Download - Open Badges Case study
Badges: New Currency for Professional Credentials
Challenge Activities
Define a Current EcosystemBadge MOOC Challenge Assignment 1
IRPROF Company dedicated to develop technology projects (web sites, hosting)
Its staff consists of IT professionals (Developers, Designers, testers, System Administrators, Project Managers)
They are always learning (life-long learners) but there is no certification exam or standard measures of competency
Professional Development
Employees need
minimum number of PD hours per year
Employees
Employees look for and
attend training
opportunities
Trainer
Supervisor reviews
evidence of PD for
personal evaluation
Supervisor
EmployeesMiguel has extensive experience developing websites appearance. He has a large portfolio with tons of websites designed by him He is interested in improving his user experience and visual design knowledge.
Luis is the master of Javascript. He works as a software developer in javascript, He thinks that ITprof develops applications that look old but he cannot decide, he is only a developer. He feels He can learn a lot of interesting things by himself but this has no impact in their career, there is no promotion chance. Even if their achievements were stored, there would disappear when they work for a new enterprise.
Juan joined the company recently. Nowadays He works as a systems administrator but he worked as a design director at another company. He attends to classroom courses but he never knows what to keep as evidence ¿Certificates? ¿Receipts?
Fran is a tester. He tries to do his best but it is unclear what skills and knowledge are required to do a good job, there is not a standard procedure to test websites.
Trainer - YolandaYolanda works for a small company called CB which has experts in both instructional and technical design. They can create any type of Scorm compliant courses but they cannot give you a valuable certificate. They also offers workshops and seminars.
Supervisor - MorrisMorris is an HR responsible. He reviews and approves PD activities and tries to identify leaders and talent inside the company.
Before badges• Employees doesn’t know what to keep track of for evidence of PD (classrooms, seminars)
• Employees feel that they can learn a lot of interesting things from online resources but this has no impact in their career, there is no promotion chance. Even if their achievements were stored, there would disappear when they work for a new enterprise.
• Yolanda has to provide different types of verification to different attendees (certificates, receipts). She can build good online resources (courses) but she doesn´t know how to provide evidence for this resources
• Morris has to sort through a variety of documents and make subjective judgments about what to accept. He has no way to find out talent in the company
• Everyone is frustrated.
Define the Currency of an EcosystemBadge MOOC Challenge Assignment 3
ITProf Staff• IT professionals:
• Software Developers• Testers• Graphic Designers• System Administrators• Project Managers
• They are life-long learners there is no certification exam or standard measures of competency
How it works…Employee ask for a course related to a
subject
Supervisor approves the
trainingEmployee attends
the training
What happens if an employee learns through informal learning?
Without knowing the quality of the course even if it is suitable for the employee
and gets a certificate?, receipt?
Software DevelopersSoftware developers analyze requirements and develop applications codeSoftware Developers should:• Know programming languages
(php,Java,javascript,HTML)• Know about development tools (Frameworks, debug
tools)• Know about specifications and standards• Be a dedicated life-long learner
TestersSoftware tester prove the software behaves as designed and does not cause adverse reactions Software testers should:• Think like the user• Continuously strive to expand their knowledge and
hone their testing strategies • Good thinking and analyzing skills• Be a dedicated life-long learner
Graphic DesignersGraphic Designers make creative design of web pagesSoftware Developers should:• Know about user experience and visual design• Know about CSS, javascript and HTML• Know about standards (W3C)• Know about graphic tools (Photoshop, etc)• Be a dedicated life-long learner
System AdministratorsSystem Administrators are responsible for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of servers
Software Developers should:• Know about security and networks• Know about performance tuning• Know how to setup and maintain a server• Be a dedicated life-long learner
Project Managers
Software Developers should:• Have excellent people skills• Communicate clearly in writing and speaking• Be able to work with little supervision• have the ability to perform team building• know conflict management• Be a dedicated life-long learner
Project Managers are responsible for accomplishing the stated project objectives including creating clear project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the cost, time, scope and quality
Assessing Skills• Developers, and Graphic Designers often have a degree (Computing Engineering ,
Design), but these degrees are generic and don’t include programming skills, handling design or development tools. Degrees in the field are not required.
• At this time, there is no certification exam or standard measures of competency for testers.
• Job applicants are usually evaluated by:Designers: Providing a portfolio of past workDevelopers: Reviewing their past experience in other companies working with different languagesTesters: Reviewing their past experience in other companies
..But the person who evaluates may not have the skills and knowledge to evaluate and there are no evidences.
