Design Patterns for Badge Systems in Higher Education

Hans Põldoja, Pirje Jürgens, and Mart Laanpere Tallinn University, Estonia

Open Badges

http://openbadges.org

(Class Hack, n.d.)

(Open Badges, n.d.)

Badge systems

Learning context

• Educational techology master programme

• Blog-based open online courses

https://oppematerjalid.wordpress.com

Supporting learners with different learning styles

Learning styles by Honey and Mumford

• Activist

• Reflector

• Theorist

• Pragmatist

(Honey & Mumford, 1992)

The First Iteration: Outcome-Based Badges

Basic knowledge badges

Basic knowledge on

learning objects and repositories

Basic knowledge on authoring tools

Basic knowledge on

computer-based

assessment

Basic knowledge on

new technologies

Basic knowledge on copyright of

digital learning

resources

Basic knowledge on

quality of digital

learning resources

Content package author

Assessment test author

e-Textbook author

Advanced knowledge on

learning objects and repositories

Advanced knowledge on authoring tools

Advanced knowledge on

computer-based assessment

Advanced knowledge on

new technologies

Advanced knowledge on copyright of

digital learning resources

Advanced knowledge on

quality of digital learning

resources

Blogging assignment 1 Blogging assignment 2 Blogging assignment 3 Blogging assignment 4 Blogging assignment 5Group assignment on developing a digital learning resource

Blogging assignment 6 Literature review

Describing the advantages and

disadvantages of learning objects approach

Searching for learning objects from learning object repositories by metadata and licenses

Creating simple content packages, tests and e-

textbooks, and describing these with metadata

Following copyright principles for digital learning resources

Evaluating the quality of a learning resources using an evaluation framework

Using one authoring tool to create a more

comprehensive digital learning resource

Analyzing the current issues, research studies and trends in one sub-topic related to digital

learning resources

Learning outcomes

Assignments

Advanced knowledge badges

Skills badges

Arvutipõhine testimine

Sisupaketikoostaja

Uued tehnoloogiad

Õpiobjektid Autorvahendid

Testiküsimuste koostaja

e-Õpikukoostaja

Autoriõigus Kvaliteet

Õpiobjektid Autorvahendid Arvutipõhine testimine

Uuedtehnoloogiad

Autoriõigus KvaliteetSüvendatud

teadmised ühel õppematerjalidega

seotud teemal

Badge points

• Basic knowledge badges — 10 points (6 badges)

• Skills badges — 20 points (one of 3 badges)

• Advanced knowledge badges — 20 points (one of 6 badges)

Põldoja, H., & Laanpere, M. (2014). Exploring the Potential of Open Badges in Blog-Based University Courses. In Y. Cao, T. Väljataga, J. K. T. Tang, H. Leung, & M. Laanpere (Eds.), New Horizons in Web Based Learning (Vol. 8699, pp. 172–178). Cham: Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13296-9_19

Exploring the Potential of Open Badgesin Blog-Based University Courses

Hans Põldoja(&) and Mart Laanpere

Institute of Informatics, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia{hans.poldoja,mart.laanpere}@tlu.ee

Abstract. Recent developments with personal learning environments and openonline courses have led educators to experiment with opening up their formalhigher education courses. In these courses, the online learning activities takeplace in open learning environments based on various Web 2.0 tools such asblogs. Although this type of courses have a number of pedagogical benefits, theyalso raise issues related to private grading of students’ works and recognizingthe learning of informal participants. This paper presents our exploratory studyon addressing these issues by introducing open badges to master’s level coursethat takes place in a blog-based learning environment. Students’ perspectives onusing open badges were evaluated through focus group interviews. The resultsof the study indicate, that badges could have a potential in formal higher edu-cation, if they are used more widely and provide an explicit choice of personallearning paths for learners.

Keywords: Open badges ! Assessment ! Blog-based courses

1 Introduction

One of the recent trends in education is the blending of formal and informal learning.This is supported by introducing social media, personal learning environments andvarious open educational practices to formal higher education [1, 2]. Students canenrich their learning experience by using open educational resources from other uni-versities and taking part in Massive Open Online Courses.

In many cases, such developments have led university lecturers and professors toincrease the degree of openness in their courses. One approach is to move onlinelearning activities to open learning environments that are based on social media andWeb 2.0 tools such as blogs. The use of blogs in online courses provides a number ofpedagogical benefits such as motivating learners, enhancing the development andexpression of ideas, fostering interaction, collaboration and group work, invitingfeedback from other learners, and enriching the learning environment [3]. The use ofblog-based learning environments also allows educators to open up their course forinformal participants or members of professional communities who are not officiallyenrolled to the course.

