Review: Randall, D. L., & West, R. E. (2020). Who cares about open badges? An examination of principals’ perceptions of the usefulness of teacher open badges in the United States

I was really unsure about what else to post for my blog post this week and thus, I decided I shall just keep it simple and do a simple review of the article by Randall & West from this week's readings. It is by no means a comprehensive review and you should probably want to read the whole article if you want concrete details. However, if you are like me (lazy to read the whole article), keep your expectations low and read on....

Summarizing the good and bad

Open Badges in Education
The Good	The Bad
Provides micro-credentials (proof you have a certain skill)	Questionable value of micro-credentials
Allow students to be the decision makers: what to learn,  who to learn it from	Negative connotations (linked to ‘easy to achieve’ badges in games)
Help higher achievers stand out, highlight skills and abilities
Improve inter-school collaboration

Perceptions of Principals / Hiring Personnel Key Findings:

- Respondents unfamiliar with key terms 'open badges' and 'micro-credentials'

- Unfamiliarity = No opinion on perception of value

- After receiving basic information, value on increased significantly (so there is value after all, all it takes is recognition! hmmm....)

- Helpful in hiring process if badge reflects relevant skill

- Helps to determine candidates' weaknesses / deficiencies

- Useful to recognize professional development / training

Badge Types in order of importance:

1. Achievement

2. Capability

3. Soft Skills

---- Not Important-----

4. Role

5. Participation

6. membership

How to improve system:

- Educate employers about badges and value of badges

- Standardize / Universalization of badges to increase the value

- Design badges for specific jobs

My take:

In my professional career (I work in the military), badges are given out for two main reasons (i) recognition of a skills qualification and (ii) recognition of completion of a SAF-wide professional development course. The value of these badges lie in the stringent requirements to acquire one and the organization-wide perception of the value of these badges. In similar vein, these should be the main considerations when implementing the badge system.