Open Badges UBC has given students a new way to showcase their specific skills and abilities.
"The inspiration really came from the idea that there is a lot of learning that is happening on campus that really goes uncredited," said Erin Fields, flexible learning coordinator at the Koerner Library. "The idea is using badges to be able to give credit for that kind of work."
Open Badges UBC is an initiative that emerged in May 2014. Essentially, the project issues badges to students as markers of achievement. Students can earn badges by signing up for projects provided on the Open Badges webpage and completing the necessary requirements.
The project began through a partnership between Fields and David Vogt, an instructor in the Master of Education Technology (MET) program.
According to Fields, the purpose of establishing Open Badges UBC is to reward students for particular skill sets that they typically would not get recognition for, such as writing or web design to name a few.
“I think the benefits really come down to the notion that you can show [through Open Badges UBC] what you’re learning in a micro kind of way, because right now you show it in a macro way, which is, you’ve completed a course, or you’ve got your degree,” said Fields.
Once a student completes all the necessary requirements for a badge, the badge will appear in the student’s personal profile.
Given the opportunity for students to receive badges for demonstrating their skills, Fields said that Open Badges UBC could also provide students with excellent credentials when it comes to future employment opportunities.
Fields also said that Open Badges UBC has received overall positive feedback from students.
“[UBC students] really enjoyed the competitive nature of badges... and they liked being able to show what they were learning, like, in a visible way,” said Fields.
According to Fields, Open Badges UBC also provides motivation for students to better engage with learning. In the course Video Game Law 423B, the instructor reported a 480 per cent increase in comments on the course blog site after the implementation of the project halfway through the course.
At this point, Open Badges UBC has already implemented three projects for students to earn badges. These included Video Game Law 423B, ETEC 565M, and the Digital Tattoo. Fields aims to have 20 projects running by the end of the year 2015.
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