Innovation, life-long learning, acknowledgement of both hard skills and soft skills, 21st century skills, freedom and flexibility. These are all important themes that live in the hearts and minds of education and business. They are essential in solving complex questions and challenges around motivation, sense of purpose, and development in students and working people. But how do we bring these themes into practice and reap their benefits?

One way to achieve this is through the skills passport. The skills passport is a kind of digital portfolio. With this you can, in addition to the usual information that can be found in a CV, tell a lot about all kinds of talents and competencies you possess. A skills passport is especially interesting when it contains Open Badges. Open Badges are easily shareable, digital certificates that can capture all kinds of indicators of learning and personal and professional development. So the Badges that you could receive are as small or as big as you can imagine. Think of participating in a Hackathon, wherein the Badge shows off what you did and what you experienced during the event. Or think of an extensive description of the competencies and skills that you have shown to possess during your internship at a cool company. Even the certificates and diplomas that you received during or after your education could be captured in Open Badges. This form of (micro-)credentials can be freely made, awarded and received by anyone, through various platforms. Because of this, every piece of development in any kind of context (at school, in the workplace and even in your own friend group) can be made visible and shareable.

The content of the Badge is fully dependent on the creator. They determine what it should look like, what the criteria are for achieving it and how this should then be worded in the certificate itself. Ideally, one uses so-called “rubrics” to measure the level of competency for a certain skill, ability or piece of knowledge. The measurement doesn’t happen through a test or exam, but through 360 degree feedback and an open, critical conversation between the potential recipient and the issuer. For example, after the presentation of a project based on solving a real-life challenge. The Open Badge is then not only a possibility for flexibilization, it also offers the chance to revise how we judge a learning process, treat learners and how we shape the learning process in general.

Life-long Learning: Acknowledged development, inside and outside of education

Thanks to the freedom and flexibility that Open Badges offer, the acknowledgement of 21st century skills, soft skills and other qualifications that are difficult or even impossible to capture using traditional certificates, becomes a whole lot easier. The way is cleared for building up a unique, future-proof skillset and a digital portfolio that will make the difference in solving various societal challenges. With a complete collection of Open Badges, you’ll be able to reflect on all the learning experiences of your career. Because of this, your confidence and self-worth grow: You now know your exact capacities and you’ll better recognize what chances and possibilities would fit you. And you can use your Open Badges to prove it!

Moreover, the use of Open Badges offers the opportunity to collect certificates for smaller pieces of knowledge and experience than what we’re used to. It allows you to build up your own learning and development process in the exact way that you want. You qualify yourself for the skills and topics that you want, and that you need. This is not only very efficient, it also makes the learning process a lot more purposeful and fun!

When it comes to Life-Long Learning, Open Badges play a big part. Even when you leave school, the learning continues. So why wouldn’t we recognize that? By rewarding Badges for various competencies that your employee has proven to possess, their achievements and qualifications become increasingly visible. This makes it much easier to know who is the best person for a certain position. The Badges create more awareness of the learning processes of yourself and others. It increases motivation and purpose in the work that you do almost every single day. You’re no longer dependent on a long-lasting education to be rewarded with the credentials for knowledge and abilities you already possess!

Even people who have trouble getting into the job-market and education are able to develop themselves and their CV at their own level and pace, using regular and special digital certificates. The Badges replace impossibilities with possibilities when the qualifications are an issue.

DOON’s Badges

We, as DOON, looked into Open Badges and what they can do for the world. Challenges arise when striving for innovation and trying to offer people the chance to optimally and freely develop themselves. We truly believe in the benefits of Open Badges and think that they are a beautiful solution for these challenges that are faced by both education and businesses. To facilitate and support this solution, we got to work. For instance, we now use Open Badges in our Hackathons, Challenges and Makathons to visualise the learning experiences of participating students and teacher-coaches. Competencies that one would use in Design Thinking, among other situations, are captured in the Badges and rewarded in varying levels of competency. The Hackathon is not only very fun and educational, it now also creates value for the future of yourself and others!

In order to maximise the impact of Open Badges, we shouldn’t only use them within our own projects. That’s why we put together an accessible implementation plan for education and other types of organisations. During the implementation, we co-create an Open Badge “system” that fits your organisation and train you to independently use this system. For as long as necessary, we’ll be available to support your organisation in your journey towards becoming a more effective, efficient and flexible learning environment for everyone.

Are you interested, would you like to share your ideas or would you like to know more? Contact us! Or just plan a meeting with us right away, using the form below!