I have recently became interested in Mozilla’s Open Badge Project through my participation in the Open Badges and Assessment group initiated by Doug Belshaw using the Peer to Peer University (P2PU). The Open Badge Project is
an open platform that will enable anyone to issue, collect and display badges. Providing learners with new ways to get public recognition for their skills and achievements.
The Open Badge system is heavily orientated towards older learners however I see no reason why such a system cannot be used within a Primary school system with younger learners. The system would work quite like a reward system in Primary schools with one integral difference – the badge system could be created to recognise skills and understanding in areas which do not form part of the traditional assessment procedures yet form part of those assessments giving a much clearer picture of every child’s learning and understanding in and out of school. The following is a hypothetical outcome of one child’s learning story in a school that has started using the Badge System.
John – I’m really good at computers but they’re a bit boring at school
John is an 8 year old boy who tries hard in school. He has never been top of his class, he finds Maths a challenge but he doesn’t give up. He is considered to be ‘below average’ and has a system in place to help him achieve the correct level before the next assessments are taken.
In class, John is respected by his peers because he ‘knows everything there is to know’ about technology. He has even created his own web space on the school Learning Platform which many of his peers use to find out about the latest games and how to do ‘cool stuff’ on their computers although this skill is not included in any assessment data. He is relied upon by his teacher to sort out problems because it’s quicker to ask John than find the technician. John taught himself to use computers and finds the work he does in school with them to be boring. His skills are apparent to him and he doesn’t understand why these can’t be used by his teacher during assessments.
How Badges can help
Badges can be used to recognise John’s skills in technology, those very skills that he has learned outside of school.
During the next assessment, John applies for the Technology badge and completes a set of assessments that he finds very straight forward. His teacher awards him the badge and additional ‘Power Points’ in recognition of his talents. Due to this, John is asked to put forward an additional Expert Technology badge that his peers can aspire to.
John is also awarded the Team Leader badge by one of his peers in recognition of his ability to work with others and find solutions. John himself uses the badge system to locate peers that have talents in subject areas that he is weaker and builds a learning group from these peers. He submits work to this group on a regular basis which his peers then review and provide feedback helping him to understand the subject area better. He also looks up the badges of these peers and aspires to gaining them.
The result
The badges that John has been awarded have been used to build a better assessment of his skills and understanding.
John’s teacher is much better informed of his abilities and skills and recognises the value these add to his assessment. The whole school uses the Badge system along with traditional methods of assessment to build a better picture of each child’s learning and understanding. The school has seen results improve and more children becoming involved in additional learning opportunities due to the use of the Badge system. John’s self esteem has improved as has his understanding in Maths due to the help he receives from his Badge peer group. His confidence boost from the Badge system has led him to discover new areas of learning and he is striving for new badges in the coming term. Many of his peers are also working towards John’s extra technology badge.
I have started work on a new approach to teaching and learning technology in my school and part of that will include a badge system. The system will allow children to be awarded badges for not only traditional learning opportunities but also receive badges for additional learning and badges from their peers.
Further examples of Learner stories can be found here
