In has taken a longer gestation period than I expected it to - but that is sometimes simply the nature of something worthwhile - but finally and with the support of a number of colleagues from across the SQA we had a paper accepted and approved by the necessary committees and we can move ahead in supporting #openbadges.
The press release came out two weeks ago and generated quite a lot of twitter traffic and a lot of emails too.
I thought it was worth setting out just what has been agreed.
I am speaking to Mozillians on Wednesday night and on Saturday I am a guest at Mozfest in London to speak to some of the many English based awarding bodies on the national approach we are taking to #Openbadges in Scotland.
I hope too to meet some other national awarding and accreditation bodies from around the world and compare notes on their approaches to #openbadges
We already have generated a lot of interest from corporate sector and from a number of professional bodies who are interested in our approach from across the UK.
Here is substance in terms of press release -
Over the last two years we have been in dialogue with the Mozilla Foundation.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority supports the concept of Open Badges and is working in partnership with the Open Badges in Scottish Education Group to support the adoption of Open Badges across a range of sectors.
We believe that the infrastructure promotes and supports greater flexibility for learning and the recognition of achievement.
Within the national context we believe that Open Badges have the potential to: accredit significant small steps in a learner’s journey from informal learning to formal certification, offer recognition for the achievement of single competencies and outcomes, provide recognition for chunks of learning or performance smaller than would normally be recognised in national certification and national credit rating systems and that badges can be used towards accreditation of prior learning where appropriate.
In an organisational context: We will explore the adoption of Open Badges as part of the recognition that we can offer teachers and appointees through our SQA Academy Courses We will explore the possibilities that Open Badges offer in terms of digital certification in the future.
The press release came out two weeks ago and generated quite a lot of twitter traffic and a lot of emails too.
I thought it was worth setting out just what has been agreed.
I am speaking to Mozillians on Wednesday night and on Saturday I am a guest at Mozfest in London to speak to some of the many English based awarding bodies on the national approach we are taking to #Openbadges in Scotland.
I hope too to meet some other national awarding and accreditation bodies from around the world and compare notes on their approaches to #openbadges
We already have generated a lot of interest from corporate sector and from a number of professional bodies who are interested in our approach from across the UK.
Here is substance in terms of press release -
Over the last two years we have been in dialogue with the Mozilla Foundation.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority supports the concept of Open Badges and is working in partnership with the Open Badges in Scottish Education Group to support the adoption of Open Badges across a range of sectors.
We believe that the infrastructure promotes and supports greater flexibility for learning and the recognition of achievement.
Within the national context we believe that Open Badges have the potential to: accredit significant small steps in a learner’s journey from informal learning to formal certification, offer recognition for the achievement of single competencies and outcomes, provide recognition for chunks of learning or performance smaller than would normally be recognised in national certification and national credit rating systems and that badges can be used towards accreditation of prior learning where appropriate.
In an organisational context: We will explore the adoption of Open Badges as part of the recognition that we can offer teachers and appointees through our SQA Academy Courses We will explore the possibilities that Open Badges offer in terms of digital certification in the future.
This is a fantastic opportunity for Scotland to confirm its reputation as a leader in new approaches to the recognition of learning. And well done to Joe for his vision and energy in taking this forward in such a convincing way.
ReplyDeleteComment taken with due reverence ;-)
ReplyDeleteIn another sphere described this really as giving I hope greater encouragement to the innovators across all the sectors in lifelong learning.
Opening the doors to opportunity can be challenging the real challenge though can be getting others follow you through . Thought for instance that by now schools would be doing much more with www.sqa.org.uk/diva but folks choices and even our own system sometime conspire to slow things down. Colleges and Workbased learning have made a bit more of this . On badges I hope that community learning and other areas like this are first to push through door here. Interesting though a lot of interest from big corporates who want badges for their company programmes
Yes, congratulations Joe for your vision and persistence - great news!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing you at MozFest. :-)
Thank you for your enthusiasm, vision and persistence, Joe - it's great news!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to catching up at MozFest. :-)
Hi Joe, once again congratulations on making this happen! It's great to see Scotland's national awarding and accreditation body leading the way with Open Badges. Very much looking forward to working with you and the other members of the Open Badges in Scottish Education Group to take things forward.
ReplyDelete