Getting Started: Badge Learners & Earners
🧰 Return to the Open Recognition Toolkit
Introduction
If you've ended up on this page, chances are you know what Open Badges are and are interested in finding out more not only how you earn them, but specifically earn Open Recognition. Gaining recognition goes hand in hand with recognising others. In order to gain recognition for your talents, skills and aspirations in ways that go beyond credentialing, you will want to work together in a Community of Practice and help others understand what Open Recognition is. There are step by step guides to help you gather recognition from within your network, for exampleUsing Open Recognition to Map Real-World Skills and Attributes.
Open Recognition acknowledges that learning occurs in various settings, through community involvement, online courses, workshops, or other informal means. Recognition is the key word, and it has a wide scope outside of formal education, the professions and hiring practices.
Levels of Open Recognition
- Personal: There is the concept of self-recognition and self-assertion. You can make a claim about yourself, like you might do in a resume or cover letter, in a verifiable way that might be supported by others.
- Interpersonal: There is also social recognition, the kind you get among peers and in communities, build around geography, or interests, or practices.
- Organisational: Employers, admissions and other institutions that offer types of recognition. Most often, the recognition offered at this level is not Open Recognition, but rather credentialing. However, there are some that use Open Recognition (mostly institutions working within the Open Recognition space)
- Societal:
- Universal:
Open Recognition is about empowerment – you empower others to recognise useful skills, attitudes, behaviours and talents, and others empower you with recognition for the same. There are many benefits to Open Recognition:
Benefits of Open Recognition
- Showcase Diverse Learning Pathways: Open Recognition allows you to showcase skills and knowledge acquired through diverse learning pathways
- Motivate and Engage People: Recognising a broad range of learning experiences can motivate individuals to pursue continuous learning and engage with learning opportunities that align with their interests and goals.
- Skill Validation: Open Recognition provides a way to validate and acknowledge specific skills and competencies gained through practical experiences, which might not be reflected in traditional academic credentials. You gain exposure and recognition for your work, enhancing your professional reputation and potentially leading to career opportunities.
- Community Building: Open Recognition fosters a sense of community, creating a positive and collaborative environment.
- Project Success: Recognising people encourages sustained involvement, which is crucial for the success and growth of projects.
Understanding the benefits of Open Recognition can help you reflect on the kinds of things you want to be recognised for. What follows are some examples that will help you further reflect.
What do YOU want to be recognised for?
I want to have my prior learning recognised
Examples:
- Gap Year: Volunteering abroad, teaching English in a non-English speaking country.
- Time Spent in Industry: Working as an apprentice in a technical trade, like plumbing or carpentry.
- Self-Taught Skills: Learning a new language or programming through online courses and self-study.
I want to be recognised for belonging to a group or team
- Early Adopters: Being part of a pilot group testing new educational technology in a school.
- Innovation Team: Contributing to a cross-functional team developing a new product or service in a company.
- Sports Team: Playing an integral role in a local football club, contributing to team strategy and success.
I want to receive endorsement or attestation for something I have done
- Online Version of Offline Award: Receiving a digital badge equivalent to an employee of the month award.
- Community Service: Recognition for significant volunteer work in community development projects.
- Academic Achievement: Endorsement for outstanding performance in a university research project.
I want to be recognised for being effective at what I do
- Project Management: Successfully leading and completing a complex project under budget and ahead of schedule.
- Teaching Excellence: Recognition for innovative teaching methods that significantly improve student outcomes.
- Customer Service: Consistently receiving positive feedback for excellent customer interactions.
I want to be recognised as an independent learner
- Self-Directed Study: Completing an online course in a specialised field without formal instruction.
- Creative Project: Developing and completing a personal project, like writing a novel or building a piece of furniture.
- Problem-Solving: Independently finding and implementing a solution to a significant issue at work.
I want to be recognised for my leadership journey
- Mentoring: Guiding and supporting less experienced colleagues or students in their professional development.
- Change Leadership: Leading an initiative that successfully brings about positive change in an organisation.
- Community Leadership: Taking a lead role in organising community events or local initiatives.
I want to be recognised for developing my practice
- Professional Development: Attending workshops or courses to enhance skills in a specific field.
- Innovative Techniques: Implementing new and effective strategies or techniques in one's work or field of study.
- Peer Collaboration: Actively engaging in collaborative projects with peers to refine and improve professional skills.
Gather your evidence
Once you've figured out what you would like to recognised for, you can find a variety of learning experience providers, communities and peer groups who can recognise you for those things. There are some Badging Programmes listed here on Badge.wiki, but the more common way to earn recognition is to join a course or a community who is already issuing badges for Open Recognition. Check out the Communities of Practice on the Participate platform. If you are unable to find a place to earn your badges, you might consider recognising yourself.