Digital badging at The Open University Patrina Law, Head of Free

2 Why do we do free learning? ELIZABETH THE SECOND by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Our other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith…

Engaging new learners 3

4 What is OpenLearn?

5 5 Our commitment to ‘open’

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7 What has this activity achieved? 7 7

8 Benefits to institutions of OER For OU students in particular: A taster for online/distance Delivers improved progression for those that use OpenLearn A vehicle for module choice / qualification pathway

9 9 Who are our OpenLearn learners?

10 How do they feel about their learning? 58% ‘A test to give confidence my next module choice is appropriate for me’ 38% 80% Declare improved confidence in ability to study. Are students. 29% of enrolled are OU students. Want OU-branded recognition for informal learning. More likely to take another free course. More likely to recommend OU content to others. 80% ‘The free extracts of courses gave me confidence to enroll in my first module…I have also been using them to practice time management.’ ‘A good talking point and something to include on my CV’ ‘Fees are now too high for me to consider continuing my degree’ ‘Thank you for providing a resource for people that cannot get to a facility due to physical or financial difficulty. ’

11 Recognition in an informal / non formal environment Cross (2007) describes informal learning as ‘the unofficial, unscheduled, impromptu way people learn’ but in an environment where ‘...no one assigns grades…’ and ‘...no one takes attendance.’ We have moved from Cross’s anonymous world to one of identified informal learning. There is a growing demand that learners want recognition for their achievements in the free learning space that can be acknowledged publicly.

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13 OpenLearn learners want OU-branded recognition for their learning. 80%

14 What are badges? Image credits: Thornhill School peter-badges; and Patrina Law. As a coming together of games culture and the traditional badge issuing by clubs and societies, a digital badge has developed to become “…an online visual representation of an accomplishment or skill” (Ostashewski & Reid, 2015) issued in a variety of formal and non formal settings.

15 An incentive for learners To identify progress To signify achievement and learning An incentive for learners To identify progress To signify achievement and learning On assessment in badges (Hickey (2012): o Summative functions - assessment of learning o Formative functions for individuals - assessment for learning o Transformative functions for systems - assessment as learning On assessment in badges (Hickey (2012): o Summative functions - assessment of learning o Formative functions for individuals - assessment for learning o Transformative functions for systems - assessment as learning Defining the potential of digital badging On assessment in learning (Abramovich et al., 2013): “…the potential benefit of an assessment is determined by its ability to both maintain learning motivation and accurately communicate a student’s learning.” On assessment in learning (Abramovich et al., 2013): “…the potential benefit of an assessment is determined by its ability to both maintain learning motivation and accurately communicate a student’s learning.” Assessments (using Moodle quizzes in BOCs) presented in the way that Hickey identifies, we are attempting to communicate feedback and provide motivation to learners in an environment that cannot provide tutorial support.

16 In support of motivating learners in the open OpenLearn Badged Open Courses (BOCs): 1.Give informal learners the recognition they’ve requested. 2.Give prospective students the skills to be prepared for undergraduate study. 3.Give our current students a means of developing and displaying skills relevant to career progression. OpenLearn Badged Open Courses (BOCs): 1.Give informal learners the recognition they’ve requested. 2.Give prospective students the skills to be prepared for undergraduate study. 3.Give our current students a means of developing and displaying skills relevant to career progression. Cheaper to produce than our MOOCs No tutoring overhead Badging infrastructure interoperable with open standards Cheaper to produce than our MOOCs No tutoring overhead Badging infrastructure interoperable with open standards

17 Badged Open Courses -- assessment framework Learners need to achieve 50% to pass an assessment Learners are given three attempts If they fail on the third attempt, they can retake after 24 hours Practice assessment is available throughout the course All pages of the course must have been ‘read’ Formal assessment takes place halfway and at the end All BOCs are 24 hours of learning Two successful assessments = 1 badge

18 5 points of openness

19 Badge display Mozilla Backpack (or other aggregator) My OpenLearn Profile Social networks Printable certificate

20 BOC impact – first 10 months badges issued The BOCs are generating around 12,000 new visitors a month to OpenLearn They drive a very high proportion of learners to click-through to make an enquiry to the OU ( 26.2% Feb-Nov 2015) Completion rates of BOCs are higher than our MOOCs 300 formal module registrations have been made (mostly entry level) 2,300 prospectus requests 254 qualification sign-ups (mostly new students) Satisfaction rates are very high (~98%) Surveys have shown that up to 57% say that they will be sharing their achievements with an employer or prospective employer

21 BOCs as a motivator and for recognition 71% perceive digital badge and certificate as equally important Responses to ‘What does earning a badge mean to you?’ Source: SurveyMonkey. End of course survey, Succeed with maths, Part 1. “The basic accreditation from these badges adds more value to the work I put in” “Thank you for giving me the confidence to do something I thought I had no intellect to actually do” BOC impact – data analysis

22 BOCs supporting professional development 39-57% will show badge to employer BOCs as preparedness and driver for study Promising demographic for undergraduate recruitment (younger than OpenLearn overall) and existing qualifications: only 7-17% hold undergraduate degree compared to 26% on OpenLearn (MOOCs >70%) Reasons for studying: Professional development (84%), personal interest (78%), preparation for study (54%) 58% had not taken online course before BOCs supporting disabled learners Between 15% and 37% declare a disability (OpenLearn overall is 23%; UK adult population is 16%) “A good talking point and something to include on my CV” “Refreshed my maths skills and going on to do the open learn English course, will be applying to do an access course in March” BOC impact – data analysis

23 Learners are clear about how they like to learn Responses to ‘Please rate how you felt about the different ways of learning on OpenLearn’. Source: SurveyMonkey. End of course survey, English: skills for learning BOC impact – data analysis

24 BOC impact – reasons for studying… Word cloud source: SurveyMonkey. End of course survey, Succeed with maths Part 1

25 Challenges…? 1.Were we setting the bar too high? Were we going to deter completion? 2.Are the detractors right to question the value of a badge? 3.Scant research and almost no empirical data. 4.Was using repurposed content really going to save on production costs? 5.Can we convince others of the robustness of the QE? 6.Developing assessment – a challenge for most writers – 45 questions for Weeks 4 and 8; 15 questions for remaining weeks. A big ask.

26 Solutions… 1. Setting the bar too high? Test and see – OpenLearn is rapid response environment for developing approaches to elearning. 2. Detractors? Development of IMS Global Open Badge Extensions for Education. 3. Still scant research and almost no empirical data. 4. Will continue to mix new and repurposed content; identify at module specification where possible. 5. Quality of learning experience assured through academic authoring and critical readership. As with MOOCs and other OpenLearn courses. 6. Assessment expertise developed, but remains a challenge.

A mechanism to engage with partners 27

28 The future of digital badging at the OU In 2016 Succeeding in postgraduate studyDigital scholarship Working in the voluntary sectorResilience and flexibility Returning to STEMCommercial communication and negotiation Succeeding in a digital worldLeadership and followership Cyber securityUnderstanding business structures Supporting student preparedness as induction Support learner CPD BOCs on the OU Student Record and HEAR Promoted by lecturers and University careers advisors Highly impactful outreach mechanism Succeed with maths – Parts 1 &2 Succeed with learning Introducing the voluntary sectorEnglish: skills for learning Taking your first steps into HESucceed in the workplace

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30 resources/what-we-do/badging-free-content-the-ou #openbadgesHE