Awarding Innovation: An Assessment of the Digital Media and Learning Competition

Increasing availability and accessibility of digital media have changed the ways in which young people learn, socialize, play, and engage in civic life. Seeking to understand how learning environments and institutions should transform to respond to these changes, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (the Foundation) launched the Digital Media and Learning (DML) Initiative in 2005. This report highlights the successes and challenges of one component of the DML Initiative: the DML Competition (the Competition)

Gamificação de competências transversais na Universidade de Aveiro

The need for future employees to show skill beyond that of “hard” knowledge is growing in several industries of the job market. To address the changing expectations of future employers and to guarantee a prosperous professional life, higher education institutions (HEI) are making increasing efforts to provide their students with soft skills, which go beyond that of the traditional courses’ curriculum. Therefore, HEIs are faced with the challenge of teaching transversal competencies to their students while ensuring that their development is authenticated and valued by employing organizations. To this end, open badging and micro-credentials are increasingly being employed, since they provide an answer for both the need for soft skill validation and for motivating their development. Digital badges have been subject to educational research in recent years, with results which point to a successful relationship between gamification, badges and learning outcomes. This work aims to further this research by establishing a theoretical framework for implementing a digital badge strategy to encourage students to perform activities that promote the development of soft skills. Our findings will inform the creation of a badge system suited be adapted and applied to various learning contexts and institutions.A necessidade de trabalhadores demonstrarem competências para além das de conhecimento técnico está a aumentar em diversas indústrias no mercado de trabalho. Para encarar as crescentes expectativas de futuros empregadores e garantir um futuro profissional mais próspero, as instituições de ensino superior (IES) estão a investir cada vez mais na aquisição de competências transversais por parte dos seus estudantes, que vão para além das do currículo tradicional. Deste modo, as IES estão perante o desafio de ensinar competências transversais aos seus alunos ao mesmo tempo que procuram assegurar que o seu desenvolvimento é autenticado e valorizado por organizações empregadoras. Observa-se, para este fim, uma crescente adoção de “Open Badges” e micro-credenciais, visto que estas oferecem uma solução tanto para a necessidade de validação de competências transversais como para a motivação para a sua aprendizagem por parte dos alunos. Durante os últimos anos, os crachás digitais têm sido alvo de investigação educacional, cujo resultado aponta para uma relação proveitosa entre gamificação, crachás e resultados de aprendizagem. Este trabalho tem como objetivo expandir essa investigação ao estabelecer um enquadramento que sirva para a implementação de uma estratégia de crachás digitais para encorajar alunos a realizarem atividades que promovam o desenvolvimento de competências transversais. Os resultados deste estudo poderão ainda ser utilizados para guiar a construção de um sistema de crachás apto para se adaptar a vários contextos de aprendizagem e instituições.Mestrado em Comunicação Multimédi

Can Digital Badging Support an Inclusive New Normal in Higher Education?

This call for research considers how digital badging could help universities serve their students better and more flexibly, especially during crises (whether caused by public health issues, social unrest, or natural disasters). Touted as a means to recognize academic achievements and skills of both traditional and non-traditional students, digital badging can support personalized learning pathways by enabling individualized portfolios of micro-credentials. Also, badges can signify mastery at more granular levels than end-of-term course grades. In this review, we identify known digital badging opportunities and threats and consider a proposed micro-credentialing system based on college course modules rather than full courses. We then articulate directions for further research, guided by the theory of IT options and debt and the theory of complementary resources

Rethinking workplace learning in the digital world: a case study of Open Badges

The purpose of this collective case study was to explore digital badging in educational institutions as support for K-12 practitioners struggling to integrate technology into pedagogical practices. The researcher conducted a mixed-method study that captured perceptions about digital badges and follow-up interviews with selected badge users to explore their viewpoints further. The goal was to generate a detailed case description, identify participants’ self-assessment of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), and define those attributes that are deemed important or not useful to Open Badge Course earners that participated in the study. Ten individuals from a Northern California region completed the survey and four participated in an interview process. Results from the survey found that participants highly valued the convenience, accessibility, and ability to self-pace afforded by the course. They valued being able to set their own learning goals and to begin and work at their own level of expertise. The game-like features and personal achievement were motivating factors to earn and complete badges. The course experience allowed time for cumulative study to learn and implement technology into teaching. The course experience supported their understanding of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The interviews provided detailed information regarding perceptions and experience with the Open Badge Course. Six themes emerged from thematic analysis of the interview data: affordances of course content and course design, recommendations to sustain and improve the course, challenges of course content and course design, ways experience impacted/changed teaching, motivation for learning, and ways experience impacted/changed learning. Participant responses indicated that modifications were necessary for the course to be effective. The areas of challenge included: a lack of timely assessment of learning, constraints from rigor and management of badge levels, lack of relevant or meaningful badges related to the grade level taught, and difficulties with mechanical/operational procedures to access and complete required activities. Facing obstacles are not unique to digital badge project developers. The challenges identified in this collective case study provide valuable information for developers in redesigning future iterations of digital badge systems. Recommendations include how development of similar systems for informal professional learning within formal institutions of learning can be effective

Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences

Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education. This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience

DocCert: Nostrification, Document Verification and Authenticity Blockchain Solution

Many institutions and organizations require nostrification and verification of qualification as a prerequisite for hiring. The idea is to recognize the authenticity of a copy or digital document issued by an institution in a foreign country and detect forgeries. Certificates, financial records, health records, official papers and others are often required to be attested from multiple entities in distinct locations. However, in this digital era where most applications happen online, and document copies are uploaded, the traditional signature and seal methods are obsolete. In a matter of minutes and with a simple photo editor, a certificate or document copy may be plagiarized or forged. Blockchain technology offers a decentralized approach to record and verify transactions without the need for huge infrastructure investment. In this paper, we propose a blockchain based nostrification system, where awarding institutions generate a digital certificate, store in a public but permissioned blockchain, where students and other stakeholders may verify. We present a thorough discussion and formal evaluation of the proposed system.Comment: The Fifth International Conference on Blockchain Computing and Applications (BCCA 2023), held in Conjunction with Kuwait Fintech and Blockchain Summit 2023, 24,26 Oct 2023, Kuwait City, Kuwai

Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform.

With the rise in access to mobile multimedia devices, educational institutions have exploited the iTunes U platform as an additional channel to provide free educational resources with the aim of profile-raising and breaking down barriers to education. For those prepared to invest in content preparation, it is possible to produce interactive, portable material that can be made available globally. Commentators have questioned both the financial implications for platform-specific content production, and the availability of devices for learners to access it (Osborne, 2012). The Open University (OU) makes its free educational resources available on iTunes U and via its web-based open educational resources (OER) platform, OpenLearn. The OU’s OER on iTunes U reached the 60 million download mark in 2013; its OpenLearn platform boasts 27 million unique visitors since 2006. This paper reports the results of a large-scale study of users of the OU’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. A survey of several thousand users revealed key differences in demographics between those accessing OER via the web and via iTunes U. In addition, the data allowed comparison between three groups: formal learners, informal learners and educators. The study raises questions about whether university-provided OER meet the needs of users and makes recommendations for how content can be modified to suit their needs. As the publishing of OER becomes core to business, we reflect on reasons why understanding users’ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutions’ social mission

MICRO CREDENTIALING FOR TEACHERS: A CASE STUDY IN PERSONALIZED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Professional development for teachers must evolve to provide a personalized approach to better meet the needs of the individual. Micro-credentialing is one way to provide teachers with personalized professional development. This case study explores the implementation of a micro-credentialing course in one school district. The district selected a company that provides micro-credential courses nationwide. The theoretical framework for the study is Andragogy, the theory of adult learning (Knowles, 1984). The objective of the study is to determine to what extent micro-credentialing meets the needs of teachers, and to what extent it is effective professional development. Data for this qualitative study was collected through teacher surveys and interviews. A district administrator and a company representative were also interviewed. Analysis of the surveys and interviews revealed teachers found value in the course, they also shared suggestions for improvement

Report on the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3)

This report records and discusses the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3). The report includes a description of the keynote presentation of the workshop, which served as an overview of sustainable scientific software. It also summarizes a set of lightning talks in which speakers highlighted to-the-point lessons and challenges pertaining to sustaining scientific software. The final and main contribution of the report is a summary of the discussions, future steps, and future organization for a set of self-organized working groups on topics including developing pathways to funding scientific software; constructing useful common metrics for crediting software stakeholders; identifying principles for sustainable software engineering design; reaching out to research software organizations around the world; and building communities for software sustainability. For each group, we include a point of contact and a landing page that can be used by those who want to join that group's future activities. The main challenge left by the workshop is to see if the groups will execute these activities that they have scheduled, and how the WSSSPE community can encourage this to happen

Digital badges for STEM learning in secondary contexts: A mixed methods study

The deficit in STEM skills is a matter of concern for national economies and a major focus for educational policy makers. The development of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) has resulted in a rapidly changing workforce of global scale. In addition, ICT have fostered the growth of digital and mobile technologies which have been the learning context, formal and informal, for a generation of youth. The purpose of this study was to design an intervention based upon a competency-based, digitally-mediated, learning intervention: digital badges for learning STEM habits of mind and practices. Designed purposefully, digital badge learning trajectories and criteria can be flexible tools for scaffolding, measuring, and communicating the acquisition of knowledge, skills, or competencies. One of the most often discussed attributes of digital badges, is the ability of badges to motivate learners. However, the research base to support this claim is in its infancy; there is little empirical evidence. A skills-based digital badge intervention was designed to demonstrate mastery learning in key, age-appropriate, STEM competencies aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and other educational standards. A mixed methods approach was used to study the impact of a digital badge intervention in the sample middle and high school population. Among the findings were statistically significant measures which substantiate that in this student population, the digital badges increased perceived competence and motivated learners to persist at task