Journal Staff

Idag är det inte bara genom traditionella utbildningar som värdefulla förmågor kan erhållas, utan detta kan även ske genom internet, samt på andra fysiska platser utanför skolan. Dessvärre finns det inte något allmänt accepterat sätt att redovisa denna informella kompetens. För att lösa detta problem har den amerikanska stiftelsen Mozilla Foundation, känd för att ha utvecklat webbläsaren “Mozilla Firefox”, skapat “Open Badges”. Open Badges är en typ av e-utmärkelse, dvs. ett digitalt certifikat, som till skillnad från andra innehåller metadata som gör det möjligt att verifiera vem som är utgivaren, vad som krävdes för att skaffa och vem badgen är utgiven till m.m.   Genom denna uppsats ämnar vi ta reda på om och i sådana fall varför denna typ av belöning motiverar studenter att slutföra en onlinekurs om miljömedvetenhet. För att undersöka detta skapades en hemsida och en kurs med en uppdragsbaserad struktur. Två olika grupper med tio personer vardera erbjöds genomföra kursen. Den ena gruppen informerades om hur Open Badges fungerar och att de skulle belönas med en sådan om de slutförde kursen (“Open Badges-gruppen”). Den andra gruppen fick inte denna information (“kontrollgruppen”). Efter kursomgångens slut kallades de medverkande till en fokusgrupp för att diskutera Open Badges.   Vi fann att i den grupp som informerades om Open Badges slutförde två av tio kursen medan noll av tio i kontrollgruppen slutförde kursen. I fokusgruppen förklarade de två som slutförde kursen att det var specifikt deras önskan att få en Open Badge som motiverade dem att utföra de uppdrag de tyckte var jobbiga. Samtliga personer i fokusgruppen tyckte även att framtiden för Open Badges beror på arbetsgivares användning av dem.   Eftersom det bara var personer i Open Badges-gruppen som slutförde hela kursen tyder detta på att Open Badges fungerar bra som motivationskälla. Detta styrks även av att studenterna i fokusgruppen slutförde vissa uppdrag eftersom de blev motiverade av Open Badgen, även om de tyckte dessa uppdrag var svåra eller jobbiga.   De deltagare som genomförde kursen ansåg att Open Badges gav motivation för att det kändes som ett slutmål. De ansåg även att det var spännande och intressant och såg även en potential i Open Badges i allmänhet, inte endast för den badge vi utdelade, som merit på arbetsmarknaden.   Alla deltagare såg användningsområden för Open Badges både online (utanför traditionella utbildningsinstitut) och offline (vid traditionella utbildningsinstitut). De tyckte att Open Badges kunde användas online för att visa på att man lärt sig något på egen hand, och offline för att belöna exemplariskt arbete, till exempel en Badge för bästa kursresultat i någon speciell kurs.Today it is not only through traditional education that skills can be acquired. Skills can also be gained through the internet as well as at physical locations other than academic institutions. However there is currently no universally accepted way to display this informal knowledge. To solve this problem the American organization Mozilla Foundation, who created the web browser “Mozilla Firefox”, has created “Open Badges”. An Open Badge is a type of achievement that, in contrast to other achievements, contains metadata which enables verification of the issuer, the steps needed to receive the Badge and information about who received the badge etc.   Through this essay we intend to find out if and why this kind of reward motivates students to complete an online course about environmental awareness. To investigate this we created a homepage containing an online course with a mission based structure. Two different groups with ten members each had the choice to complete the course. In one of the groups the participants were informed about Open Badges and how it works (the “Open Badges group”). The participants in the other group did not get this information (the “control group”). After the online course’s deadline was due we held a focus group meeting to discuss Open Badges.   We found that in the Open Badges group two out of ten students completed the course. Zero out of ten students in the control group completed the course. At the focus group meeting the two students who completed the course explained that Open Badges explicitly motivated them to complete the missions in the online course which they thought were strenuous. All of the students in the focus group argued that for Open Badges to work, it needs to be adopted by the labor market.   Since the students who completed the course were in the Open Badges-group, the results lean toward showing that Open Badges in fact work as a motivational source. This claim is also supported by the fact that the students in the focus group completed some missions just because they were motivated by the Open Badge, even though they considered these missions hard or strenuous.   The participants who completed the course believed Open Badges gave them motivation because it felt like a final goal. They also thought it was exciting and interesting. Additionally, they saw potential in Open Badges in general, not only for the Badge they received, as a merit on the labor market. All participants saw ways of using Open Badges both online (outside of traditional educational institutions) and offline (at traditional educational institutions). They thought that Open Badges could be used online in order to show what you have learned on your own, and offline to reward exemplary work, for example a Badge for the best course result in a specific course

The use, role and reception of open badges as a method for formative and summative reward in two Massive Open Online Courses

