2017-May-19 Minutes

Open Badges Workgroup

19 May 2017, 9am-12pm

MINUTES

Attendance: Brett Herzog (ProExam), Hal Herzog (Learning Objects), Justin Pitcher (Chalk and Wire), Sherri Braxton-Lieber (UMBC), Steve Gance (WA CC’s), Phil Long (UT-Austin), Nate Otto (Concentric Sky), Tim Cook (LRNG), Satoru Hattori (Uchida Yoko / 1EdTech Japan), Thor Anderson (1EdTech/Helio Training), Heather Harter (Penn State), Mark Mercury (Acclaim/Pearson), Matt (?); 1EdTech Staff: Jeff Bohrer, Sam Birk, Sandra DeCastro

Open Badges Workgroup

• Jeff gave a brief update on the workgroup’s timeline and progress to date

• 1EdTech OB 1.x validator now available at https://www.imsglobal.org/activity/digital-credentialing-badges (free 1EdTech login required)

• 1EdTech OB 2.0 validator Phase 1 ~90% finished. Contact Nate or Markus to help with testing.

• The following companies stated their products are 2 weeks or less from incorporating OB 2.0: Acclaim, Chalk and Wire, Badgr.

  • Acclaim and Badgr will give their users the option to download badges compliant with v2.0, however, current backpacks are not ready.

• Workgroup started identifying requirements for the OB 2.0 compliance certification test

• Workgroup discussed emerging topics and themes heard at conference that could be considered by workgroup in the future:

  • Linked data signature spec (from W3C; Nate created issue #152 in github/openbadges-specification)

  • Blockcerts extensions

  • Relationship between OB and other specs like LTI and Caliper (ex: sending a badge payload to a gradebook as a score)

  • Self-asserted badges

  • Changing criteria property into an array (Justin created a new issue)

  • Verifying evidence that cannot be publicly available (e.g. health data)

  • Educational properties of OB for education (i.e. assessment might not be an optional property)

• Workgroup joined with the 1EdTech Extended Transcript workgroup for 90 minutes and:

  • Reviewed eT, OB, and Learning Pathways data models

  • Emphasized that eT and OB standards are very close to final, so there is no intent to modify them prior to going to market as final in the next 3-6 months.

  • Proposed to form a new task force to examine all three specs to determine whether future changes to specs are recommended in order to harmonize these related standards. Postulated:

    • 1EdTech will take on Learning Pathways as new specification

    • Keep specs separate but harmonized

    • Design an abstract layer with an information services model