Make me a badge — using LED’s and Java (and a little bit of meta data sprinkled on top)
Why aren’t the Maker Community making more of Open Badges?
For a number of years now the Maker Community (and I use this term loosely to encapsulate a lot of other areas) has been growing from strength to strength. We’ve seen some amazing companies arrive (and sadly some depart) along the way, organisations coming together to offer their shiny new ideas through mediums like Kickstarter — such as the awesome new ‘toy’ (their words not mine) from Technology Will Save Us. But for me, what has been missing here is the recognition of the skill and the learning that takes place when young people attend these clubs and workshops— soldering until their fingers hurt, and hammering away at the code editor.
Enter (stage right) Open Badges.
Organisations such as CoderDojo have been playing around with badges for a while, via their Autodesk badges and Credly, then through their own Zen platform. This is a great first step, but it really surprises me at the lack of recognition for Open Badges within the Maker Community more widely. It seems like such an obvious and easy step to make to galvanise the experiences of the young (and often not so young) people that attend.
What happens when you meet GitHub?
About 3 months ago I embarked on a bit of a mission to start engaging more closely with these groups to afford them the opportunity to get started with Open Badges, and see what would work for them as organisations working with young people.
I was able to build upon some initial work done through Badge The UK (before my time at DigitalMe) which grew into Badge The World (a place to pledge your commitment to, and share how you’re using badges across the globe). The journey started here with partnerships that led to badges such as ‘Techster’ created with Technology Will Save Us and the ‘101’ badge from Code Club. These were a great launch point — but it really began to take shape after an amazing conversation I had with John Britton from GitHub Education at BETT this year. It seemed there was a real opportunity to work with secondary school (aged) students to provide alternative opportunities for learning. Yes, ensuring that the badges supported the learning that was happening in schools, but providing them with additional pathways to develop their skills.
Enter (stage left) OBA Makers
Working with some amazing partners, from the BBC and the British Science Association to Mozilla and Arduino — through OBA Makers we are putting digital creativity in the spotlight like never before, to help build the nation’s digital skills and get everyone excited about digital creativity!
Travelling with friends
On the journey, we hope to inspire audiences both young and old, new to the maker community, or more seasoned and looking for a way to get skills recognised. Take a look at how OBA Makers is helping to support school pupils develop their skills
But, this is just a start, a mere foray in the possibilities of what badges can bring to this community (and the learners hungry for these kinds of opportunities within educational settings.) Now don’t get me wrong, there are definitely conversations happening with lots of different people, but it’s going to take someone to take the leap and explore badges within their communities to really kickstart this within the movement. So, I’m looking for fellow travellers, to car-share and collaborate along the way. Is that someone you?
How can you get involved?
If you’d like to begin exploring badges within our OBA Makers space then please get in touch: matt.rogers@digitalme.co.uk
If you’re already doing something amazing with badges, we’d really like to hear about it and share the work you’re doing, submit your pledge to Badge the World!
Want to bring badges into your own programmes and community, then get started by signing up for a free academy and request a demo!
