An author’s guide to badged open courses (BOCs)

What are Badged Open Courses (BOCs)?

Digital badging as a trend in education is now recognised. It offers a way to reward and motivate, providing evidence of skills and achievements. Badged Open Courses (BOCs) were piloted by The Open University (OU) in 2013. The project built on research into the motivations and profiles of learners using free educational resources which the OU makes available through its OpenLearn platform (Law et al., 2013). This research found that an increasing proportion of learners are keen to have their informal learning achievements recognised (Law, 2015a; Law, 2015b). Based on these data, a suite of free BOCs, assessed through the deployment of Moodle quizzes, was launched (https://www.open.edu/ openlearn/ get-started/ badges-come-openlearn [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] ). The initiative aligns with OU strategies to provide accessible routes into formal learning for those who might not otherwise have the opportunity.

As the diversification of OER across multiple platform types and formats has evolved to suit different learners and educators alike, so the notion of recognition for informal learning in these spheres has become accepted provision by some educators, where it can be achieved at scale. Awarding digital badges to reward participation and to recognise learning is growing across all educational sectors. As a coming together of games culture and the traditional badge issuing by clubs and societies, a digital badge has developed to become “…an online visual representation of an accomplishment or skill” (Ostashewski & Reid, 2015).

The OU’s application of BOCs as a type of free, online course delivered as OER on OpenLearn, is to target widening participation learners, the OU’s own students.

BOCs are published on OpenLearn and are currently structured as follows:

• Eight notional ‘weeks’ long, with three hours of learning each week
• Formative tests every week
• Summative tests at the mid-point and end of the course
• OU branded Statement of Participation (certificate) available upon successful completion which is downloadable and viewable from learners’ MyOpenLearn profile
• OU branded Digital badge available upon successful completion (Completion of a BOC requires the learner to have enrolled on the course, viewed every page on OpenLearn and passed the compulsory quizzes (the pass mark is 50%).) which is viewable from learners’ MyOpenLearn profile and available to share into a Mozilla Backpack and various social media platforms, such as LinkedIn.

BOCs vary in terms of level, depending on the intended audience. They can be aimed at both undergraduate and postgraduate students and informal learners alike, to support learning, career development and employability.

BOCs can be differentiated from other free online courses produced by the OU, in the following ways: