I'm just starting to work through these badges, learning to walk before I run kind of thing. So, to obtain the badge Getting Started with Open Badges, I need to tell you 3 things I learned from the videos that surprised me and why.
Not as easy as it looks, at my age there's very little that surprises me any more. Having said that, I did try previously to get my head around the concept of the Open Badges and I have to say I found it somewhat baffling and unnecessary but I didn't get where I am today by simply giving up so when I read about the #23ThingsDigital, a series of tasks related to the badges, I thought I should give it another go. So, the videos surprised as much as they could. Firstly, they are easy to follow, I must admit I was able to work out roughly what the content was by the video names. I had already found out what the badges were, I knew how to create an account and log in, I even knew I could update my details, so I was first surprised to find out how many badges there were; hundreds of them. All different categories and subjects were covered so, essentially, I could create a specific group of badges which covered my personal development needs, even more surprising was that I could help my staff do the same. Being a home manager, I am responsible for ensuring that all staff are appropriately trained and experienced in the work they are doing. Finding new ways of learning is always exciting and if I am as involved in it as the staff then it's something we can do as a team, to help us grow and develop and get better all the time. Surprise number 2 came from finding out all the different ways to submit evidence to support the badge application and the different criteria levels associated with different badges. It was becoming clearer now that the SSSC were taking the learning and development of the workforce very seriously. Last surprise was how to share the badges. I like how we need to kind of teach ourselves how to show off (okay, its easier for some than others) our badges and the many different ways of sharing them on social media and with each other.
We are presently introducing care management systems in the home, all staff are signed up and trained how to enter digital records of the residents daily activities, and they already have accounts for online training courses so I think this is a golden opportunity to try and steer them towards the open badges and encourage them to start working through them at their own pace. We can share our achievements and even have a (friendly) competition just to stir up interest throughout the team. Learning shouldn't be something we think we don't have time for, it should become part of our working lives and I'm certain the prospect of having such achievements will encourage our staff to get on board and aim for better things.
Brian Murray.
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