Open online learning courses such as cMOOCs and xMOOCs differ from conventional courses yet it remains uncertain how, and if, existing common yet costly practices associated with teacher-driven formative and summative assessment strategies can be made to work in this new context. For courses that carry no charge for registration or participation, authors of open online courses have to consider alternative approaches to engaging, motivating and sustaining study and for helping participants manage, plan and demonstrate their own learning. One such approach is that of open badges or similar such visual public symbols that communicate to others a particular quality, achievement or affiliation possessed by the owner. This paper reports the role, reception and use of open badges in two ‘massive’ open online courses delivered in 2013 with attention to varied functions of badges and the a distinction between formative and summative applications. The paper will then draw upon data from end of course surveys, which specifically asked about badges, pre-course surveys, and user comments made during the course on platforms such as Twitter to examine what value participants ascribed to the open badges. Although there was found to be a broadly positive response to badges in both MOOCs, the reasons for this were often very different, and approximately a quarter of respondents remained sceptical or concerned about their role. The paper concludes by reflecting on the open badge as a formative instrument for providing the learner with an indication of progress and achievement

Validation of a smartphone app to map social networks of proximity

Social network analysis is a prominent approach to investigate interpersonal relationships. Most studies use self-report data to quantify the connections between participants and construct social networks. In recent years smartphones have been used as an alternative to map networks by assessing the proximity between participants based on Bluetooth and GPS data. While most studies have handed out specially programmed smartphones to study participants, we developed an application for iOS and Android to collect Bluetooth data from participants own smartphones. In this study, we compared the networks estimated with the smartphone app to those obtained from sociometric badges and self-report data. Participants (n=21) installed the app on their phone and wore a sociometric badge during office hours. Proximity data was collected for 4 weeks. A contingency table revealed a significant association between proximity data (rho = 0.17, p<0.0001), but the marginal odds were higher for the app (8.6%) than for the badges (1.3%), indicating that dyads were more often detected by the app. We then compared the networks that were estimated using the proximity and self-report data. All three networks were significantly correlated, although the correlation with self-reported data was lower for the app (rho = 0.25) than for badges (rho = 0.67). The scanning rates of the app varied considerably between devices and was lower on iOS than on Android. The association between the app and the badges increased when the network was estimated between participants whose app recorded more regularly. These findings suggest that the accuracy of proximity networks can be further improved by reducing missing data and restricting the interpersonal distance at which interactions are detected.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Open Badges: a visual, learner-centric approach to recognising achievement

Open Badges are online indicators of skills learned inside or outside the classroom. In order to understand how badges might be used to support learning and development in higher education, Ian Glover and Farzana Latif have been looking into the uptake of these badges. There is a desire for broader mechanisms like badges to help students promote their own unique set of skills, knowledge and experience

Developing badge eco-systems to support engagement in class-based and online learning

Abstract Background Badges enable academic and non-academic learners to collect and display their achievements and to enhance their training and qualification repertoire. To support engagement in class-based and online modules we have introduced badge ecosystems backed up by University quality assurance procedures. This paper presents two case studies which exemplify the application of badges at the University of Derby and the possibilities for future developments of badge ecosystems. Class-based: Forensic anthropology/Osteology A sequence of badges in the Forensic Anthropology module was implemented to support students as they develop their understanding of osteology and anatomy. In this context, the implementation of badges relies on the use of learning outcomes that support learning and the assessment of practical knowledge as well as student’s ability to observe key features in the subject. Online MOOCs The University of Derby (UoD) have incorporated badges in a series of MOOCs that include: “Bridging the Dementia Divide: Supporting People Living with Dementia (2015); Digital.Me: Managing your Digital Self (2015); Operations Management (2016); a re-run of Supporting People Living with Dementia (2016) and Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD (2016). Throughout these, badges were used to reward degrees of completion and have an association with a favourable average completion rate across four of the MOOCs. The use of badges at the University has been led by academics staff and the Innovation Hub as part of a Badges Working Group. The innovative approaches to badges and badge ecosystems have been supported by the development of a University infrastructure for badge development including: • Schema to back-up micro-credentialing • Quality assurance processes and • University badge server The UoD Working Badges Group and Quality Assurance The use of digital badges supported by the University’s quality framework means that we are rewarding meaningful learning, have increased badge credibility with our own badge server for issuing badges. In this way we have assured the integrity of the badges not just being University of Derby by branding but through the University as the issuing organization. Conclusion The UoD has incorporated badges to provide recognition for the learning, achievements and contributions of our class-based and MOOC learners, and the credibility of our badges will increase further as we move towards further implementation by academics and departments through the use of the badge framework. This could allow our digital credentials to be used by partners and other educational institutions and will act as an incentive for the UoD to continue its focus on badge development, quality and credibility

Open badges for education: what are the implications at the intersection of open systems and badging?

