Digital Credentialing:

Recognizing Learning in the Era of

Education 5.0

Prof. Sr. Ir. Dr. Suhaimi Abdul-Talib

Chairman, UiTM Private Education Sdn. Bhd.

(suhaimi.talib@intec.edu.my)

Seminar on Education 5.0, UiTM, Shah Alam, 25th May 2019

• GLOBAL CHANGES AND EMERGENCE OF UBIQUITOUS LEARNING.

• DIGITAL NATIVES AND TECHNOLOGY IN T&L.• DIGITAL CREDENTIALING.• CONCLUDING REMARKS.

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

THE FORTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION @ INDUSTRY 4.0

Convergence of… AI, IS, Robotics, IoT, Quantum, Nano,

Biotech & 3D printing

Creation of… Global Digital Neural Net or the Brain

Net

Opportunity from … Growth, Ecosystems & Reduced

Costs

Unprecedented …..Velocity & Scope,

Exponential Growth & Disrupting

industries globally

…it is the best of times, it is the

worse of times…

True story of a

confluence of

storms destroying

the Andrea Gail

and its crew off the

shore of

Gloucester,

Massachusetts.

The Perfect Storm?

Maste

rin

g t

he

Fou

rth I

nd

ustr

ial R

evolu

tion

TH

E I

MP

AC

T A

ND

BE

HE

FIT

S O

F

IND

US

TR

Y 4

.0 –

G.E

RE

PO

RT

The VUCA world?

JAPAN’S ‘SOCIETY 5.0’

‘Society 5.0’ or hyper-smart society is the society where technology solves social challenges and corresponds to various requirement thereby providing comfort living for everyone

Abenomics ‘Growth Strategy 2017 - accelerate ‘4th Industrial Revolution’ and materialize ‘Society 5.0’

(Source: Compiled by Industry Research Department Mizuho Bank, Ltd.)

Rapid changes in production processes lead to more and faster on the job training/ retraining.

The development cycles of training programs have to be shortened if companies want to stay competitive.

The digital revolution resulted in widespread media usage by global citizen. Internet users shifted from a spectator role to a participatory role where content is created, distributed and shared.

The convergence of these two trends means that, when the nature of work changes, the way workers learn how to do that work also

changes.

TRENDS PROMOTING THE NEED FOR UBIQUITUOS LEARNING

UBIQUITOUSLEARNING

EDUCATION OF THE FUTURE

TECHNOLOGY ENABLED

EDUCATION IN THE NEW ECONOMY

(Irwin, 1999)

• GLOBAL CHANGES AND EMERGENCE OF UBIQUITOUS LEARNING.

• DIGITAL NATIVES AND TECHNOLOGY IN T&L.• DIGITAL CREDENTIALING.• CONCLUDING REMARKS.

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

How do we instruct and engage such potentially powerful group of students that has unlimited information and

technology at their finger tip? Do we utilize technology and employ the flipped classroom model for instruction?

DIGITAL NATIVES

Wondergem, K.(2017). Here comes Z: Strategies to engage a new generation of college students. https://elearningindustry.com/engage-a-new-generation-of-college-students-strategies

ENGAGING GEN Z LEARNERS

Use technology and take advantage of Gen-Z drive for self learning. Incorporate use of devices in searching for credible information.

Build a social community beyond the classroom, where instructors make themselves available for assistance.

Develop globally relevant content. Gen-Z learners are practical, savvy, and thrive on a good challenge.

Be brief and use visuals. Gen Z prefers micro-learning; filtering, out the noise is key to engagement.

Keeping it simple, but trigger their curiosity into paying attention.

Wondergem, K.(2017). Here comes Z: Strategies to engage a new generation of college students. https://elearningindustry.com/engage-a-new-generation-of-college-students-strategies

The key to connecting with Gen Z learner lies NOT only in the delivery of the content, BUT the connection to real world experiences.

Use of technology should not dispense with opportunities for human interaction. Instead, it should provide opportunities for the active

engagement of learners, provide content that is relevant and linked with what learners already know, and offer opportunities for feedback and support

ENGAGING GEN Z LEARNERS

Wondergem, K.(2017). Here comes Z: Strategies to engage a new generation of college students. https://elearningindustry.com/engage-a-new-generation-of-college-students-strategies

THE CHANGING FACE OF EDUCATION

EDUCATION 3.0Structured content.Instructor-Centric.Pedagogy

EDUCATION 4.0Emerging sense of learning ownership.Learners as co-creators.Courses built on learning bits and micro-credits. Content-CentricHeutagogy

EDUCATION 5.0Learner driven learning.Learners as agent of their own learning.Learners as partners and collaborators.Seamless learning-not bounded by semesters or location.Personalised learning pathway.Professors on demand.Learner-CentricPeeragogy/Cybergogy

Learner Self-Direct Less passive learners

Learner Choice/Learner VoiceNegotiated content and assessment

• GLOBAL CHANGES AND EMERGENCE OF UBIQUITOUS LEARNING.

• DIGITAL NATIVES AND TECHNOLOGY IN T&L.• DIGITAL CREDENTIALING.• CONCLUDING REMARKS.

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

The 21st century economy is marked by rapid changes in technology. Many industries are adopting digital technologies to automate work, create efficient processes and lower costs.

Companies are changing what they do and how they do it. With more businesses using technology for processes, workers must have inter and intrapersonal skills like empathy, collaboration and communication to be successful in today’s modern workforce.

