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Open Learning Recognition

At the end of November of 2019, the sixth Multiplier Event of the OEPass project entitled “Open Learning Recognition” took place at UNED, Madrid (Spain). The main purpose of the event was to disseminate the project results and discuss the following topics:

  • volume, scope and types of open credentials offered by open educational providers;
  • current state of recognition of open educational credentials in Europe;
  • the Learning Passport as a way to facilitate recognition of open credentials in Europe; and
  • impacts of increased open educational provision on HEIs.

These topics were covered by a total of four presentations and one open debate. Firstly, Timothy Read and Beatriz Sedano from UNED presented the OEPass project and its objectives, stages, outputs and results with publications. Following this introduction, José Antonio Márquez Aguirre, educational consultant and leading expert on digital competences in Spain, gave a presentation about the scope of open educational credentials in Europe. The third speaker, Jorge Arús-Hita from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), talked about the impact of increased open educational provision for HEIs. As a fourth and final presenter, Ildiko Mazar, from Knowledge Innovation Centre, introduced and explained the functions of the Learning Passport that was developed within the OEPass project as a way to facilitate the recognition of open credentials in Europe. After the presentations, Elena Martín-Monje and Timothy Read from UNED moderated an insightful debate on the future of open education recognition and certification.

Among the participants, there were mostly university professors from different European HEIs (Spain, Belgium, Turkey, UK); and some master and doctoral students related to online open education at national and European level.

The detailed programme, all the presentations and their video recordings are available for consultation.

ICDE World Conference on Online Learning

The 28th ICDE World Conference on Online Learning was organised by the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) and the National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL) at Dublin City University (DCU) in Dublin (Ireland) on 3-7 November 2019. The conference was titled “Transforming Lives and Societies“.

The conference theme anchored the growth of new models of open, online and digital learning in a number of big questions and the wider context of the Sustainable Development Goals. It aims to explore many of the contemporary problems and opportunities facing today’s educators in the globally connected digital-era.

OEPass colleagues, Jochen Ehrenreich and Elena Trepule, attended this prestigious event and delivered a presentation about “Utilising a Meta-Data Standard for Digital Credentials and Recognition of Open Learning“. You can find the full paper here.

OEPass at the EDEN 2019 Annual Conference

EDEN’s 28th Annual Conference, titled “Connecting through Educational Technology – to produce effective learning environments” was held on 16-19 June 2019, hosted by the VIVES University of Applied Sciences in Bruges (Belgium).

New generation of learning technologies and networks are ubiquitous, embedded and mobile which reshape access to, and delivery of, learning. Cutting edge fields are artificial intelligence, learning analytics, micro-learning, new credentialing, revolution of assessment, massive open online courses (MOOCs), personalized learning, game-based learning, flipped classroom, Digital Makerspaces and alike.

OEPass deals with the topic of micro-credentials, the most timely and relevant concept in higher education and adult learning. OEPass researchers updated the experts in this important topic and the concept of the Learning Passport.

The workshop presented an extended meta-data standard and a corresponding learning passport for digital credentials and micro-credentials. It explored possible scenarios, stakeholders and guidelines. The proposed standard adds specific HE and micro-credential extensions to the ESCO (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications & Occupations) metadata schema. The aim was to showcase how a secure digital, blockchain-enabled credentialing solution could look like and function, creating a reference for developments and standardizations.


Title of the workshop: Utilising a Meta-Data Standard for Digital Credentials and Recognition of Open Learning
Jochen Ehrenreich, Raimund Hudak, DHBW Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative
State University, Germany

Synergies at EDEN19

Ferenc Tatrai, Senior Advisor of the consortium member EDEN, presented the OEPass project in the conference’s Synergy session, pointing out its natural synergy with its “twin” project MicroHE.

As part of the OEPass project, the Learning Passport was also introduced.

He emphasized that an improved version of the Learning Passport is ready for public testing – everybody is welcome to experiment with the tool and determine its usefulness by filling in the online form. The OEPass partnership also welcomes feedback on how well the Learning Passport facilitates the recognition and transferability of non-traditional learning experiences.

The OEPass project creates a standard format for describing open education and virtual mobility experiences in terms of ECTS which:

  • Addresses common criticisms (lack of trust) of open education, in particular with respect to student assessment and identity;
  • Is scalable to hundreds or thousands of students through automatic issuing and verification of certificates;
  • Can capture a wide range of non-formal and formal open education experiences.

The most significant public results of the project are identified as follows.

  • Proposal of a concept of quality assurance whereby credentials would be assessed in terms of their transparency, portability, recognition by employers and academia, stackability and a number of other factors. It will also propose an initial quality-hierarchy for the most common open education credentials currently being offered.
  • Proposal of a standard format for describing open education and virtual mobility experiences in terms of ECTS called Learning Passport, capturing a wide range of non-formal and formal open education experiences.
  • Elaboration of an outline an ontology for the recognition of open learning, together with a meta-data standard and technology roadmap, which would allow for the automatic exchange of credit between European Higher Education Institutions.

The session audience received the direct link to the online form to experience the credential documentation first hand and to determine the main advantages of, as well as the difficulties in, using the Learning Passport.

Jochen  Ehrenreich, the co-author of the presentation supported the discussion on the subject of micro-credentials.

Bologna Credentials go Digital