Technology – Based Assessment of Soft Skills in Higher Education

The importance of soft skills, both for the learning process and employment, is well outlined in a number of documents and strategies. At the moment, digital badges seem to be an important technology that can be used to assess soft skills. Digital badges, or more specifically, Open Badges, provide a whole new way of issuing credentials to individuals that demonstrated certain skill. Furthermore, badges allow individuals to complete with themselves or others, and are good instrument that can motivate continued engagement. Taking all this into concern, it should be pointed out that digital badges have great potential to validate evidences of educational achievements in formal education. This paper describes the 4-phase model SAGRADA, developed within the EU LLP project GRASS, in order to support awarding badges. The whole process is additionally explained trough application case developed at one partner institution. The paper also gives overview of student’s reactions towards the whole badging principle and discusses the outcomes. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Open Badges : a best-practice framework

The widespread adoption of online education is severely challenged by issues of verifiability, reliability, security and credibility. Open Badges exist to address these challenges, but there is no consensus as to what constitutes best practices regarding the implementation of an Open Badge system within an educational context. In this paper we survey the current landscape of Open Badges from educational and technological perspectives. We analyze a broad set of openly-reported pilot projects and case studies, and derive a comprehensive best practice framework that tries to capture the requirements for successful implementation within educational institutions. We conclude by identifying some significant gaps in the technology and identify some possible future research directions.Postprin

Tulevaisuustaidot ja Open Badges -osaamismerkit : osaamismerkkien mahdollisuudet ja haasteet korkeakoulutuksessa

Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma muodostuu kasvatustieteiden tiedekunnan ohjeiden mukaisesta vertaisarviointiin hyväksytystä tutkimusartikkelista. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää, millaisia tulevaisuustaitoja osaamismerkkien avulla voidaan tunnustaa ja millaisia perusteita tai esteitä merkkien hyödyntämiselle on löydettävissä muodollisessa koulutuksessa. Tutkimuksessa oltiin kiinnostuneita tarinoissa nimetyistä tulevaisuustaidoista ja niiden sijoittumisesta P21-viitekehykseen ja toisaalta työelämän ja virallisten instituutioiden asettamiin vaatimuksiin. Lisäksi tulevaisuustaitomerkkien mahdollisuuksia ja haasteita peilattiin muun muassa osaamisperustaiseen opetussuunnitelmaan sekä aiempiin tutkimuksiin. Tutkimusaineisto (n=49) kerättiin eläytymismenetelmää käyttäen. Tutkimukseen osallistui opiskelijoita ja opetushenkilökuntaa neljästä korkeakoulusta, joista kolme sijaitsi Suomessa ja yksi Irlannissa. Myönteisen tarinan kirjoittajat ohjattiin kirjoittamaan tarina, jossa pyydettiin sekä nimeämään tarvittavia tulevaisuustaitoja että kertomaan syitä, miksi osaamismerkit pitäisi ottaa käyttöön. Kriittisen tarinan kirjoittajat ohjattiin pohtimaan miksi tulevaisuustaitoja ei tulisi arvioida osaamismerkein. Tarinoiden pohjalta tulevaisuustaitomerkit analysoitiin hyödyntäen P21-viitekehystä, jonka kautta muodostettiin yleiskuva halutuista osaamismerkeistä. Vastausten perusteella tehdyt havainnot ovat linjassa aiempien tulevaisuustaitojen merkitystä tarkastelleiden tutkimusten kanssa. Aineiston analyysin perustella oli tunnistettavissa kolme jännitteistä teemaa tulisiko korkeakouluopiskelijoiden tulevaisuustaitoja arvioida opintojen ohessa vai ei. Tulevaisuustaitojen osaamisen tunnistaminen ja tunnustaminen nähtiin arvokkaaksi ja osaamismerkit hyväksi keinoksi vahvistaa ja täydentää olemassa olevaa osaamista. Haasteena nähtiin kumuloituvan piilo-osaamisen tunnistamisen vaikeus, ja toisaalta tieteenalakohtaisen substanssiosaamisen ja tulevaisuustaitojen arvioinnin jännitteisyys. Tulevaisuustaitojen osaamismerkit nähtiin tarpeellisina ja hyödyllisinä työelämässä ja ne linkitettiinkin vahvasti työelämän vaatimuksiin. Toisaalta epäiltiin, etteivät työnantajat todellisuudessa ”mitään badgeja kysele” ja ne koettiin turhina. Erilaisten digitaalisten ratkaisujen nähtiin olevan keskiössä, kun opetusta suunnitellaan ja kehitetään, ja tässä yhteydessä digitaaliset osaamismerkit nähtiin yhtenä osaamisen tunnistamisen ja tunnustamisen välineenä, joiden kautta myös opiskelijoiden digitaaliset taidot kehittyvät. Tulevaisuustaitomerkkejä pidettiin konkreettisena välineenä näyttää osaamista erityisesti työantajille, joille osaamisen todentaminen koettiin tällä hetkellä vaikeaksi. Tässä tutkimuksessa ilmeni, että tulevaisuustaitomerkeille vaikuttaisi olevan tarvetta ja kysyntää, sillä niiden koettiin olevan osa tulevaisuuden asiantuntijan taitoarsenaalia, joka mahdollistaa monipuolisten työtehtävien tekemisen myös globaalisti. Tulevaisuustaidot itsessään ovat kuitenkin moniulotteinen ja kompleksinen taitovalikoima, joiden tarkempi määrittely, osaamisen arviointikriteereiden muodostaminen ja yleisemmin tulevaisuustaitojen paikka substanssiosaamisen rinnalla vaativat korkeakouluilta perusteellista diskurssia monella eri tasolla

