Open Badges for Soft Digital Skills

Synergy workshop at the 9th EDEN Research Workshop 2016 at Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg, Germany:

Big thank you to the EDEN team – Ildiko Mazar & Kriszta Mihalyi – for bringing two Erasmus+ projects together and inviting me to join the workshop of another Erasmus+/KA2 project called eLENE4work which was part of the 9th EDEN Research Workshop at Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg, Germany.

It was a great opportunity to develop synergies and partner with this Erasmus+ project with which Open Badge Network has much in common. Here is a short description of eLENE4work:

“The eLene4work European project is tackling the definition of these soft skills, including digital soft skills, and proposes a series of actions and practical tools to help young talents better understand the expectations of employers, to assess their own level of competency and to further develop these skills through open education initiatives such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and OERs (Open Educational Resources).”

In the workshop we explored how Open Badges can be used to recognise digital soft skills in view of enhancing employability. We have looked at how the DIGCOMP: A Framework for Developing and Understanding Digital Competence in Europe (which is the EU standard for digital competences.) can and is already used for:

• assessment of digital soft skills – here the eLENE4work project develops an Orientation Guide and a Self-Evaluation Tool
• recognition of digital soft skills –  here the Open Badge Network project developed a set of DIGCOMP Open Badges to recognise digital skills based on the DIGCOMP framework.

In the workshop the participants could self-assess their digital soft-skills using eLENE4work tools and review the criteria for earning DIGCOMP Open Badges developed in the Open Badge Network project.

Our conclusion is that:

Open Badges help acknowledge, certify and communicate digital soft skills to relevant stakeholders including employers and can be used by individuals to enhance employability. By adding Open Badges representing soft digital skills to own professional profiles in various online media, individuals can demonstrate digital soft skills such as communication, teamwork, creativity and entrepreneurship are more and more in demand in today’s labour market.

You can view my slides from the EDEN Research Workshop below: