge Description (plain text)
Badge Criteria (URL, required)
Issuer (Organization name or just individual name)
Issuer Contact (email address)
Issue Date
Badge Expiration Date (optional; default none)
Badge Evidence URL (optional)
signed within an Authentication/Verification Framework
14
15. Missing useful information
Short badge description OK, but distinctions needed:
overall badge significance true of all instances of the badge
individual personal claim giving further specific details
(evidence on which the award or claim is based is OK)
authentication / verification
PKI signing is less than ideal for several reasons
instead, could have a link to verification on issuer site
Quality confirmation for specific badges would be useful
distinct from the overall significance of the badge
Definition of composite badge components + links
and specify quality criteria for component badge selection
15
16. Conclusions / open questions
Badges can cover every sector
school, HE, vocational, professional, voluntary, hobby
Democratisation of ability credentials
for education, recruitment, training, advancement, matching
but is this the best solution for a common language?
Mozilla Open Badges is a good start
what extra metadata is needed to make badges work well?
I've proposed some ideas – needs to move towards consensus
Exercise
envision more detailed scenarios
consider SWOT
16
17. Reference resources
http://www.openbadges.org/
spec is in http://www.openbadges.org/infrastructure-tech-docs/
(seems more stable than https://wiki.mozilla.org/Badges )
http://wiki.cetis.ac.uk/Are_open_badges_the_future_for_recognition_of_skills%3F
(this session)
Scott wrote a very useful page for electronic certificates
http://wiki.cetis.ac.uk/Technical_architecture_considerations_for_implementing_the_HEAR
most of this could be applied to badges
InLOC project will be taking badges into account
Integrating Learning Outcomes and Competences
http://wiki.teria.no/display/inloc/Home
17
18. Thanks...
... for your attention
... for any feedback you may be able to give
either now
or send to me at asimong@gmail.com
Notas del editor
I'll continue in the vein of self-disclosure...
Aspiration is a tricky case – serves as announcement of “I'm trying to learn this, please help!” Organisational ID and membership are naturally dealt with by organisation belonged to (and that can't be opened up) Mozilla Open Badges are mainly about ability and achievement
“Credential”: “A credential is an attestation of qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or de facto authority or assumed competence to do so. Examples of credentials include academic diplomas, academic degrees, certifications, security clearances, identification documents, badges, passwords, user names, keys, powers of attorney, and so on.” Wikipedia, 2012-02-17
Electronic is in some ways better than paper, but certificates, CVs and portfolios are already electronic. Badges need to offer something more. I point at three main potential advantages, each one relating to one of the identified systems.
Like T-shirts and supporter dress that you can simply buy: no checks possible on claims, but an electronic badge would allows others to search for e.g. (poor, misguided?) Manchester United fans, as long as everyone used the same badge or the badges were clearly marked as equivalent. Say some school issued a “responsible citizen” badge. What would that mean? It might be different in each school; some schools might set out precisely what is required, others might assess a self-directed e-portfolio. Traditional badges sometimes deliberately rely on inside knowledge (say Masonic symbols or regalia perhaps) and we could mimic that by having the claim page only visible given authentication with certain credentials. (Other badges?)
What kinds of related activities need to (or should possibly) happen for badges to be used effectively in practice?
The evidence of the claim itself, the evidence that the badge is what it says it is, and the evidence that the claim is true, may all need to be supported for the badge to be taken seriously, and therefore gain usage.
What kind of related activities need to happen for a single useful badge to be created, used well, and maintained in value?
Some quotes from the working paper: “ craft your own learning pathways at your own pace” “ across these learning environments, learners are offered multiple pathways” MIT, P2PU, etc. “provide paths to learning that are unbundled from the financial, social, geographical and cultural barriers of formal education.” “ we are working to provide [...] meaningful pathways for learners” “ provide the pathways and milestones to guide learners through to mastery”
What related activities need to happen if useful pathways are to be mapped out with individual badges as way-points?
Well, it's OK, it's a reasonable start, but this simply doesn't cover all the requirements of the three systems we have looked at.
1. Details of the claim relate to system of use overall details best through issuer site URL, normally public personal claim via portfolio 2. Badge quality details and evidence 3. Components, pre-requisites, and quality a framework-like structure
Slightly hesitant about the word “democratisation” Perhaps “disintermediation” Or just “opening up so that anyone can create them, and their value will be determined simply by demand”...