Open Badges in Higher Education

Abstract

Open Badges is an open source code concept developed by the Mozilla Foundation to identify the learner's knowledge and skills and to display them in a modern way. Although the concept was originally meant to display informal learning, it can also be applied to formal education. Indicating competences electronically makes it possible to display competences for which traditional certificates are unsuitable. It also enables completely new features such as a restricted validity period for a certificate. The Open Badge concept also can make education marketing more effective, and it might be thought as a future solution for identifying competences acquired earlier when moving from one study level to another. The Master Studies in Mathematical Information Technology at the Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius participates in the Open Badge Factory project consortium launched in 2014. The consortium is developing an application that will enable the creation, management and issuance of skill badges in accordance with the Open Badge concept. The consortium is also piloting the application and the Open Badge concept in connection with higher education. This paper briefly describes the Open Badge concept and introduces the OBF project consortium. Above all, the paper highlights the observations and challenges that emerged in piloting that took place in a higher education institution.