Daniel Hickey – Open Digital Badges

On Monday 17th November, Associate Professor Daniel T Hickey, Program Coordinator, Learning Sciences Program at Indiana University, will meet with UTS staff to discuss opportunities for digital badges. Dan is directing the Open Badges Design Principles Documentation Project, examining the design principles emerging across 30 projects funded by the MacArthur Foundation’s Badges for Lifelong Learning Initiative.

Open Digital Badges: Lessons Learned So Far & What is Next in Higher Ed

Abstract: Digital badges can contain specific claims and detailed evidence supporting those claims, and links to additional evidence.  Open digital badges are interoperable, allowing earners to control where and how this information is presented and circulated. This changes the way learning is recognized, assessed, motivated, and studied. Dan will share present some of the design principles uncovered in a two-year study of the thirty badge development projects funded in the 2012 Badges for Lifelong Learning competition. He will also discuss the current state of badges in higher education, and a new project advancing badges in Open edX and other major learning management systems.

Bio: Daniel T. Hickey is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator with the Learning Sciences Program at Indiana University and a Research Scientist in the IU Center for Research on Learning and Technology. He uses design-based research methods and situative theories to improve assessment, motivation, and accountability in technology-based learning environments.  His research of digital badges is supported by the MacArthur Foundation.