Garin Fons of COERLL discusses recent experiences designing, implementing, and assessing digital badging initiatives within a professional community of foreign language educators. Presentation entitled: Show What You Know: Open Digital Badges for Professional Development and Lifelong Learning

1. Show What You Know: Open Digital
Badges for Professional
Development and Lifelong Learning
SLOAN-C!
Emerging Technologies for Online Learning!
April 11, 2014
Dallas, TX
COERLL - UT Austin
Garin Fons

2. Center for Open Educational
Resources and Language Learning

3. - Newest of the 15 National Foreign Language
Resource Centers (2010 - 2014)!
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- Grant from the US Department of Education!
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- Located at the University of Texas at Austin!
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- Focused on Open Educational Resources (OER)
for Language Learning
COERLL

4. LRC Mission: to improve the teaching and
learning of foreign languages by producing
resources (materials and best practices) that can
be profitably employed in K-12 and higher
education settings.
COERLL’s Mission: to produce and
disseminate Open Educational Resources (OERs)
(e.g., online language courses, reference
grammars, assessment tools, corpora, etc.
COERLL’s mission

5. 1. Introduction to Digital Badges & the Badge Ecosystem (5 min)
2. Designing a Badge Concept (10 min)
• ACTFL “Convention Networker” Badge Initiative
3. Tools for Building & Awarding Open Digital Badges (5 min)
4. Principles of Badge System Design (10 min)
• Applying Badge Design Principles
5. Discussion / Q & A (15 min)
today’s focus
Members of COERLL discuss recent experiences designing, implementing, and assessing digital badging initiatives within a professional community of
foreign language educators.

6. What are badges?
• badge [baj]: a special or distinctive mark, token, or
device worn as a sign of allegiance, membership,
authority, achievement, etc. (Source: Dictionary.com).
• A badge is a symbol or indicator of an
accomplishment, skill, quality or interest.

7. • A “digital badge” is an online record of achievements,
tracking the recipient’s communities of interaction that
issued the badge and the work completed to get it.
What are “digital badges?”

8. The basic types of badges.
• performance based - awarded for meeting some criterion
• example: successfully demonstrate competency in
preterite versus imperfect verb tenses.
• effort based - awarded for engaging in some activity.
• example: participated in an extra-credit online peer-to-peer
language exchange.

9. • Competency-based education, not just alternative
credentialing.
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• Professional development and badge system
creation.
COERLL’s interest
“It’s really about competency-based learning… and
badges are a nice way to get there.”
- Richard Culatta, Director of the Office of Educational
Technology in the U.S. Department of Education
What do we mean by competency based learning? Rather than a course or a module, every individual skill/learning outcome, known as a competency, is one single unit. Learners work on one competency at a time, which is likely a small component
of a larger learning goal. The student is evaluated on the individual competency, and only once they have mastered it do they move on to others. After that, higher or more complex competencies are learned to a degree of mastery and isolated
from other topics. (Wikipedia)

10. what can badges do?
• make learning visible
• prepare students for a changing world
• showcase a learner’s identity
• demonstrate a mastery of a skill
• create learning pathways motivate participation
• motivate collaboration
• recognize accomplishment
• award for passing assessments
• act as an alternative credential
Badges are designed to make visible and validate learning in both formal and informal settings, and hold the potential to help transform where and how learning is valued.
Badges are thought of as rewards but have been found to be most effective when they also contribute to goal setting, reputation, status affirmation, instruction and group identification.
Badges also promote lifelong learning that extends beyond the classroom and brings to light accomplishments that otherwise might have been hidden. (wikipedia)

11. open badges
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• Mozilla’s open technical standard lets you combine badges
from different issuers to tell the story of your achievements.
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• Badges verify your skills and achievements by attaching
information and evidence metadata to the badge image file.
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• You choose where to display your badges on the web, and
share them for employment, education or lifelong learning.

