[Air-L] Badges Competition: Call for Proposals

[Sheryl Grant]

CFP: HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Badges for Lifelong Learning
Competition        Competition Overview:
Bringing together badge content and program providers, designers and
technologists

   - The "Badges for Lifelong Learning" Competition will gather leading
   organizations, learning and assessment specialists, designers and
   technologists to create and test working badge systems in the wild.
   - Together, competition participants will contribute to a robust badge
   ecosystem, where traditional and 21st century skills and achievements are
   inspired, recognized, translated across contexts, and displayed and managed
   across the web.
   - The result for learners: new learning and knowledge, real-world
   outcomes like jobs, credit for new skills and achievements, and whole new
   ways to level up in their life and work.

Collaborate with leaders in education, industry and government

   - Badges for Lifelong Learning competition
collaborators<http://dmlcompetition.net/Competition/4/badges-collaborators.php>include
leading organizations exploring the potential of badges for their
   own work and programs.
   - These include NASA, the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, Energy,
   and Veterans Affairs, Intel, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the
   National Association of Manufacturers, Microsoft, and many
others<http://dmlcompetition.net/Competition/4/badges-collaborators.php>
   .
   - These organizations will provide real-world examples, content,
   programs, activities, and other learning resources for the competition,
   actively collaborating alongside select participants.
   - This is a unique opportunity for badge designers and technologists to
   work with some of the world's most innovative organizations, collaborate
   with other competition participants, or focus directly on their own project.


Who should participate?

   - Organizations and groups with "badge friendly" content, programs, or
   activities.
   - Individuals or teams interested in advancing new approaches to
   learning.
   - Learning and assessment innovators interested in new ways of inspiring
   and recognizing learning across contexts.
   - Designers interested in badges and sets of badges.
   - Developers and technologists with ideas around building systems or
   tools to support badges.

How to participate     There are two main ways to participate. Applicants
can submit:

   1. Badge Content and
Programs<http://dmlcompetition.net/Competition/4/badges-stage-1.php>-
proposals focused on learning content, programs, and activities that
   present an opportunity for badges and badge systems. These applicants will
   submit to Stage One (see below).
   2. Badge Design and
Tech<http://dmlcompetition.net/Competition/4/badges-stage-2.php>-
proposals focused on badge or badge system design and the supporting
   technology that makes them work. These applicants will submit to Stage Two
   (see below).

NOTE: Applicants can submit proposals in a single category, or in both.

The competition has three stages: 1) Content and
Programs<http://dmlcompetition.net/Competition/4/badges-stage-1.php>;
2) Design and Tech<http://dmlcompetition.net/Competition/4/badges-stage-2.php>;
3) Match-making and
Finals<http://dmlcompetition.net/Competition/4/badges-stage-3.php>.
(View the timeline.)
<http://dmlcompetition.net/Competition/4/badges-timeline.php>

Winners

   - Winning badge systems will be selected from those presented at the
   Finals in Stage Three by an expert panel of judges and announced at the end
   of January 2012.
   - Criteria will include:
      - overall technical and pedagogical quality;
      - effectiveness of the badges' assessment process;
      - aesthetic and design quality;
      - likelihood of acceptance and adoption by learners, institutions,
      employers, and the general public.
   - Winners will receive up to $200,000 for their projects
      - Awards ranging from $10,000 to $200,000 will be granted to the
      winning teams from Stage Three. These awards will be granted based on
      project feasibility and complexity, team member expertise, length of time
      required to complete the work, and level of institutional support.
      - Time to complete winning projects is one year.
   - Representatives from winning teams will attend the Winner's Meeting and
   Digital Media and Learning Symposium in San Francisco on February 29, 2012,
   followed by the Digital Media and Learning
Conference<http://dml2012.dmlcentral.net/>on March 1-3, 2012and
present their projects at a special forum. Winners must also budget
   travel expenses to participate in the 2013 Digital Media and Learning
   Conference.
   - Winning badge systems will launch and join the badge ecosystem in early
   2013.


Sheryl Grant
Director, Social Networking
HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation
Digital Media & Learning Competition <http://www.dmlcompetition.net/>
Duke University
Box 90403
114. S. Buchanan Blvd., Bay 5
Durham, NC 27708-0403


<http://www.youtube.com/user/video4hastac#g/p>