Finally after months of scoring procurement questions, analysing costs and negotiation I am pleased to announce that we will be providing open digital badges via Canvas Credentials (formally called Badgr).
This is the start of a 3 year pilot to understand the value of digital badges for all stakeholders. Obviously for the earners aka the people awarded a badge(s), will it help motivate them? will they share it on digital CVs or social media? will they even click on the email and accept the badge? what about employability? how do they value a digital badge?
How about issuers aka the schools that award the badge, is the platform easy to use? does it allow them the flexibility to develop and deliver standalone and badges which are interlinked (like a pathway)? what about resource for managing all things badges? and why bother with badges?
Hang on, what about IS (we are people too), how does it affect us as issuer, earners and support? So all of the above plus is the platform robust? does it provide what the issuers and earners need? how will the service grow? will be see a badge bonanza or the butchering of badges?
Whatever will happen the next few years will allow us to pilot and review the premium version of canvas credentials. For clarification when I say premium I mean paid for aka we get extra bits and bobs like:
- Lots of Analytics: data, data, data
- Organisation Management: aka one admin to rule them all!
- Ability to add skills to a badge: I got skills their multiplying!
- Ability to add custom fields to a badge: starting to panic about how this could be used!
- Pathways: interlinked badges journeys
Sounds pretty cool! Pathways are probably the ‘funnest’ (not a word but you know what I mean) premium tool which will allow schools or departments to create open stackable badges or paths (basic, intermediate, high ) to a higher level of achievement (Expert). These can include internal or external open badges so in theory could involve external bodies (e.g. companies, other institutions) and users can track their own progress! (take a breathe!).
And what have we decided to call the new open digital badge pilot/service……(drum roll)……BadgEd! (we got the word badge, we are the University of Edinburgh and we love incorporating Ed into stuff).
Sounds like a busy few years? You interested in finding out some more information? Ain’t you lucky we created this website where you can find out some more information on the BadgEd webpages.
Finally this wouldn’t be possible without all the hard work of colleagues who have been exceptional (as usual) to help get from an idea to a live pilot (so thanks goes to Delia, Tracey, Nikki, Karen, Fiona and Ellen). Let the hard (fun) work begin….
