The virtuous triangle – how to make Open Badges, Mahara and

Moodle work together for a better curriculum design

Mahara Moodle Meetup 2015 - Adelaide

Dominique-Alain JAN@dajan | djan@mac.com

Leader of the French Mahara communityTEL Lecturer at Lausanne University for Teacher Training

Plan

1. About badges and eP1. (Open)Badges and eP – an old

story2. Badges vs eP

2. Managing Badges1. Creating / Issuing / Managing

badges• Moodle vs Open Badge Factory

2. Mozilla Backpack or/and Open Badge Passport

3. How the virtuous triangle works4. How this can improve the

curriculum design?

1. About badges1. Anatomy of a Badge2. Workshop on designing a badge

2. Managing badges1. Workshop on OBF2. Workshop on Passport

3. How the virtuous triangle works1. Workshop with LearningDesigner2. Workshop with Compendium LD

ZURICH

GENEVA

LAUSANNE

About Badges and ePThe virtuous triangle – Moodle Mahara Open Badges

(Open)Badges – an old story

• Claims:• We have been using badges for a long time already

• Medieval blazon

• Army flags

• Tartan

• Badges are polymorphic

• Badges can be serious

« The aim of Open Badges is to allow anyone to build andmanage a portfolio of assessments and certifications ofwhat has been acquired through lifelong learning, as wellas formally and informally during leisure activities,independent learning, or through charitable activities »

Denis Lamontagne (2011)« Open Badges : une initiative

pour la reconnaissance des compétences tout au long de la vie », 20/09/11accédé le 30/05/14 [http://cursus.edu/article/17545/

open-badges-une-initiative-pour-reconnaissance/]

Open Badges Movements

• Human badges project

• Europortfolio.eu

• Open Badges EuropeSerge Ravet@szerge

Eric Rousselle@eric_rousselle

Dominique-Alain Jan@dajan

OwnerIssuer

Evidences

OwnerIssuer

Evidences

I am validating your skill…

OwnerIssuer

Evidences

… of knowing how to do this…

OwnerIssuer

Evidences

…on the basis of these !

OwnerIssuer

Evidences

My validation is alsorepresented by this !

OwnerIssuer

Evidences

OwnerIssuer

Evidences

The Badges are a HUB

People sharing the sameBadge / Pathway / Location

Issuer

Evidences

The Badges are a HUB

Social NetworkIssuer

Evidences

The Badges are a HUB

Social NetworkIssuer

Evidences

The Badges are a HUB

SkillsValuesAttitudesKnowledge

Social Network

Evidences

The Badges are a HUB

Semantic Network

Issuer

Social Network

Evidences

The Badges are a HUB

Semantic Network

Formal / Informal

ePortfolios vs Open Badges?The virtuous triangle – Moodle Mahara Open Badges

ePortfolio adoption

The NES (NHS Education for Scotland) ePortfolio has grown rapidly since its inception in August 2005 and now comprises over 20 versions for over 35,000 healthcare trainees within Scotland (Nursing, Midwifery, Dentistry and Pharmacy), across the United Kingdom (Medicine), and the Republic of Ireland (Medicine)

Source : http://guide.nhseportfolios.org/walkthrough/Home.aspx

Not everyone supports ePortfolioI started this petition because I believe the ePortfolio is a complete waste of time and effort for all Clemson students. I…]. Like most all of my classmates, I put work into my classes and receive grades, as I should. It is as simple as that. Why should we be required to create a portfolio that just reiterates the fact that we have completed a course? Why should we be submitting work to an online portfolio that does not give us any credit? We have to complete this to graduate? If I have achieved good grades and completed the courses necessary, I should be well on my way to graduating. The ePortfolio only creates another task for students to worry about, a task that accomplishes nothing. I wrote an essay for my English class, I got an A on it, that led to me receive an A in the course, and I successfully earned those credits. Nowhere in there do I see a gap that must be filled in with an ePortfolio. Many of us have friends at other prestigious universities. Not once have I heard of an ePortfolio assignment from any of them. I firmly believe that eliminating the ePortfolio at Clemson University will truly enable students to be more focused on their actual coursework and have a more positive mindset about school. […]

Jamie Harding started this petition Petition Closed 2,954 supporters target 5,000

Source : https://www.change.org/p/clemson-university-eliminate-the-eportfolio

Not everyone supports ePortfolio

• ePortfolios – 7 reasons why I don’t want my life in a shoeboxhttp://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/e-portfolios-7-reasons-why-i-dont-want.html

• Bollinger (2010) Student perceptions of ePortfolio integration in online courses

• Tosh (2005) Engagement with electronic portfolios: challenges from the student perspective

• Shroff (2011) Analysing the technology acceptance model in examining students’ behavioural intentions to use e-portfolio systems

• Tzeng (2011) Perceived values and prospective users' acceptance of prospective technology: the case of a career eportfolio system

