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Digital Badges for Learning: No Sewing Required

Claudia Timmann, MSLIS, PhD & Erika Bennett, MLIS, MSCapella University; 225 South 6th Street, 10th Floor

Badges as a Digital Curriculum & Flexible Assessment Model

Badge Curriculum Design Resources

Utility of Badges

• “Badges represent scaffolded steps to common

expectations”

• Used as a tool to track learning progress and inspire self-

motivated learning

• Demonstrates digital accreditation of a skill or

achievement.

• Measure tasks and acknowledge performances.

• Measurement badges can build on each other toward

mastery (versus Participation badges that just say “you

showed up”)

• Peer assessed or self assessed badges are possible.

• Recognize soft skills: critical/innovative thinking, teamwork,

or effective communication

1. digitalme Badge Canvas: http://www.digitalme.co.uk/badgecanvas/

2. Badg.us (Open Source): http://www.scoop.it/t/about-badges

3. Badge System Design Template (Mozilla): [Look for “Badge

System Design Template] Google Docs (their browser-integrated

BadgeKit is in private beta) http://www.scoop.it/t/about-badges

4. Forallbadges.com

5. Openbadges.org

6. Toolness.github.io/chicago-badge-studio.html

7. Passport app developed by Purdue University : faculty give

students digital badges that demonstrate mastery of skills

http://www.itap.purdue.edu/studio/passport/

Discovery Process: Get to Know Your End User

Developing Personas of Ideal Learner

Appraise and understand the needs of learners and use this

information to develop information services (SWOT analysis)

Competency Mapping

Online competency mapping tools like Sophia.org can help

define the exact competencies and learning outcomes desired

through a badge network.

User Stories

• Badges can benefit low performing learners

• Different types of badges effect different learners’ motivation

and goals

• Students and faculty can use Open Badges to promote

achievements with Blackboard Learn courses

Academic Institutions Using Badges

1. Georgia State University J. Mack Robinson College of

Business – Robinson Digital Badge

• Badges offered in these areas:

•

2. Indiana University - BOOCs (Big Open Online Courses)

• Through Mozilla’s Open Badges initiative, award digital

badges that allow students to showcase their work and

employers to recognize skill sets

• Badges are based on Assessment Practices, Assessment

Principles, and Assessment Policies

3. CREDO Reference Information Literacy Course Module

• Standards-driven info lit instruction

• Provides multi-media materials that highlight skills

development

4. Portland State University Library: Digital Badges for

Creativity and Critical Thinking Project (graphical

representations of acquired skills)*

5. Purdue’s Passport Badge Learning System

• Demonstrates academic achievement through

customizable badges

• Guides students through tasks and allows faculty to

follow progress and connect badges to course objectives

Career Competencies & Discipline Ties

Game Theory Design Model

Badges & Domain Specific Career Skills – Capella University Library had

intended to develop information literacy badges for the Human Resources

program to foster info skills for corporate environmental scans in 2013.

Information Skills to Complete an Environmental Scan (HR

professionals)

Gamification (incorporation of aspects of game playing) is

increasingly being seen as a method for improved learning

design and learning motivation. Many video game and learning

media companies are adopting badges as reward systems for

mastery of learning.

Badge Stories

• The MacArthur Foundation: currently doing work with digital

badges involving a funding initiative in partnership with the

Mozilla Foundation.

• Portland State University Library: faculty, librarians, and other

stakeholders collaborated to develop the curriculum Digital

Badges for Creativity and Critical Thinking*

Community of Practice

Badge Google Group

Mozilla Open Badges community space.

http://groups.google.com/group/openbadges/topics

Includes:

• library-related sub-group

• weekly digest

• weekly calls

Quick Badge Design Tips

Make meaningful experiences - Don’t just focus on the visual

side of badges. Think about the lifecycle of the badge and the

experiences it acknowledges.

Endorsements hold weight – Consider whether the library will

be the endorser, or whether a larger body would be more

impressive.

Map out all the badges you can on the front end – Looking at

all your badges as a whole curriculum will help keep later

badges from muddling earlier ones.

Incremental, granular badges can be very rewarding – can

be used for scaffolded skill building, faculty development, nurse

continuing education, reference desk acquisition

acknowledgement for Work Study students, and more

Don’t ignore the visuals – Better looking badges are perceived

as having more esteem.

Additional Resources & Tools

1. The Badge Alliance - http://badgealliance.com

2. Badge Forge – used for issuing, earning, and researching

badges connected to Mozilla Badge Backpack

3. Achievery.com - global platform for recognizing and

verifying skills and credentials

4. What is an Open Badge System and How to Implement It -

http://www.slideshare.net/Ebizon/what-is-an-open-badging-

system-and-how-to-implement-it

5. Badge Lab Tutorial -

http://badgelab.herokuapp.com/tutorial/67062

6. Credly makes achievements more visible

7. Other institutions using badges

8. Student-made badges as self-assessment

http://digitalis.nwp.org/resource/4274

Badge System Design Model from Little Bird Games Littlebirdgames.com

Persona Creation

Learning Objectives

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Badge Design

Taxonomy

Badge Criteria

Skill Tree

Direct Badge Issuance

learner learning

applicationbadge badge

backpack

LRSoptional

Indirect Badge Issuance

learning

application

badge badge

backpackLRS

learner

learning

application2

assessment

system

Environmental Scan

Define Need

Formulate Questions

Access Sources Using Strategies

Evaluate and

Reassess

Business Innovation Change Management

Creative Thinking Leadership Excellence

Lean Six Sigma Managerial Coach

Marketing Excellence Project Management

Due to attrition of key stakeholders involved in the project, this

stalled any advancement. Research will continue with the goal of

partnering with Sophia.org to develop information literacy badges

in areas such as: ethics around writing, problem solving, critical

thinking related to appropriate research strategies, and more.

For more information, see: Easley, D. & Ghosh, A. “Incentives, gamification, and game theory: An economic approach

to badge design.” http://www.arpitaghosh.com/papers/EC-final.pdf

From: Regan, D., Raybourn, E. M. & Durlach, P.J. “CHAPTER 20 ‒Learner Modeling Considerations for a Personalized

Assistant for Learning (PAL).“ Design Recommendations for Intelligent Tutoring Systems - Volume 1: Learner Modeling

http://eduworks.com/wp-content/uploads/resources/DesignRecommendations.pdf

Zhang, X., Majid, S., and Foo, S. (2010). Environmental scanning: An application of information literacy skills

at the workplace. Journal of Information Science, 36, 719-732. DOI: 10.1177/0165551510385644

Fontichiaro, K. and Elkordy, A. (2013). From stars to constellations: Digital badges can chart growth.

Learning & Leading with Technology, 41(4), pp.12-15.