What we at Making Futures love about Open Badges is the flexibility to recognise that valuable learning and development happens both inside and outside the classroom. Open Badges credit learners of any age, in any setting, particularly those who are outside mainstream education, to gain recognition for all the skills they gain and all the expertise they develop.
Open Badges allow us here at Making Futures to give participants fair recognition for the skills they learn on our workshops and in our groups and sessions. They need not be exam or assessment-led making them ideal for those who face challenges with the traditional educational format. The concept of the online learning ‘backpack’ is a great way of keeping track of achievements. It is contemporary and appealing whilst also having credibility with prospective employers and training providers and being a great way to create a personal record of achievements to be proud of.
About Open Badges
Mozilla created Open Badges in 2011 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation and a network of partners committed to developing a new way to recognize learning wherever it happened – in and out of formal education and online. As part of this effort, the Open Badges technical specification which defines the requirements for what a badge must represent for both issuers and earners was created.
Open Badges empower individuals to take their learning with them, wherever they go, building a rich picture of their lifelong learning journey. Thousands of organizations across the world already issue Open Badges, from non-profits to major employers to educational institutions at all levels.