• Jan (2015) ePortfolio trained graduates in the workplace: are they significant users of ePortfoliofeatures at the start of their careers? [paper to be delivered at ePIC 2015]

• …

Managing Badges within MaharaThe virtuous triangle – Moodle Mahara Open Badges

Assignment

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Assignment

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Import badges

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SemanticNetwork

SocialNetwork

How can the virtuous triangle improve curriculum design?The virtuous triangle – Moodle Mahara Open Badges

The methodological framework:Activity Theory – the human activity modelAny theory of learning must answer at least four central questions:

1. Who are the subjects of learning – how are they defined and located?

2. Why do they learn – what makes them make the effort?

3. What do they learn – what are the contents and outcomes of learning?

4. How do they learn – what are the key actions of processes of learning?

The methodological framework:Activity Theory – the human activity model

Instrument

Subject

Rules Community Division of labour

Object Outcome

Instrument

Subject

Rules Community Division of labour

Object Outcome

The methodological framework:Activity Theory – the human activity model

Instrument

Subject

RulesCommunityDivision of labour

Outcome Object =?

Educators Students

Boundary object

One Case Study

• Context:• HES-SO: Higher Education institution for Healthcare training in Fribourg

(Switzerland)• New syllabus for trained nurses to become heads of department in hospitals• Master degree• Face to face training (1/3) – online training (2/3)• 240 credits ECTS coursework + personal work

• TEL• Moodle • Mahara

• mandatory to present a reflexive and personal work at the end of the training (3 years)

• PLE

http://www.heds-fr.ch/fr/Pages/default.aspx

https://vimeo.com/69882471

One Case Study

• Example of one instruction given to students

• At the end of year three you must submit your portfolio for evaluation. This must contain:• the personal and reflexive journal you have written alongside your three years of

training

• two evidences of attainment for each of the sixteen main skills

• your personal biography

• This portfolio represents 30% of your final mark

My questions about that

• What is reflexivity in your context?• Do you train students to have reflexive practice or do you take this for

granted from their previous background?• Will you train students to acquire eP practices?• Will you train students to use Mahara?• What in your view constitutes a good evidence for inclusion in someone’s

eP?• Will you train students to improve their digital literacy?• …

• Have you all agreed on what the 16 skills you have to assess are?

The Deep Learning approach

LMS

Informal Knowledge

Personal skills

Experience

“Soft skills”

PLE

Goodyear (2003)

Formal knowledge

Keys and common concepts

Institutional training - “Hard skills”

ePortfolio

One of the 16 skills: Reflexive practice

• What is reflexive practice?

• Brainstorming 7 people 8 interpretations

• Decision:• First: we create a badge on reflexive practice

• At the end: we create 3 badges on reflexive practice • 3 levels

• One for each year

• Acknowledge students’ progress

(1) Reflexion (2) Design (3) Implementation

Process

What?For Who?

How?

Result:

Intellectually• A comprehension of the skill• An agreement on the “boundary object” (Popper)• Reification (Wenger on CoP)

Practically • An agreement on the competences that contribute to

acquire the skill• Competences are simpler to assess• An agreement on the activities to develop for training

the students (Bloom’s taxonomy)

Technically• The decision on what settings and tools that must be

set up for the tasks/activities (multiple / single journal, forums, group pages, …)

Badge

Process

Badge

(1) Reflexion (2) Design (3) Implementation

http://learningdesigner.org/

Process

Badge

(1) Reflexion (2) Design (3) Implementation

http://learningdesigner.org/

Process

Badge

(1) Reflexion (2) Design (3) Implementation

http://learningdesigner.org/

Process

Badge

(1) Reflexion (2) Design (3) Implementation

http://learningdesigner.org/

http://compendiumld.open.ac.uk

Process

Badge

(1) Reflexion (2) Design

http://learningdesigner.org/

http://compendiumld.open.ac.uk

Process

Badge

(1) Reflexion (2) Design

http://learningdesigner.org/

http://compendiumld.open.ac.uk

Process

Badge

(1) Reflexion (2) Design (3) Implementation

http://learningdesigner.org/

Template Group page PLE

http://compendiumld.open.ac.uk

Activities• Forum• Wiki• Database• Assessment• Workshop• …

Resources• Page• File / Folder• Book• URL• Label• …

Conclusion

• The introduction of Open Badges has improved a situation where• Students were confused

• Teachers didn’t agree on definitions of skills, or quality standards

• The design of activities was not in relation with the skills

• By• Clarifying the objectives (reification, boundary object, Bloom’s taxonomy,…)

• Helping in the design of clear evaluation criteria

• Providing an acceptable learning curve in eP practices

• Giving mentors time to feel comfortable with TEL and eP

Creating a badge in Open Badge Factory(OBF)• Access the website http://openbadgefactory.com

• Username: obfdemo+nn@gmail.com (remplace nn by your number)

• Password: 12345

Demo on the OBF website…