VisionsIn this section I would like to bring together some predictions for open badges, and open accreditation, as visual representations. I will take Friesen and Wihak's diagram (p 56) as a starting point. This is not meant to be accurate, but rather to indicate how others see the future shaping up.
First, however, I would like to briefly discuss a paper by Michael Olneck which discusses badges as "insurgent credentials" and uses sociological theories to suggest that we should have seen alternative, cheaper, credentials coming. It also suggests that universities may not be acting as those theories might suggest - it might be worth considering why that is. Credential inflationMichael Olneck (2012) suggests that sociologists should have been able to anticipate the necessity for alternative, cheaper, education and accreditation routes as a result of “credential inflation”; when degrees become both more costly and more necessary for successful entry to the job market, and yet are less likely to bring financial reward. He predicts that if an alternative credential begins to hold value to employers then ‘lower tier’ universities will begin to emulate the alternative credentialing systems, which will become accepted as alternatives to degrees. We might expect ‘higher tier’ universities to distance themselves from the alternative and reassert their own value by defining themselves as superior.
However, in reality, prestigious universities on both sides of the Atlantic are at the vanguard of open education. Olneck suggests that these institutions are effectively expanding their business into new areas; recognising that their autonomy may be diminishing they are engaging with more people and activities “and more kinds of learning, doing, and being within the embrace of formal, albeit micro-divided, certification” (p 6). In this emerging scenario higher education institutions, rather than guarding the monopoly, appear to be engaging with new approaches. |
ReadingsAt this point you may be running short of time. The following paper is reasonably quick to read and provides an interesting sociological take on badges, however I have summarised what I think is the most relevant point in the "credential inflation" section opposite.
ActivityUse the vision diagrams below to aid your thinking about existing, new and future structures for accreditation.
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Vision diagrams
Note: If you have a Google account you can take a copy of any of the diagrams - I have made them available as templates. You might want to try amending them based on your own thoughts. In fact, feel free to feedback any amended diagrams by publishing the link to your version in the discussion forum (I will check back from time to time).
Vision 1
This first diagram is a simplified version of Friesen and Wihak's (2012) figure. They argue that value, or 'social capital', inevitably comes from existing accrediting institutions. Quality and value are not inherent in Mozilla's streamlined credentialing infrastructure. However, a problem occurs with the granular nature of most open education content. This does not fit well with the “comparatively uniform expectations of an accrediting institution” (p 57). They suggest that open education would likely need to remodel itself on existing university structures. For this reason they see existing pathways as the link between open education and accreditation. Link to vision 1 template. |
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Vision 2
David Wiley (2012) envisages a near future where Universities themselves, under pressure from accrediting bodies to demonstrate student performance on course learning outcomes, become the biggest awarders of Open Badges. He, somewhat provocatively, predicts that ‘Learning Outcome-aligned Badges’ (LOBs) will become the unit of university accreditation. In this way he sees university accreditation naturally joining an open badge-type, or open micro-accreditation, ecosystem. So, in contrast to Friesen & Wihak, Wiley is saying that universities will remodel themselves on open accreditation structures. Link to vision 2 template. |
Vision 3
Salman Khan envisages a future where individuals would not need to enter university to demonstrate academic achievement. They would access free learning materials online and, where they need to ‘prove’ what they know, choose to pay small sums of money to accreditation centres to sit an exam and receive a micro-credential (Regalado 2012). The learner would not have to commit to a whole degree programme, with its associated financial burden, but rather tailor a programme to their own needs. Universities would exist as centres of research and their degrees would function as “an optional path that could help, but one that is not a requirement for a satisfying, well-paying profession” (Khan 2012). Note, at this point I have also added non-academic achievements - graduate attribute badges - within the university structure. Link to vision 3 template. |
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Vision 4
Schmidt et al (2012) suggest that new open communities of learners, facilitated by the social web as a platform for collaborative learning, are best suited to developing 21st century skills. Existing pathways between informal & formal education, as depicted by Friesen and Wihak (2012), are merely “attempts to tweak the current accreditation system, rather than fundamentally rethink the concept of accreditation” (p 3). The peer-production paradigm of the open education community offers an opportunity to rethink accreditation; an opportunity not only for new institutions and organisations to challenge university accreditation, but also for completely new pathways for assessing and recognising learning to emerge based on the concept of “community reputation” (p 9). Link to vision 4 template. |