RAPPORT
linking this informal learning with the demands of employers( Law et al. 2014).
Students’ employability is increased when engaging in extra-curricular activities during their study as they are better at evaluating their ability in‘ soft skills’ such as leadership, communication, creativity and self-promotion( Lau et al. 2014). In some employment scenarios, the soft skills learned at university are more important than the subject discipline skills( Yorke & Harvey 2005). Some universities are seeking to develop soft skills by offering extra-curricular awards and using Open Badges to reward their achievement( Ward 2012). Typically these awards are run through the institutional careers service, and are achieved by students who demonstrate a commitment to extra-curricular activity such as volunteering and the ability to reflect on how this makes them more employable. The Higher Education Achievement Record( HEAR) 15 is one current mechanism being used to record student achievement. This is an electronic document, but cannot be displayed online in the way an Open Badge can, and while criteria may form part of the HEAR, evidence is not linked.
Increased Motivation Clark et al.( 2006) suggest that motivation is almost as important as cognitive aptitude in influencing a student’ s ability to complete studies. Motivation is linked to cognitive workload, with an overload in cognitive work likely to unconsciously demotivate and decrease persistence. Assessment is also closely linked to motivation, with well-designed assessment helping students to learn through formative feedback. Over-assessment or badly designed assessment can change students’ motivation from mastery of the subject to the mastery of taking exams.
So if motivation is almost as important as cognitive aptitude, how can motivation be increased? Could the gamification of learning also introduce elements of increased motivation? Open Badges have a close link with the gamification of learning. Gamification is becoming more visible in everyday life. One example is to run with tracker devices such as Fitbit and Nike’ s Fuel Band. These devices track how many steps the wearer takes in the day and synchronises the data collected with an online website. The device site will then provide rewards in the form of digital badges for meeting daily targets and other milestones( Kapp 2013).
WWW. RECORDINGACHIEVEMENT. AC. UK Issue 1( 2017)
Similarly, setting rewards for reaching specific achievements can be motivational for some students, and can be used to guide students towards best study practices.
Hakulinen et al.( 2013) studied the use of badges in their TRAKLA2 online learning environment. Badges were awarded to Higher Education students for completion of tasks such as solving exercises without mistakes, returning work early or completing a section of work with full marks. Students in a control group did not receive any badges. In all cases, the awarding of badges had no link with the final grade for the course, but the results of the study showed that“ achievement badges had a significant impact on some aspects of students’ behaviour, and a small group of students was especially motivated to pursue them.”
We have discussed earlier how gamification of our everyday life and within learning can be used as a motivator. Ryan & Deci( 2000) describe motivation as“ concerning energy, direction, persistence and equifinality – all aspects of activation and intention.” They discuss how research about motivation is valued outside the field of psychology, especially for those in roles such as managers, teachers, religious leaders, coaches, and parents – roles that require persuading others to engage and be active. People who are intrinsically motivated will be more resilient, creative and will show enhanced performance. Badges are an extrinsic motivator and may not provide the preferred motivation within students. However in the same context it could be argued that the attainment of a university degree certificate is also an extrinsic motivator.
Research Question The research reported in this article was looking to explore several key questions: How aware were people working in UK HEIs of Open Badges and how did this vary with their role? I assumed that most learning technologists would have an awareness, but I wanted to explore management and academic awareness. At what stage of implementation of Open Badges were institutions?
• Were there any geographical differences in attitudes or implementation of Open Badges? We knew this was going to be an international survey with members of the Europortfolio 16 network invited to respond, so
15 http:// www. hear. ac. uk /
16 http:// www. eportfolio. eu /
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