The Effects of the Acquisition of Digital Badges on Second Grade Literacy

School leaders are continuously searching for innovative educational practices such as the use of digital badges to curtail illiteracy. Digital badges are electronic representations of academic achievements that offer a more cohesive and comprehensive account of learning. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental research study was to determine the impact of digital badge acquisition on reading level growth of second grade students in a K-2, Title I, rural, public elementary school in the southeastern United States. The results revealed that the elementary students who earned digital badges (experiential group) for reading outperformed the students who did not earn badges (comparative group). Consequently, the null hypothesis which stated that there would be no difference between the reading level growth of the experiential and comparative group was rejected. The acquirement of digital badges impacted reading achievement. The digital badge program led to increased learner motivation with reading activities, which may have led to higher reading achievement. The results of the study may increase the use of digital badges in elementary classroom settings promoting reading instruction

The Effects of the Acquisition of Digital Badges on Second Grade Literacy

School leaders are continuously searching for innovative educational practices such as the use of digital badges to curtail illiteracy. Digital badges are electronic representations of academic achievements that offer a more cohesive and comprehensive account of learning. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental research study was to determine the impact of digital badge acquisition on reading level growth of second grade students in a K-2, Title I, rural, public elementary school in the southeastern United States. The results revealed that the elementary students who earned digital badges (experiential group) for reading outperformed the students who did not earn badges (comparative group). Consequently, the null hypothesis which stated that there would be no difference between the reading level growth of the experiential and comparative group was rejected. The acquirement of digital badges impacted reading achievement. The digital badge program led to increased learner motivation with reading activities, which may have led to higher reading achievement. The results of the study may increase the use of digital badges in elementary classroom settings promoting reading instruction

Programa MySpeech: desenvolvimento de competências de public speaking

Este projeto de intervenção realizado no ISCAP com a colaboração do Gabinete Alumni e Carreira, propôs-se a criar um programa de desenvolvimento de competências de empregabilidade. Recorrendo a análise empírica e teórica percecionou-se que uma das competências mais necessárias de desenvolver é a de comunicação, nomeadamente na vertente do public speaking. Tendo isto em vista, definiu-se um ambito estratégico : criar um programa capaz de desenvolver competências de public speaking. Este âmbito concretizou-se através da implementação de uma edição piloto com participantes alunos e alumni ISCAP. Neste programa realizaram-se sessões com recurso a Realidade Virtual, onde cada participante seguiu um plano individualizado e onde a avaliação da performance se realizou com base em óculos de Realidade Virtual e à app Virtual Speech. Por outro lado, inspiradas na dinâmica do Toastmasters International, realizaram-se sessões em grupo, onde cada participante assumia um papel diferente de sessão para sessão, com o próposito de consciencializar os mesmos para as diversas vertentes do public speaking. A avaliação da performance foi realizada através de dinâmicas de avaliação pelos pares. Ambas as sessões formam apoiadas por um conjunto de suportes didáticos, com dicas e explicações sobre diversas vertentes do public speaking Este programa concretizou-se com base num planeamento operacional, verificando-se cada atividade, tarefa, procedimento e instrumentos a serem utilizados. Com a implementação deste projeto, pela estratégia anteriormente mencionada, foi possível desenvolver as competências de discurso em público, na componente percecionada pelos participantes do programa. Todo o programa foi sujeito a avaliação por parte dos participantes, tendo se verificado uma conformidade muito satisfatória (100%) em termos de cumprimento da finalidade definida para o projeto.This intervention project carried out at ISCAP with the collaboration of the Alumni and Career Office, aimed to create a program to develop employability skills. Using empirical and theoretical analysis, it was realized that one of the most necessary skills to develop is communication, particularly in terms of public speaking. With this in mind, a strategic scope was defined: creating a program that was capable of devoloping public speaking skills. This scope was achieved through the implementation of a pilot edition with participants students and Alumni ISCAP, In this program there were sessions using Virtual Reality, where each participant followed an individual plan and where performance assessment was carried out using Virtual Reality glasses and the VirtualSpeech app. On the other hand, inspired by Toastmasters International dynamics, group sessions were held, where each participant assumed a different role from session to session, with the purpose of raising awareness of the different aspects of public speaking. Performance assessment was carried out through peer assessment dynamics. Both sessions are supported by a set of teaching aids, with tips and explanations on different aspects of public speaking. This program was based on operational planning, checking each activity, task, procedure and instruments to be used. With the implementation of this project, through the previously mentioned strategy, it was possible to develop public speaking skills, in the component perceived by the program participants. The entire program was subject to evaluation by the participants, with very satisfactory compliance (100%) in terms of fulfilling the purpose defined for the project