13. Original Illustration: Chris Appleton (Mozilla Foundation). Modified by COERLL.
the open badge ecosystem

14. Create a badge concept
http://www.badgemakerproject.com/

15. creating and awarding a
digital badge
• create the badge image (.png format)
• add the metadata (criteria, evidence, etc.)
• issue the badge to the learner, using the email
address associated with their badge backpack

17. • ACTFL = American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages
• Professional organization for foreign language educators
• Annual Convention and World Languages Expo
• Approximately 6000 attendees
• 2013 theme: “New Spaces, New Realities: Learning Anytime,
Anyplace”
Case Study: COERLL’s Digital Badge
Initiative with ACTFL at ACTFL 2013

18. Why ACTFL Badges?
“ACTFL sees digital badges as an innovative way to
foster collaboration and recognize the diverse skills
and accomplishments of language educators. It is
ACTFL’s hope that digital badges will become a
universally accepted means of professional
credentialing. Digital badges have the potential to
help transform how learning is assessed.”

19. 2013 Convention Networker
Badge Initiative
Goals:!
1. To encourage active and engaging
participation during the ACTFL conference
that will lead to new social networks and a
more participatory professional culture.
2. To raise awareness about open, digital
badges for professional development, a new
credentialing system that we believe holds
great promise for foreign language
educators in the 21st century.

20. Earning the badge
• Sign up and create your profile on the “2013
Convention Network”
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• Connect and engage with others online.
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• Wear a badge button at ACTFL 2013.
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• Claim your digital badge.

22. Create your profile on the 2013 Convention Network.

23. Connect and engage with others online.

24. Wear a badge button at convention

25. Claim your digital badge!

26. Results
Convention Networker
Badge: Results
613 participants (10% of ACTFL 2013 attendees)

27. open badge design tools &
issuing platforms
Hosted systems!
• Credly
https://credly.com/
• Makewaves
https://www.makewav.es/
• Badge Maker (beta)
https://www.openbadges.me/
• BadgeKit (private beta)
http://badgekit.openbadges.org/
LMS and CMS Plug-ins!
• Moodle
• Canvas
• Blackboard Learn
• Wordpress
Tools for Building & Awarding Open Digital Badges

30. Note that Edmodo badges are not open.

31. designing a badge image
https://www.openbadges.me
Live demo of website.

32. badge system design
How do we design badge systems to effectively
• recognize learning
• assess learning
• motivate learning
Badges Design Principles Documentation Project
http://iudpd.indiana.edu/HomePage

33. principles for recognizing learning with badges
• Use badges to map learning trajectories
• Align badges to standards
• Have experts and credible sources issue badges
• Find external backing
• Recognize diverse learning styles
• Communicate knowledge or a story with badges
• Make a badge permanent
• Use badges to recognize educator learning
• Offer formal credit with the badge
At their core, digital badges recognize some kind of learning. recognizing could also be termed “Credentialing”
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learning trajectories: teacher determined or student set.
alignment to standards: ACTFL, TELL, Common Core, other: this is presumed to improve transparency of the credential and help to facilitate better communication of earner knowledge and skills.
experts issuing: increases the credibility of the badge and likely increases the usefulness of the badge outside of the issuing community.
external backing: name recognition is a driving force in getting schools and employers to recognize a badge.
diverse learning: hard and soft skills recognized - as well as knowledge and skills that would normally not be recognized.
formal credit: possible to replace grades with badges.

