View Content #18010

By Julie Sykes, CASLS Director

With the emergence of innovative technologies and changing online behaviors, a variety of opportunities for professional development and documentation of learning and skills is possible. The Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (COERLL) at the University of Texas - Austin has partnered with a number of organizations to document professional development and language teaching skills using open badges. Here we summarize eight key elements from this project. For more details see: http://openbadges.coerll.utexas.edu/.

1. Open digital badges are "online representations of earned knowledge and skills." They can be collected and displayed to demonstrate skills and recognize achievements.
2. Collections of badges can make learning visible, identify learning pathways, and create a framework for advancing professional development initiatives.
3. Badges can be collected in a badge backpack. Mozilla backpack offers one place to begin your professional development collection. http://backpack.openbadges.org/backpack/login
4. You can earn, create, and collect badges relevant to your own profile. This allows you to use badges with your own students as well as in your own professional development experience.
5. Badges can be organized and linked to other social network and professional sites in which you participate.
6. You can earn badges relevant to teaching and learning foreign languages. This includes badges from ACTFL, Connected Educators, and Language Acquisition Resource Center, among others. See InterCom Activity of the Week for guidelines on earning your own badge.
7. The use of badges in education is an emerging topic of recent research. For more resources see: https://openbadges.coerll.utexas.edu/research-and-commentary.
8. The use of digital badges for professional development is still new and presents a great deal of potential. Have fun exploring and expanding your collection!

In the end, it's not the badge itself that matters, but rather what it represents.