Presentation of a new initiative called VMPASS which will test practical tools to enable recognition of learning enabled by OER, virtual mobility and/or learning, by and between European universities. Presentation delivered at EFQUEL Innovation Forum 2013 in Barcelona.

1. www.efquel.org
Enabling Recognition of
Non-Traditional Learning
An idea for a virtual mobility passport
Anthony F. Camilleri
EFQUEL Innovation Forum 2013
September 2013, Barcelona, Spain

2. www.efquel.org
Unbundling is opening up
education

3. www.efquel.org
Unbundling is seen to:
• Reach more non-traditional learners
• Increase the visibility of the Higher
Education Institution (HEI)
• Address a perceived demand to explore
an emerging area of HE Innovation
• Widen the provision and learning
experience for registered students
• Complement traditional university funding

4. www.efquel.org
added complexity
due to new technologies, new learning methods, new actors, new
assessment methods….
complicates harmonisation
reduces understanding
hinders recognition

5. www.efquel.org
Calls for Change
“Encourage the development of mechanisms
for the assessment and certification of learning
outcomes achieved through OER”
2012 Paris OER Declaration
“critical elements are not in place to enable
digital learning and OER to be mainstreamed
across all education and training sectors”
“establishing mechanisms to validate and
recognise skills and competences acquired
through OER”
EC Rethinking Education

6. www.efquel.org
Difficulties in Recognition
• The vm/ocw course is not described in
terms of existing recognition instruments,
such as ECTS
• The ECTS is not recognised due to lack of
trust in the teaching/learning
methodologies used in course delivery
• ECTS is not recognised due to difficulties
in integrating the content between several
courses offered by different institutions.

7. www.efquel.org
Barriers to Recognition
• Lack of knowledge about VM/OCW
providers and courses
• Lack of transparency regarding
institutional procedures, pedagogy and
assessment
• Lack of trust in institutional quality systems

8. www.efquel.org
A possible solution
• Concept of a ―learning passport‖
• A flexible record of a flexible learning
pathway – jointly filled in and
exchanged by all actors

9. www.efquel.org
A possible solution
• Concept of a ―learning passport‖
• A flexible record of a flexible learning
pathway – jointly filled in and
exchanged by all actors
• A suggestion developed by the
OERTest project…

10. www.efquel.org
The OERTest Learning Passport

11. www.efquel.org
Validating the passport
• Proposal for a collaborative clearinghouse
of recognition data for VM-based
education
• Clearinghouse populated with completed
learning passports
• Each passport validated by a recognition
office, and results of that validation shared
with the rest of the recognition community

12. www.efquel.org
Validating the passport

13. www.efquel.org
We are Looking for
Volunteers

14. www.efquel.org
Methodology
• Bring together a coalition of institutions
who are willing to test these ideas in a
living lab
• Test the passport
• Develop, Test and Pilot the Clearinghouse
in a live setting
• Recruit a growing network of institutions

15. www.efquel.org
We hope to:
• Create new flexible learning pathways for
students inside Higher Education
• Allow institutions to increase the scope of
their offer, by integrating teaching/learning
done at other institutions into their
curricula
• Improve resource-efficiency within HEIs
• Lead to an increase in the use and impact
of Open Educational Resources (OER)

16. www.efquel.org
Join Our Living Lab
• Contact:
anthony@camilleri.com
vmpass.eu
(coming soon)
Presentation from: www.slideshare.net/anthonycamilleri
Released under a Creative Commons
Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Belgium License
You are free:
• to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit
the work
• to Remix — to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
Attribution — You must attribute the work in the
manner specified by the author or licensor (but
not in any way that suggests that they endorse
you or your use of the work).
Share Alike — If you alter, transform, or build
upon this work, you may distribute the resulting
work only under the same or similar license to
this one.