Badges

Today's learning happens everywhere.

Not just in the classroom. But it's often difficult to get recognition for the skills you acquire online or outside of traditional school. Mozilla's Open Badges projectis working to solve that problem,  making it easy for anyone to issue, earn and display badges across the web. The result: badges can help today's learners display 21st century skills, unlock career and educational opportunities, and level up in their life and work.

Learn more

• One-page summary A simple summary of the Open Badges project, with pictures. (PDF)
  
• Working badge paper "An Open Badge System Framework" white paper. Authored by Peer 2 Peer University and Mozilla in collaboration with The MacArthur Foundation. 
• Learner stories Everyday examples and use cases for badges in the real world.
  
• Napkin sketch A simple visual overview of how the open badge system works.
  
• Technology diagram A visual overview of how the underlying technology works.
  
• Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.) 
• Infrastructure plan Draft technology roadmap and goals for 2011 & 2012.
  
• Infrastructure Tech Documentation Draft of requirements and technical specifications for the open badge infrastructure.
• Downloadable PDFs for most of these documents

Get involved

• Read the working working badge paper.
  
• Check out the School of Webcraft badge pilot program.
  
• Join the Open Badges mailing list to share your own ideas, tools and resources.
  
• Check out screen captures from the "Badge Backpack" prototype.

One-page summary

• PDF version is here

How does it work?

What does an "open badge ecosystem" look like -- and how can it benefit you? Any BADGE ISSUER (for example, an after-school programs, free online course, or vocational institute) can award certified BADGES to learners like you. Learns can then collect and manage their badges in a BADGE BACKPACK. This makes it easy to display your skills and achievements across a range of different DISPLAY SITES -- from your personal resume or web site, to social networking profiles, to employment sites. The result? Jobs, new learning opportunities and unlocked privileges.

Mozilla's Open Badge Infrastructure

The Open Badges framework is designed to allow any learner to collect badges from multiple sites, tied to a single identity, and then share them out across various sites -- from their personal blog or web site to social networking profiles. The infrastructure needs to be open to allow anyone to issue badges, and for each learner to carry the badges with them across the web and other contexts.

Prototype

A prototype of the badge infrastructure was built at the Mozilla Drumbeat Festival in Barcelona. The prototype was updated and advanced in early January 2011, and a more complete and working prototype is now in use for the School of Webcraft badge pilot program.

Screen capture from the prototype:

More Information and Documentation

• • Working Technical Documentation
  • Identity
  • Open Web Apps (Repository)

The School of Webcraft Badge Pilot Program

The School of Webcraft is a joint initiative between Mozilla and Peer 2 Peer University offering free, peer-driven courses and study groups on open web development. The School of Webcraft Badge Pilot, running in the January and April 2011 course cycles, will provide an opportunity to test the open badge infrastructure and prototype by introducing assessments and associated badges into the School of Webcraft. These include skill badges (e.g., Javascript, PHP), value badges (e.g., Accessibility), and peer-to-peer badges that learners can award to each (e.g., Good Teammate, Peer Mentor, etc.).

Dedicated assessment and badge environment (built off of OSQA)

Badge Designs:

More Information and Planning

• School of Webcraft Badge Pilot Details:
  • Web page
    
  • Assessment and badge plan
  • P2PU wiki page
  • Summary for School of Webcraft course organizers
• Background Work:
  • Starting point
  • Deep dive on concrete examples
  • Initial School of Webcraft badge planning

Project Tools

• Open Badges mailing List
  
• community calls: Thursdays 8am PST/11am EST. Call details and notes.
  
• project wiki page: wiki.mozilla.org/Drumbeat/Badges
• web site: http://openbadges.org
• Issue tracker: http://openbadges.lighthouseapp.com/projects/80353-obi/overview
• Source code: https://github.com/brianlovesdata/openbadges
• Chat room (IRC): irc.mozilla.org #badges

Other Badge Projects & Tools

• Mozilla Hub identity systems
• Badger badge issuing system
• CodeSchool
• Score.ly
• Got Badge app
• Badgeville
• Google News Badges
• SkillPages.com
• CodeAcademy

Team

• Erin Knight, Badge and Assessment Lead, Mozilla and P2PU
• Brian Brennan, Open Badge Infrastructure Tech Lead, Mozilla
• Philipp Schmidt, Executive Director, P2PU
• Pippa Buchanan, School of Webcraft Community Lead, Mozilla and P2PU
• Matt Thompson, Communications & Education Lead, Mozilla

Use Cases

• Open education training & courses
  • Example: Web Developer Training
  • Partner: Mozilla / P2PU School of Webcraft
• Informal learning outside of schools
  • Example: Afterschool programs, museums and libraries
  • Partner: The MacArthur Local Learning Networks & You Media Centres
• Formal Education
  • Example: Badges for learning and achievements in formal higher education courses
  • Current Implementations: Badges for courses at Quinnipiac University. Arizona State University is including badges on transcripts in addition to completed courses and final grades.
• Community Affiliation and Reputation
  • Example: Earning badges within a local art community to signify identity and reputation in that community, can then carry across communities
• Others? Let us know!