Software usability and metrics of OBI-compliant systems

Otvoreni bedževi su obećavajuća edukativna tehnologija za priznavanje postignuća, veštine, kvaliteta ili interesa pojedinca ili grupe. Poslednjih godina, pojavio se veći broj softverskih sistema zasnovanih na Infrastrukturi Otvorenih bedževa (eng. Open Badges Infrastructure - OBI) koji podržavaju različite prakse nastave/učenja i izdavanja bedževa. Međutim, njihova upotrebljivost u konkretnom edukativnom okruženju može značajno da varira. To nastavnicima donosi velike izazove prilikom odabira jednog ovakvog sistema za konkretnu edukativnu primenu. Cilj ovog istraživanja je da predloži potencijalne metrike upotrebljivosti - opšte i tehnološki-specifične za sisteme zasnovane na OBI specifikaciji, koje se mogu koristiti efektivno prilikom odabira ove edukativne tehnologije. Glavni rezultat istraživanja je metodološki okvir koji je obuhvatio standardne opšte metrike upotrebljivosti (npr., ocena opažene upotrebljivosti na osnovu Skale Upotrebljivosti Sistema) i određene tehnološki-specifične metrike upotrebljivosti koje su razvijene u okviru istraživanja (npr., ocena lakoće deljenja bedževa, ocena zadovoljstva podrškom za kreiranje bedževa, itd.). Predloženi pristup je ispitan u empirijskoj studiji zasnovanoj na mešovitom metodu istraživanja. Rezultati studije su obezbedili dokaze o efektivnosti pristupa u datom kontekstu. Pokazalo se da su predložene kategorije metrika komplementarne i da su metrike diferencirale evaluirane sisteme na zadovoljavajući način. Uz to, rezultati kvalitativne evaluacije su otkrili glavne probleme upotrebljivosti evaluiranih sistema. Pristup se može primeniti u različitim edukativnim okruženjima s obzirom na to da su predložene metrike relativno jednostavne za prikupljanje i interpretaciju.Open badges are a promising educational technology for recognizing the achievements, skills, qualities and interests of an individual or а group. In recent years, there has been a growing number of software systems based on the Open Badges Infrastructure (OBI) which support different teaching/learning and badging practices. However, their usability in a specific educational environment can vary significantly. This brings some great challenges for teachers when choosing one such system for a concrete educational application. The aim of this research is to propose some prospective usability metrics - general and technology-specific for OBI-compliant systems, which can be used effectively when selecting this educational technology. The main research result is a methodological framework that has included some standard general usability metrics (e.g., score of perceived usability based on System Usability Scale) and the technology-specific usability metrics that have been developed within the research (e.g., score of ‘ease of sharing badges’, score of ‘support for badge creation satisfaction’, etc.). The proposed approach has been examined in an empirical study based on a mixed research method. The results of the study provided evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed approach in the given context. It has been shown that the proposed categories of metrics are complementary and that the metrics have differentiated the evaluated systems in a satisfactory manner. In addition, the results of qualitative evaluation revealed the main usability problems of the evaluated systems. The approach can be applied in different educational settings, given that the proposed metrics are relatively simple to collect and interpret

Aikamme kasvatus: vain muutos on pysyvää?

"This compilation introduces 14 articles that use method of empathy-based stories as a methodology and all of which look at changes in the field of education. This compilation discusses many current themes, such as changes in teaching and working methods at different levels of education, change management and curriculum work. The book also provides an insight into how children experience stories of news reports or how girls construct girlhood in their stories. All the articles in this compilation are combined with a review of educational change, along with a methodological connection: the material of all the articles is collected using the method of empathy-based stories. The book shows how multipurpose this method is: it is equally suitable for examining the perceptions of children as well as for examining a whole organizational change. The book presents not only the practical research carried out with the method, but also provides a guide to the methodology and introduces good practices.