SysAdmin and PM often have a certificate (MCSE, PMI) but these certificates don´t measure skills like communication, etc
Benefits of the Current System• Having different paths to enter other than a specific
college degree provides opportunities for those with informal learning and experience
• Using experience to evaluate job applicants provides evidence of skill and ability above just having a degree
Drawbacks of the Current System • There is a big gap between what they learn in the degree
and what companies need, most developers learn to program using new languages and frameworks every day through informal learning and they cannot provide any evidence• Designers learn about design theory in the degree but they
don´t learn anything about user experience or CSS, they have to prove these skills by providing a portfolio but the person reviewing the portfolio may not have the knowledge to accurately assess the applicant’s abilities.• It’s not clear what skills a Tester should have, so creating a
personal learning plan is difficult.• Some skills (communication, programming skills) are difficult
to measure in the current system
Assessor- LauraLaura is a member of the Professional Organization for IT Workers (POITW), this organization provides:
• Best practices for these professionals• White papers about the skills they should have• Itineraries grouping skills by knowledge
The organization is concerned about:
• The lack of standards• Inconsistency between required skills and knowledge.
Employees
Luis thinks He can learn a lot of interesting things by himself from blogs and public web resources but this has no impact in his career, even if their achievements were stored, there would disappear when they work for a new enterprise. He is looking for a promotion or working for another company. Looking for someone to recognize their work and their skills.
Juan works as a systems administrator he worked as a design director before. He attends courses but not sure if it's the best way, if by attending these courses will improve his skills as a sysadmin or not.
Miguel has extensive experience developing websites appearance. He has a large portfolio with tons of websites designed by him He is interested in improving his user experience and visual design knowledge but he doesn´t know how to do it. What are the best courses to do it? Is there any online course on these subjects?
Fran is a tester. He tries to do his best but it is unclear what skills and knowledge are required to do a good job, there is not a standard procedure to test websites. What should he do better? Is there any standard procedure to test web sites?
Trainer - YolandaYolanda coordinates a large number of workshops offered by experts and coordinates the subject for online courses too.She is not knowledgeable in all areas, she often wonders if the information presented is high quality or the subjects are the most suitable for each case.She wishes the content could be reviewed somehow, so that pupils could be assured of their quality.
Supervisor - MorrisJuan and Fran have talked to Morris about a professional development plan, but because he’s not knowledgeable in this area he isn’t sure how to help them. Morris has seen Miguel´s portfolio but He has no knowledge to be sure if Miguel is a good designer or not.Morris doesn´t know how to recognize the expertise of Luis because Luis is an informal learner.Morris is looking for talented people inside the company to promote them but it´s very difficult to compare.
Competency Frameworks for a Badge EcosystemBadge MOOC Challenge Assignment 3
Standards OrganizationLaura (assesor), from Professional Organization for IT Workers (POITW) takes part in a committee to design a badge system that will help verify the skills of IT workers (Developers, Desginer, testers, PM and sysAdmins)
In order to make sure they are targeting the skills employers want, Laura consults organizations that hire IT workers
Laura has been able to group skills into these categories
Competencies #1Developers• Programming
languages • Development
tools • Specifications
and standards
Testers• Product
knowledge• Testing tools• Communicati
on
Graphic Designers• User experience
and visual design• Programming
languages • Specifications
and standards• Design tools
Laura has been able to group skills into these categories
Competencies #2SysAdmins• Operating systems• Networks and
Security
Project managers• Communication
skills• Team building• Management tools
Laura has been able to group skills into these categories
BadgesBecause of the variety of programming languages, standards, development, design, testing and project management tools, Laura plans a number of badges that will be available within each category. This way, an employer will know exactly which programming languages, standards, and tools the employee is competent in and an employee can focus in one area, depending on the type of industry and position they want to work in.
Stacked BadgesOnce specific badges are developed, Laura plans to have a master badge for each category which will be available for individuals who complete a certain number of badges in that category.
For example, developers who earn a badge in PHP, JAVA, HTML5, Javascript and C++ could earn a “Programming Languages” badge.
How to get BadgesLaura is working to have a number of activities to be completed to show competency for each badge. Employees can submit assignments on their own if they already have the skills, or can register for any of online courses that will teach the skills necessary to complete the assignments.
Showing CompetenciesShowing competency in some skills is easy. For example
Skills Shows competency byprogramming languages Activities (Build a web
page)Development tools Activities (Simulation,
exam)Standards Activities (exam)
Product Knowledge Activities (exam)User experience and
visual designPortfolio
Communication skills and team building are difficult to provide evidence, Laura plans some additional focus groups with the employers to see how those skills manifest themselves on the job.
Supervisor Morris• Morris loves the plan . Now he knows exactly what
Juan and Fran’s skills are, and where he needs to develop. Not only that, but he has a list of trainings and workshops that he can send them to in order to help them develop those skills.
• Morris already knows how to recognize the expertise of Luis, he only has to complete the assignments.
• Morris will find out talented people inside the company to promote them.
