(pulled from: http://etherpad.mozilla.org:9000/badgeFAQ-organizers)

SCHOOL OF WEBCRAFT BADGE PILOT

GENERAL

What is the badge pilot?

The Assessment and Badge pilot is the introduction of assessments and associated badges into the School of Webcraft. There are a number of skill (Javascript, PHP) and value (Accessibility) assessments that Webcraft learners can submit to to earn badges, as well as peer-to-peer badges (Good Teammate, Peer Mentor, etc.), that learners can give one another. The pilot is a joint effort between P2PU and Mozilla. 

Why are you doing this?

The future of P2PU and other similar open education efforts is to further legitimize the learning that is occurring by offering learners a way to capture the learning that is occuring and carry it with them to other contexts, such as formal institutions or the broader career ecosystem. We are exploring badges as a way to do this. Learners can earn badges across various learning experiences, and those badges can act as a personalized transcript to demonstrate learning and signal achievements. Ultimately, we hope that badges will provide an alternative certification system for learners. Webcraft is an ideal environment because of the alignment with Mozilla - badges and assessments are Mozilla-endorsed and Mozilla (and other similar companies/institutions) can recognize badges as relevant and legitimate evidence of job skills.

BADGES AND ASSESSMENTS

What types of assessments and badges are there?

There are intentionally different types and levels of badges, as well as different types and sources of assessments. With an alternative certification system like badges, we can go beyond summative grades and abstract degrees, and capture more granular skills, as well as often neglected skills such as 'softer' skills like teamwork, communication, etc. Ultimately, your collection of badges can tell a more complete story of you for outside stakeholders. And with assessments, we can build in more authentic and meaningful assessments to encourage additional learning and skill development in the assessment itself. 

Pilot Badges:

• Skill badges (Javascript Expert, Javascript Basic, PHP Expert, PHP Basic)
• Value badges (Accessibility Expert, Accessibility Foundation)
• Community badges (Good Teammate, Peer Mentor, Innovator, Community Builder and Communicator) NOTE - you can give these badges directly to other peers
• OSQA participation badges - the Q&A system that powers our assessment/badge environment has its own badges that recognize behaviors and participation within the site. These badges can guide and mold good community behavior. Note: because we are using this site mostly for assessments/badges, these forum badges will not have as much relevance for the pilot, but they are there to support whatever exchange occurs. These badges will not be ported to the P2PU profile.

Pilot Assessments:

• Peer-assessed - all Basic badges will be peer assessed, meaning peers can vote on the work. At the threshold of Yes votes, the badge will be issued.
• Peer-assessed, Peer-issued - all community badges can be issued directly by each peer based on their own implicit or informal assessment of interaction with various peers. To issue these badges, click on the Badge tab, then the appropriate badge and use the Issue Badge form. 
• Guru or Has-The-Badge-assessed - all Expert level badges will be assessed by those who already have the badges (Gurus) to ensure that experts are assessing expert level work.

How are assessments and badges related?

Badges are simply the evidence of the assessments. The assessments will provide learners with the opportunity to demonstrate their learning, and successful assessments will earn learners the various badges. 

We are conscious of not simply replicating the formal education experience, and therefore, we want assessments to reflect the nature of the peer- and interest-driven environment of P2PU. Therefore, all skill assessments are voluntary - learners can seek them out when/if they want to assess their learning and try for the badge. We also want assessments to be relevant outside of the assessment itself. So what's that mean? No tests. Interesting challenges and exercises. Ability to post previous or existing work. Etc. 

The evaluation of the assessment work should also reflect the nature of the environment. Therefore, expect to see peer and self assessments, as well as 'guru' or 'has-the-badge' assessments.

How were the assessments/badges developed?

We have identified a small subset of skills, values and qualities that are important to the Webcraft community to run in the pilot. We worked with Mozilla and a number of academic and community experts to develop the initial assessments.

Why isn't there a badge for the skill I am most interested in?

Again, we have identified a small subset of skills, values and qualities that are important to the Webcraft community to run in the pilot. We understand that this is not a comprehensive set, and we hope to scale quickly over the course of the next few sessions. Please let us know if there is an assessment/badge that you feel should be included.

PILOT SPECIFICS

How does the pilot work?

All the assessments for the pilot are posted within the dedicated assessment/badge environment: http://badges.p2pu.org (log in with your P2PU account).  Assessments are posted as 'questions' and learners can submit their work as responses to the relevant badge challenge. The assessors (peers or gurus depending on the assessment), will review the work against the rubric and then vote on the work. At the defined threshold of Yes votes, the badge will be issued. Learners will have access to all of the feedback as well. 

How long will the badge pilot be run?

The pilot is running at the end of the January sessions of Webcraft courses. The dedicated assessment/badge environment will be available for a few weeks starting February 21st until Mid-March.

What's next after the pilot?

The ultimate goal is to have a comprehensive set of assessments and badges in the School of Webcraft environment to cover all of the skills and qualities important in web development. We hope to scale quickly from the pilot over the next few sessions of P2PU.

PARTICIPATION

How can I participate?

• 1) Spread the word to your course members. Drive them course members to the dedicated badge/assessment environment. Encourage them to try for relevant skill badges, as well as to issue the peer-to-peer badges as they see fit. 
• 2) Encourage your course members to peer assess and vote on the challenges that are relevant. This will help them learn as they review the work of others as well. 
• 3) Participate yourself! Take the assessments. Earn badges! Vote on the submitted work. 
• 4) Provide feedback. We want to learn as much from this pilot so your feedback is essential. We will be issuing a survey at the end of the session, so please take the time to thoughtfully complete that. Also, you can send us your feedback at anytime via badgefeedback@gmail.com

Do I have to participate?

No, again, this is voluntary. We hope that you will pass along the information to your course members so that they are aware, but active participation is not required. That said, the success of anything in P2PU depends on an active and engaged community so we hope that much of the community will be involved.

Do I get a badge for being a course organizer?

Yes! You will be issued a Course Organizer badge at the end of the session. 

How can I provide feedback on the badge pilot?

Please email us your ideas and feedback: badgefeedback@gmail.com