MozFest – Page 4 – Open Thinkering

MozFest!

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Doug Belshaw

Yesterday I emailed some people who I thought would be interested in the Mozilla Festival. But then I realised, pretty much everyone who reads my blog would be (or should be!) interested in it.

Seeking Educators Who Get the Web: Let’s work together at MozFest!

If you’re an educator, instructor or student working at the intersection of learning and the web, Mozilla wants to work with you at MozFest. Education and digital literacy are a key focus of this year’s Mozilla Festival in London, Nov 9 – 11.

The goal: unlock the full educational potential of the web, help learners move from digital consumption to digital creation, and grow a global movement for teaching web literacy to the world. You can learn more or register at http://mozillafestival.org/

Key sessions and themes for educators:

“Hacktivate Learning.” Educators and developers joining forces to design learning activities. Teaching others to harness the creative power of the open web, moving from digital consumers to digital creators. http://mozillafestival.org/schedule/themes/hacktivate-learning/
Coding for Kids. Including a game arcade and lots of activities for youth. With Hive NYC, WYNC’s Radio Rookies, DigitalMe, O2 Think Big and more. http://mozillafestival.org/schedule/themes/coding-for-kids/
Hackable Games. Exploring the web as platform for a new generation of hackable games. The web as “ultimate level editor,” teaching how the web works as you hack and play. http://mozillafestival.org/schedule/themes/hackable-games/
Skills and Badges. Learn how projects like Mozilla’s OpenBadges and others are rewarding achievement and unlocking the web’s full learning potential. Build your own badge systems and more. http://mozillafestival.org/schedule/themes/skills-and-badges/
Webmaking for Mobile. Coding and playing with mobile devices driven by the web. The web as platform for a new generation of devices and experiences. http://mozillafestival.org/schedule/themes/mobile-webmaking/

What are we inviting you to do?

1) Bring your expertise, curriculum and content

Contribute your educational expertise to MozFest themes like badges, mobile, coding for kids, hackable games and digital literacy.
Bring your existing digital literacy projects, curriculum and content. Connect with colleagues and leaders to refine your project, further your educational goals, and share resources.

2) Bring students and youth

This year’s Festival includes an entire theme of sessions and activities just for youth, including a game arcade and content from Hive NYC, WYNC’s Radio Rookies, DigitalMe, O2 Think Big, Global Action Project and more.

3) Help build Webmaker tools and resources

Collaborate with Mozilla. We want to build a “big tent” of like-minded edudcators to teach the world the web.
Learn more about and help shape the future of Webmaker tools, projects and curriculum.

How do I get involved?

You can register here now: http://mzl.la/mozfest-register

There are also complimentary tickets to the Festival available for educators or instructors who:

bring youth or students with them
bring specific ideas, projects or lessons they want to share and work on at MozFest
volunteer to run mini-sessions at the Festival
spread the word about the Festival and Webmaker to your networks
volunteer to act as a youth manager for a few hours

Interested? Get in touch here: http://mozillafestival.org/contact-us/

I’m looking forward to seeing you at MozFest! 🙂

If not now, when? Why we need #openbadges and #dmlbadges for lifelong learning RIGHT NOW.

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Doug Belshaw

badges

You know what? If I could, god-like, step outside of time and decide just when to make a large-scale change to western education systems, I think I’d choose right now. Why? People are ready for change. The current system isn’t working and we haven’t got the money to prop it up any more.

And you know what else? If I could choose an organisation to come up with an alternative system, I’d entrust a non-governmental international organisation that had demonstrated its non-profit and open credentials to drive things forward. Kind of like Mozilla, then. But you’d also need big-hitters and a backer credible with educators. Step forward HASTAC, the US Department of Education and NASA.

It’s now or never. As a father of two children under five, I passionately want something different in place for my children going forward. I think this is the only chance for changing educational assessment radically before my children become adults.

If you’re involved with education at any level you know how much assessment drives learning. Whether we’re talking about intrinsic or extrinsic motivation relating to badges, we can all agree of the importance of getting something out of learning experiences. Something that shows what you know. That’s why I think badges are perfect for MOOCs, for example.

But it’s no good sitting on the sidelines. I’m off to the Mozilla Festival today to meet more people involved in the #openbadges project and, hopefully, Mark Surman (CEO of Mozilla) to discuss his proposal for a web literate planet. What can YOU do? Well, there’s $2 million of (international) competition money available for a range of things relating to badges:

I encourage educators to get involved in the content competition, identifying the types of content may suit badges. Closing date: 14 November 2011
I encourage researchers (faculty members and students alike) to get involved in the research competition to establish a sound theoretical basis for badges. Closing date: 28 November 2011
I encourage designers and coders to get involved in the design competition to implement the technologies required for a badge infrastructure. Closing date: 12 January 2012

As I’ve explained recently, the world doesn’t change in and of itself: it takes human agency to do so. Are you going to step up and help move things forward?

Image CC BY-NC-SA keoshi