34. badging initiatives: recognizing learning
RoadTrip Nation:
http://roadtripnation.com
http://blog.roadtripnation.org/2011/08/01/teaching-tip-roadtrip-project-badges/
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Design for America
http://designforamerica.com/vision/what-we-do/
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Story Corps U:
http://storycorps.org/storycorpsu/
http://www.hastac.org/wiki/project-qa-american-graduate-lets-make-it-happen
!
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• mapped learning trajectories: guide learners to objectives
• align to standards: both formal and informal
• expert badges: accredited entity and community
• mapped learning trajectories: guide learners to objectives
• align to standards: both formal and informal
Road Trip Nation: Roadtrip Nation empowers you to define your own road in life instead of traveling down someone else’s. We encourage you to engage in self-construction, rather than mass production. We encourage you to be proactive and actively participate in defining your future by hitting the road
and learning from Leaders who have resisted The Noise of conformity and stayed true to themselves.
!Design for America: Design for America (DFA) is an award-winning nationwide network of interdisciplinary student teams and community members using design to create local and social impact. We teach human centered design to young adults and collaborating community partners through extra-curricular,
university based, student led design studios tackling national challenges in Education, Health, Economy and Environment.
!Story Corps U: With StoryCorpsU (SCU), we introduce an interactive, year-long youth development program for high-need schools that uses StoryCorps radio broadcasts and animated shorts to support the development of identity and social intelligence in students. SCU is also an especially powerful tool for
strengthening school relationships, a key factor in academic achievement.
!All students complete their work products in Voice Thread, a third party interactive media platform. The decision was made to work with VT to develop a strategy allowing them to be a "badge displayer," and using Storycorps as the first pilot of how an educational program incorporating portfolio elements
might use badges for assessment and recognition. Storycorps also managed their own internal curriculum expansion and revision cycle this year while simultaneously Voice Thread revised their backend infrastructure and front end framework. All teams are working toward a Fall 2013 launch of badge display
within VT, a php-based backend system using Twitter Bootstrap's frontend framework. In addition, Storycorps has a Wordpress public website in which we will automatically push badges for display in the aggregate at the school program, rather than individual, level. Leverage serves as the communication
bridge and data and badge repository between both.

35. “Badges are just a fun
way to tell students “Way
to go!” and encourage
them to contribute
more….”
We created Badges to encourage your students to do more than what is required to get 100% on their Roadtrip Projects. So, for example, students are required to write four blogs for their Roadtrip Projects. If a student writes five or more blogs, he or she will
receive Badges on their Roadtrip Project that rewards them for doing more than the minimum requirement. Badges are just a fun way to tell students “Way to go!” and encourage them to contribute more content to their Projects.

36. principles for assessing learning with badges
• Create leveled badge systems
• Solicit involvement of expert judges
• Align to standards & learning objectives
• Use performance assessments in relevant contexts
• Use e-portfolios
• Use formative functions of assessment
• Use mastery learning
• Align badges to rubrics
• Promote hard and soft skill sets
• Involve the student or learner at a granular level
At their core, digital badges recognize some kind of learning. But if one is going to recognize learning, there is usually some kind of assessment of that learning so that claims about learning can be substantiated by evidence.
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leveled badge: could be systems structured by competency levels, smaller recognition of something leading to larger, or various types of badges that can be earned and mastered (e.g. leadership, collaboration, etc)
Involvement of experts: use some expertise (whether human or computer) to assess learning and judge the artifacts that people create.
standards: align the activities to some established standard and create measurable learning objectives.
performance assessments: In some cases these are summative or final assessments that ask learners to use the knowledge they have practiced with in previous activities in a new and sometimes complex context. In other cases these are more formative assessments that share some
features with portfolio assessment.
e-portfolios: portfolios trace a learner’s growth over time and extensive and valuable feedback conversations can occur around them
formative assessments: create opportunities to provide feedback to the learner that shapes their ongoing and future work rather than just providing a score at the completion of an activity: expert feedback on artifacts or even peer feedback and collaboration.
mastery learning: goal is to master a particular skill with feedback techniques.
Rubrics: Rubrics provide both the learner and the assessor a clear idea of expected levels of mastery. Some projects create their own rubrics while others use rubrics created by schools, districts, states, or organizations. Can be specific or very general.
Hard and soft: Skills like leadership and collaboration. design activities around this.
involve learner: the student or learner can be a part of developing activities and which would demonstrate desired skills. design activities, assessments,etc.

37. badging initiatives: assessing learning
BuzzMath
http://www.buzzmath.com
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PASA: Pathways for Lifelong Learning
http://www.mypasa.org
http://www.hastac.org/competitions/winners/pathways-lifelong-learning
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• aligned to Common Core Standards
• leveled assessments for leveled badges
• expert judges: human and computer
• aligned to State Standards
• formative assessments: program quality, accredit experts
• expert judges: peer feedback
Buzz Math: Middle School Math Practice Proficiency. BuzzMath is a platform where middle school students develop mathematics competencies
corresponding to the Common Core standards. website guides students through “practice documents” and “challenge documents” targeting each element of the standards These take the form of sets of assessment questions that progress in difficulty and build on learned concepts as they go. They are
designed to complement classroom instruction and assessment. Middle schoolers could earn up to 15 gold badges across the Common Core math content
areas each year, but they will also have the opportunity to earn smaller achievement badges for meeting small goals. BuzzMath will offer “process badges” to recognize soft skills related to success in mathematics by allowing teachers to award these badges.
!PASA Pathways: The Providence After School Alliance's "Pathways for Lifelong Learning" badge system would recognize, motivate, validate, and connect learning interests and achievements of youth beginning in 6th grade, creating a seamless system of learning pathways that usher youth through middle
school, high school, and onward to college, career and life. PASA launched the digital badge system to enable learners to communicate their extra-curricular experiences and accomplishments to school educators, staff, post-secondary institutions, and employers.