Badges have garnered great interest among scholars of digital media and learning. In addition, widespread initiatives such as Mozilla’s Open Badge Framework expand the potential of badging into the realm of open education. In this paper, we explicate the concept of open badges. We highlight some of the ways that researchers have examined badges as part of educational practice and also highlight the different definitions of open-ness that are employed in popular and scholarly thought. By considering badges from three different perspectives (motivation, pedagogy, and credential) and the concept of openness from three different perspectives (production, access and appropriation) we develop a framework to consider the tensions where these competing conceptions meet. This explication illuminates how the ideas of open and badges intersect, and clarifies situations where these concepts come into direct conflict or mutually enhance each other. Our analysis pinpoints and elucidates particular areas where research is needed to better understand the complex phenomenon of open badges, and also offers design considerations for developers, educators, and organizations that are actively involved in open badges

Developing badge eco-systems to support engagement in class-based and online learning

Abstract Background Badges enable academic and non-academic learners to collect and display their achievements and to enhance their training and qualification repertoire. To support engagement in class-based and online modules we have introduced badge ecosystems backed up by University quality assurance procedures. This paper presents two case studies which exemplify the application of badges at the University of Derby and the possibilities for future developments of badge ecosystems. Class-based: Forensic anthropology/Osteology A sequence of badges in the Forensic Anthropology module was implemented to support students as they develop their understanding of osteology and anatomy. In this context, the implementation of badges relies on the use of learning outcomes that support learning and the assessment of practical knowledge as well as student’s ability to observe key features in the subject. Online MOOCs The University of Derby (UoD) have incorporated badges in a series of MOOCs that include: “Bridging the Dementia Divide: Supporting People Living with Dementia (2015); Digital.Me: Managing your Digital Self (2015); Operations Management (2016); a re-run of Supporting People Living with Dementia (2016) and Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD (2016). Throughout these, badges were used to reward degrees of completion and have an association with a favourable average completion rate across four of the MOOCs. The use of badges at the University has been led by academics staff and the Innovation Hub as part of a Badges Working Group. The innovative approaches to badges and badge ecosystems have been supported by the development of a University infrastructure for badge development including: • Schema to back-up micro-credentialing • Quality assurance processes and • University badge server The UoD Working Badges Group and Quality Assurance The use of digital badges supported by the University’s quality framework means that we are rewarding meaningful learning, have increased badge credibility with our own badge server for issuing badges. In this way we have assured the integrity of the badges not just being University of Derby by branding but through the University as the issuing organization. Conclusion The UoD has incorporated badges to provide recognition for the learning, achievements and contributions of our class-based and MOOC learners, and the credibility of our badges will increase further as we move towards further implementation by academics and departments through the use of the badge framework. This could allow our digital credentials to be used by partners and other educational institutions and will act as an incentive for the UoD to continue its focus on badge development, quality and credibility.Abstract Background Badges enable academic and non-academic learners to collect and display their achievements and to enhance their training and qualification repertoire. To support engagement in class-based and online modules we have introduced badge ecosystems backed up by University quality assurance procedures. This paper presents two case studies which exemplify the application of badges at the University of Derby and the possibilities for future developments of badge ecosystems. Class-based: Forensic anthropology/Osteology A sequence of badges in the Forensic Anthropology module was implemented to support students as they develop their understanding of osteology and anatomy. In this context, the implementation of badges relies on the use of learning outcomes that support learning and the assessment of practical knowledge as well as student’s ability to observe key features in the subject. Online MOOCs The University of Derby (UoD) have incorporated badges in a series of MOOCs that include: “Bridging the Dementia Divide: Supporting People Living with Dementia (2015); Digital.Me: Managing your Digital Self (2015); Operations Management (2016); a re-run of Supporting People Living with Dementia (2016) and Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD (2016). Throughout these, badges were used to reward degrees of completion and have an association with a favourable average completion rate across four of the MOOCs. The use of badges at the University has been led by academics staff and the Innovation Hub as part of a Badges Working Group. The innovative approaches to badges and badge ecosystems have been supported by the development of a University infrastructure for badge development including: • Schema to back-up micro-credentialing • Quality assurance processes and • University badge server The UoD Working Badges Group and Quality Assurance The use of digital badges supported by the University’s quality framework means that we are rewarding meaningful learning, have increased badge credibility with our own badge server for issuing badges. In this way we have assured the integrity of the badges not just being University of Derby by branding but through the University as the issuing organization. Conclusion The UoD has incorporated badges to provide recognition for the learning, achievements and contributions of our class-based and MOOC learners, and the credibility of our badges will increase further as we move towards further implementation by academics and departments through the use of the badge framework. This could allow our digital credentials to be used by partners and other educational institutions and will act as an incentive for the UoD to continue its focus on badge development, quality and credibility