Accreditation and Validation Frameworks for a Badge Ecosystem
Badge MOOC Challenge Assignment 4
Existing Accreditation Sources
Laura seeks the best accreditation sources for each badge. University degrees don´t fit with the knowledge and skills required for each job.
She connects with recognized professional organizations and companies in order to evaluate and endorse badges.
PHP Certification (ZEND)JavaScript Developer Certificate (w3schools)Oracle Certified Professional Java SE Programmer (ORACLE)Photoshop certification (ADOBE)UX Design (NYU)Project Management (project management institute)
ResearchLaura and her team plan to conduct longitudinal research to verify that the badges are effective in verifying skills employers want and need.
Revisions can be made in the badge system as needed, and evidence of their effectiveness will increase their value.
Existing Accreditation Sources
Employees can do the exams, if they already possess the skills, or can register for any of a number of online courses that will teach the skills necessary to get the certification.
Online courses(company LMS)
Accreditation Sources Badge
Trainer - YolandaYolanda has analyzed the material, syllabus and requirements from each certification in Laura’s badge system.
She will contact with the accreditation sources in order to build her courses according to certification and She will rely certification in these accreditation sources
She will be able to assure that the courses her company provides are high quality and the subjects are the most suitable for each certification
Trainer - YolandaYolanda also collects artifacts from individuals applying for badges and submits them to the appropriate organization for evaluation. By handling the logistics and having a single point of contact, Asha makes it easier for everyone.
Authentic Assessment and Evidence for a Badge EcosystemBadge MOOC Challenge Assignment 5
Assessments - AssessorsLaura creates assignments and activities which require applicants to prove their skills and knowledge for a badge. Not only exams but also activities and assignments. If they want to probe they can build a website, they will need to build a website to get the Badge Badge Assessments
HTML5 Build a web app using HTML5CSS3 Build a style for a website using CSS3
Photoshop Create artifacts and iconsSCRUM Master Create docs for a project (product backlog,
Sprint backlog)User experience and
visual designCreate a UI for an App
Assessments - TrainerBecause Yolanda knows what the applicants will have to do, she can make sure that she offers courses that will teach them the skills they need.
She tries to offer a variety of levels, from introductory to advanced, so learners can jump in at their current level and continue to learn and advance until they are ready to apply for the badge.
Assessments - EmployerMorris can recommend Juan and Fran a professional development plan. They will be able to improve their careers.Miguel´s portfolio will be evaluated by an expert.Luis will be able to demonstrate his skills by taking the assessments and getting badges. He will be recognized not only inside IRPROF but in any company too.Morris will be able to compare applicants results and he will find the most talented people inside the company to promote them.
Assessments - EmployeesMiguel has a structured system for providing evidence of his skills and abilities He can also improve his user experience and visual design skills by taking courses and getting badges.
Luis will be recognized not only inside IRPROF but in any company too
Fran has a structured system to learn everything he needs in order to become a good sysAdmin.
Fran has a structured system to learn everything he needs in order to become a good tester.
Authentic Assessment and Evidence for a Badge EcosystemBadge MOOC Challenge Assignment 5
Meeting Learner NeedsYolanda tries to meet the various needs of people who want to earn Instructional Technology badges. She can coordinate the submission of evaluation materials to the appropriate evaluators, and she can offer workshops and trainings to those who need to develop their skills before applying for badges. She’s even working on online resources for those who prefer self-study.
Assessments - AssessorsLaura creates assignments and activities which require applicants to prove their skills and knowledge for a badge. Not only exams but also activities and assignments. If they want to probe they can build a website, they will need to build a website to get the Badge Badge Assessments
HTML5 Build a web app using HTML5CSS3 Build a style for a website using CSS3
Photoshop Create artifacts and iconsSCRUM Master Create docs for a project (product backlog,
Sprint backlog)User experience and
visual designCreate a UI for an App
Assessments - TrainerBecause Yolanda knows what the applicants will have to do, she can make sure that she offers courses that will teach them the skills they need.
She tries to offer a variety of levels, from introductory to advanced, so learners can jump in at their current level and continue to learn and advance until they are ready to apply for the badge.
Assessments - EmployerMorris can recommend Juan and Fran a professional development plan. They will be able to improve their careers.Miguel´s portfolio will be evaluated by an expert.Luis will be able to demonstrate his skills by taking the assessments and getting badges. He will be recognized not only inside IRPROF but in any company too.Morris will be able to compare applicants results and he will find the most talented people inside the company to promote them.
Assessments - EmployeesMiguel has a structured system for providing evidence of his skills and abilities He can also improve his user experience and visual design skills by taking courses and getting badges.
Luis will be recognized not only inside IRPROF but in any company too
Fran has a structured system to learn everything he needs in order to become a good sysAdmin.
Fran has a structured system to learn everything he needs in order to become a good tester.