Open blog-based courses in formal higher education raise also a number of issuesthat are not present in traditional courses. For example, blog-based learning environ-ments typically lack special features that support private feedback and grading of

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014Y. Cao et al. (Eds.): ICWL 2014 Workshops, LNCS 8699, pp. 172–178, 2014.DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-13296-9_19

The Second Iteration: Multiple Levels of Badges

Badge points

• Basic knowledge badges — 10 points (6 badges)

• Skills badges — 20 points (one of 3 badges)

• Advanced knowledge badge — 20 points

• Golden badges — 15 and 30 points

The Third Iteration: Multiple Learning Pathways

Badge points

• Basic knowledge badges — 10 points

• Golden badges for basic knowledge — 15 points

• Broken badge for basic knowledge — 5 points

• Learning resource author — 24 points (36 points for a golden badge)

• Researcher — 36 points

• Enlightener — 10 points

• Wikipedist — 12 points

Recommended learning pathways

“Researcher”

• 6 blogging assingments on basic knowledge — 60 points

• Writing a literature review — 36 points

• Total 96 points (grade A)

• Workload 78 hours

“Practitioner”

• 6 blogging assingments on basic knowledge — 60 points

• Developing a learning resource — 24 points

• Total 84 points (grade B)

• Workload 68 hours

“Non-blogger”

• Writing a literature review — 36 points

• Developing a learning resource — 24 points

• Presentation in the seminar — 10 points

• Writing a Wikipedia article — 12 points

• Total 82 points (grade B)

• Workload 79 hours

Learner perspectives on Open Badges

Learner control

• Learning contracts

• “...learners had the possibility to choose their paths: some learners created learning objects, some wrote a literature review. This was possible only thanks to the open badges system that gave a good overview of the weight of the assignments and helped to plan the work”

• “My goal was to get A and I liked that I could choose whether to do all the assignments or not, for example — I deliberately didn’t write one post…”

Awareness

• “It really was a good way for me to keep track of my progress”

• “If there was an automatic score table for achieved badge points in Moodle, it would have a practical value”

Motivation

• “The motivating aspect of open badges was the possibility to choose my own learning path and to find the assignments that interest me the most”

• “I planned to get B ... The first golden badge however made me make an effort, because just so little was missing from A”

Learning styles

• “I liked the idea that I could choose the types of assignments that felt more natural to me”

Open Badges ecosystem

• “Maybe I would use it if we could earn open badges in different courses” (about Mozilla Backpack)

• “... the system is not complete. I can’t make my earned badges fully work for my benefit. I added my badges to Mozilla Backpack and shared in LinkedIn, but appa- rently this will be the end of its life cycle...”

Assessment criteria

• Assessment criteria for golden badges was deliberately not specified

• “What is still unclear to me, is the criteria of earning the badges. What were the deadlines, what was the criteria for the golden badge, and what is the amount of badge points?”

Badge metadata

• “When I opened the badge, there was no next level information. I guess I expected the learning outcome. This would be useful information to possible employers who would also like to understand the “evidence” of what the person knows/can do and if these are the competences his company needs”

• Badges described in Estonian are less useful internationally

Design Patterns for Outcome-Based Badge Systems

Badge levels

• Pass/fail assessment is too limited for measuring the quality of learners’ work and motivating them

• Badge systems should have multiple levels (e.g. regular badges, golden badges; Gold, Silver, Bronze)

Badge points

• Badge points enable to translate badges into course grades

Broken badges

• Broken badges are used to point out unwanted behaviour (e.g. being late with the assignments)

Deconstructed badges

• Large learning activities should be deconstructed into separate independent badges (e.g. peer review badge for the literature review assignment)

Learning pathways

• Badge system should be designed so that it provides a possibility of multiple learning pathways

• Most common learning pathways could be recommended as readymade “packages” for learners

Personal learning contracts

• Learning contracts help learners to plan their learning goals and strategies

• Learning contracts provide an overview of the learning pathways that learners plan to take

• Learning contracts could be used for self-assessment

• Open badges, multiple learning pathways and personal learning contracts form a triangle of educational tools that complement each other when used together

Directions for further research

Directions for further research

• Mapping badge systems to institutional outcome-based learning frameworks (learning outcomes of study programmes and course descriptions)

• Designing more elaborated learning-style-based learning pathways

References

• Honey, P., & Mumford, A. (1992). The Manual of Learning Styles. Maidenhead: Peter Honey Publications.

Used images

• tommydgnr8, https://www.flickr.com/photos/theweddingoftheyear/5993598429/

• Class Hack: Open Badges Anatomy, http://classhack.com/post/45364649211/open-badge-anatomy-updated

• Open Badges, http://openbadges.org/about/

Hans Põldoja hans.poldoja@tlu.ee @hanspoldoja

Pirje Jürgens Mart Laanpere

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/