38. PASA: Pathways for Lifelong Learning
Learning Pathways: PASA observes the choices of programs that students make and the reasons behind them, charting the next steps in the pathways, and intended to continue this monitoring while implementing the badge system, tracking students’ pathways.

39. principles for motivating learning with badges
• Provide opportunities for privileges
• Recognize various identities
• Encourage community engagement
• Display badges to the public
• Provide external recognition and value
• Enable goal setting
• Encourage collaboration
• Facilitate competition
• Recognize different outcomes
• Use different types of assessments
privileges: pretty important because different types of privileges and their contingencies affect motivation.
identities: badges can recognize a learner’s role within the badging system such as recognizing their specialization. Badges can also recognize learner’s identities by being incorporated into badge projects that themselves target specific groups.
community engagement: Engagement in the community can be seen to promote students’ motivation to continue on activities because learners are relating to others.
Public Display: Mozilla. providing choice makes learners feel more autonomous (in control), different levels of choice have implications for motivation.
external recognition: integrating practices (like course credit, badges that integrate with outside agencies, or to other real life applications) will help badges be perceived as useful and keep learners engaged.
Goal Setting: set and visualize the previous goals
Collaboration: By awarding badges at the group level, learner motivation to collaborate and complete tasks is thought to allow learners to relate more to others and perceive the task in a different way than without the element of collaboration.
Competition: works in some instances, not in others. Scarcity of badges and use of a point system are two ways that we have seen projects contribute to competition among badge earners.
Different Outcomes: performance vs effort based badges will have a different effect on motivation.
Different Assessments: the type of assessment has significant consequences for motivation. For example, having an expert versus a computer conducting the assessment communicates different expectations to the learner. Knowing that your peers are assessing you is very different
than knowing a computer is assessing you. good to have a variety of assessments in place.

40. badging initiatives: motivating learning
Pixar: Wilderness Explorers
http://roadtripnation.com
http://blog.roadtripnation.org/2011/08/01/teaching-tip-roadtrip-project-badges/Story Corps U
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NOAA: Planet Stewards
http://www.hastac.org/competitions/winners/levelup
• recognized identities: delf defined roles / careers
• community engagement: social relationships built
• set goals: set and visualize previous goals
• recognized identities: delf defined roles / careers
• external recognition and value: credits
Level UpLevelUp is a web-based system that enables learners of all ages to develop skills that align to their goals. Learners achieve this by mapping content, curriculum, and everyday learning experiences to their progression on an individualized competency map. LevelUp will enable anytime, anywhere
learning to be mapped to many systems, including K-12 schools, colleges, extra-curricular activities, or job training

41. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwk0oCMWFzY
NOAA Planet Stewards

42. NOAA Planet Stewards
• Provide Privileges
• Completing quest unlocks new quests
• Use badges to map learning trajectories
• http://popplet.com/app/#/522637
• Enable goal setting
• quest paths and setting personal or career goals
• Recognize identities
• ability to choose career paths; avatar creation (e.g. “Ecologist”)
• Offer formal credit with the badge
• Professional development credits through Boise State University

43. discussion
What is your reaction to the idea of open digital badges?
What steps can we take towards integrating open digital
badges into our practices as educators or support staff in
education?
How would you integrate the three design principles into a
badge system: to recognize, assess and motivate
learning?

44. Learn more
• http://openbadges.coerll.utexas.edu
• COERLL Summer Webinars June 11, 18, and 25
• info@coerll.utexas.edu