Insights from 2023 Badge Summit

The Participate team was honored to be part of 2023 Badge Summit @CU Boulder, where we collectively demonstrated how open recognition is so much more than microcredentials!

If you missed it — no worries! In this blog post, we'll share some highlights and insights. But, be sure to join us next year!

Official Badge Summit website →

Cultivating Recognition Systems for Social Learning

You're on board with digital credentials, microcredentials, digital badges... what about open recognition?

In this article, Participate CLO Julie Keane, PhD discusses the open recognition and digital credential community and some of the key themes she sees emerging in the space — including a details about a project with Black Girl Ventures!

Read the article →

More Badge Summit articles on Medium →

🎉🏅 Embracing Open Recognition at the Badge Summit 🏅🎉

Three key advancements coming out of the Badge Summit, according to Laura Hilliger of We Are Open Co-Op (and *Badging Badge Summit design — Frame with ORE logo cc-by-nd Bryan Mathers, “2023 Badge Summit” design remixed from the original on the registration page) :

1. The establishment of a recognized body within the USA that allows community members to go after funding for projects specifically related to Open Recognition. 

2. Further specification around an Open Recognition Toolkit. The community identified the need for a package of resources before the Badge Summit and took the in-person time to further define what it is. 

3. The welcoming of new community members! Oh geez, what an incredible and inspirational group of people we had the pleasure of meeting at the Badge Summit. Obviously there are too many to mention, but thank you to those who have taken the next step and joined the community here!

Read the full blog post →

Badge Summit Sessions Rundown

Don Presant, president at CanCred by Learning Agents, shared this great high-level recap of the Summit session!

- Don's pre-conference webinar on Open Recognition 101 - slides with notes here: https://lnkd.in/gttSNtfv
- Monday morning: a pre-conference unconference on open recognition, hosted by the Open Recognition Posse. Unconference = a fluid agenda based on the needs and numbers of the participants.
- Table Talks after lunch, Nate Otto: how the Open Recognition Community App or ORCA can organically recognize the things that matter in your community, starting small, and refining the badge system as you go.
- Justin Mason: how Clarkson University's success partnering with organizations to co-design & co-value microcredentials with an inclusive design mindset.
- Justin Mason 2: Micro-credential Developer OERToolkit,a guided process for developing co-curricular micro-credentials.
- Later Monday afternoon: Doug Belshaw & Laura Hilliger badgesplaining how Open Recognition REALLY is for everyone.
- Tuesday morning: Philippe Petitqueux on Let’s Badge Normandy, the flagship example from France, demonstrating how Open Badges + Open Recognition practices = a significant contribution to the creation of a learning territory.
- Krystal Rawls, Ph.D. from CSUDH: Rapid Fire on how Open Recognition can increase retention of underrepresented minority students, acting as a catalyst for student engagement.
- Rapid Fire 3: Stella Porto and Romina Flores on their badge initiative within the Inter-American Development Bank. 
- Tuesday afternoon: Long Panel showcasing real-world examples of Open Recognition systems that promote equity and lifelong learning, led by Julie Keane, PhD Keane of Participate with Stella Porto of Inter-American Development Bank, Krystal from CSUDH, and Philippe from Let’s Badge Normandy.
- Later in the afternoon: Old Guard members Doug Belshaw and Sheryl Grant, PhD Grant look back to 2010 to revisit the origins of Open Recognition and the rise micro-credentials, and discuss the evolution, influence, and potential challenges and impact of both on trust in learning. 
- Wednesday post-conference workshop: Brainstorming next steps for Open Recognition, including the exploration of an open recognition toolkit, and how we can advance open recognition in the Americas, learning from initiatives like Let’s Badge Normandy and Reconnaitre, the Open Recognition Alliance in Europe