#ioe12 Open Assessment

The next topic in David Wiley’s Introduction to Openness in Education course is Open Assessment. When talking about assessment in the open environment the conversation is about badges. The short video Badges for Lifelong Learning: An Open Conversation, explains that a badge is a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality, or interest that can be earned in any learning environment. I was surprised and excited to see the wide range of support that is out there for badges. It seems to be drawing from very different fields with lots of creative ideas for how this can work. I knew that the Peer to Peer University had beta courses for badges, but I didn't realize how many they had. It is amazing to watch this idea gain support.
An interesting blog titles Still a Badge Skeptic by Mitchel Resnick discusses that badges as motivators may not be a good idea. I see it as very behavioral. Rewarding good behavior with a badge. This is often at odds with constructivist views of learning. David Theo Goldberg blogged that just because the badge may lure students in, it does not mean the quality or the learning is any less than if learning was internally motivated. I guess I am somewhere in the middle on this. Its like saying get them in by any means and the learning will occur -they will be able to advance with badges. I am not a skeptic but not an evangelist either. I think I need to see them in action before I can really make a determination on what I think of them. Badges will definitely require buy in from employers, who in the end decide what kind of credentials their employees need before they hire them.

The video on Digital Media and Learning Competition 4 was a bit long and dry to watch, but had some important points. The need for buy in for open badge infrastructure, the idea that wherever learning takes place we should acknowledge it, that we need multiple ways to assess learning, the applicability of badges for professional development, the military and veterans, etc. The list of possible applications and benefits of badges is long. I wonder how this will affect the education system as we know it. Will it replace some of what we do or add another layer that people will need to deal with. Will I need my degree and badges? I hope that this does not become another obstacle for people even though the intent is to open up access to education and good jobs.

Open assessment could mean other things as well, but for now it seems the attention is on badges. After working in continuing education for many years I can’t help but think of them as a certificate of completion or certification for the digital age. I think it is the data that they contain and buy in from employers that will make them different.