21st CENTURY EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS & e-CREDENTIALING

Wells, S.( 2017). 21st century skills badging: A bridge from education to the work force.https://medium.com/read-write-participate/21st-century-skills-badging-a-bridge-from-education-to-the-workforce-350f8ac688c4

Employers look for talent and abilities, Candidates need to signal/ show/indicate that they have the skills necessary to do

the job well. Inability to signal/ show/indicate these skills will result poor professional advancement.

This is where micro-credentialing becomes relevant.

21st CENTURY EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS & e-CREDENTIALING

Wells, S.( 2017). 21st century skills badging: A bridge from education to the work force.https://medium.com/read-write-participate/21st-century-skills-badging-a-bridge-from-education-to-the-workforce-350f8ac688c4

Micro-credentialing: process of earning a micro-credential (mini-degrees/digital certificates/image file) in a specific area.

To earn a micro-credential, one need to complete a certain number of activities, assessments (tests online/writing an essay/creating a presentation) and undertaking projects related to the area.

Typically, micro-credentials are shorter and possibly cheaper than other credential options like college degrees or certificate programs.

Evidence-based micro-credentialing offers a proficiency-based recognition system for professional development

21st CENTURY EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS & e-CREDENTIALING

Wells, S.( 2017). 21st century skills badging: A bridge from education to the work force.https://medium.com/read-write-participate/21st-century-skills-badging-a-bridge-from-education-to-the-workforce-350f8ac688c4

Digital badges (a form of micro-credentialing) are awarded as proof of candidate successfully completing & acquiring the learning outcomes. They are visual representation of a credential that is displayed and verified online. Collection of digital badges constitute a portfolio of metadata – an updated digital resume upon completing learning activities

Digital badging and its standards was introduced by Mozilla (Davis & Singh, 2015; Gamrat & Zimmerman, 2015) and is known as open badges infrastructure (OBI).

(Learner-centered)

(Flexible & Accessible)

(Increase Motivation & Collaboration)

Reynold, D. (2017). Micro-credentialing: Recognizing Learning with Badges, https://sites.psu.edu/dennisreynolds/2016/02/25/micro-credentialing/

As employers shift from degree based hiring to competency-based hiring, they place more value on skill sets and less on a certificate or degree.

21st century employability skills- knowledge, functional skills, and personal habits and traits necessary for success. These are competencies that today’s employers find increasingly important.

Wells, S. (2017). 21st Century Skills Badging: A Bridge from Education to the Workforce https://medium.com/read-write-participate/21st-century-skills-badging-a-bridge-from-education-to-the-workforce-350f8ac688c4

21st CENTURY EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS & e-CREDENTIALING

Digital badges were designed with two sets of verification: Instructor-verifiedand employer-verified badges.

21st Century Skills badges are aligned with New World of Work’s curriculum and resources for its “top 10” 21st Century Skills: Adaptability, Analysis/Solution Mindset, Collaboration, Communication, Digital Fluency, Empathy, EntrepreneurialMind set, Resilience, Self-Awareness, Social/Diversity Awareness.

21st CENTURY EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS & e-CREDENTIALING

Wells, S. (2017). 21st Century Skills Badging: A Bridge from Education to the Workforce https://medium.com/read-write-participate/21st-century-skills-badging-a-bridge-from-education-to-the-workforce-350f8ac688c4

OUTCOMES – MQF(2017)

1. Knowledge & understanding

2. Cognitive skill/problem solving

3.Practical-work skills, specialized,

technical /organizational skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Digital skills

Numeracy skills

Leadership & team skills

4. Personal-autonomous, LLL, value, self-

development/ Entrepreneurial Skills

5. Ethics & Professionalism

Analysis/Solution Mind set

Collaboration

Communication

Digital Fluency

Social/Diversity Awareness

Empathy

Adaptability

Resilience

Entrepreneurial Mind set

Self-Awareness

NEW WORLD of WORKS (2017)

21st CENTURY EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS & e-CREDENTIALING

MQF-LEVEL OF QUALIFICATIONS (2017)-Partial Qualifications

The Framework is applicable in principle to the issuance of “partial qualifications” to support upgrading and upskilling initiatives through short programmes and modular learning and when accumulated may lead to full qualifications (provided that the learning outcomes and credits are quality assured).

MQA IS CURRENTLY DRAFTING A GUIDELINE FOR GOOD PRACTICE ON MICRO-CREDENTIALING

(Expected to be ready by end of 2019)

MQF (2017) ACKNOWLEDGES MICRO-CREDENTIALING?

SOME CONCERNS ON MICRO-CREDENTIALING

Reynold, D. (2017). Micro-credentialing: Recognizing Learning with Badges, https://sites.psu.edu/dennisreynolds/2016/02/25/micro-credentialing/

STUDENTS’ ACCESS & AWARENESS OF THE BENEFIT?

INSTRUCTORS’ TRAINING & AWARENESS OF THE BENEFIT?

EMPLOYERS’ RECOGNITION OF ITS MERIT

PUSH vs PULL APPROACH IN ITS DEVELOPMENT?

FEEDBACK?

PRIVACY ISSUES?GEO TAGGING?

The use of digital badges is transforming how skills and competencies are acknowledged, verified and recorded. These portable credentials carry a payload of data and evidence about the achievement for which they were earned, making digital badges efficient instruments for official recognition of competencies that move with individuals as they go from one context to the next. When aligned to an emerging set of technical specifications, digital badges help form a new common currency for skill and career development and workforce advancement.

SOME CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

"...ku sempurnakan seikhlas hati..."

Prof Sr Ir Dr Suhaimi Abdul TalibChairman, UiTM Private Education Sdn. Bhd.