Digital badges are ways to show evidence of acquired skills and knowledge, a digital analog to physical merit badges one could earn in Boy or Girl Scouts. Museums, associations, online communities, and others are now issuing badges for achievements gained through sponsored activities. A single badge represents what might be considered a “microcredential,” representing skills and knowledge in a particular area and accomplishment of a particular set of requirements. A collection of badges may represent a deeper body of knowledge and skills.
What does the growing use of digital badges mean for higher ed? From MOOCs to faculty development to new ways of structuring academic programs and courses or just recognizing skills, there’s much for us to consider about potential uses of digital badges at Duke.
Join us to participate in a 3-part webinar/short course presented by the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), and hosted by the Duke Digital Initiative (DDI):
Digital Badging and Meaningful Microcredentials
Free, no registration required:
- Tuesday August 26, RENCI Conference Room, Telcom Building, 1-2:30 pm
- Tuesday September 9, 042 Bostock Library, 1-2:30 pm
- Tuesday September 16, RENCI Conference Room, Telcom Building, 1-2:30 pm
Learning Objectives:
During this online ELI Short Course, participants will
- Explore core concepts that define digital badges, as well as the benefits and use of badges in learning-related contexts
- Understand the underlying technical aspects of digital badges and how they relate to the broader landscape for each learner and issuing organization
- Critically review and analyze examples of the adoption of digital credentials both inside and outside higher education
- Identify and isolate specific programs, courses, or other campus or online activities that would be meaningfully supported and acknowledged with digital badges or credentials
- Consider the benefit of each minted badge or system to the earner, issuer and observer
- Develop a badge constellation or taxonomy for their own project
- Consider forms of assessment suitable for evaluating badge earning
- Learn about design considerations around the visual aspects of badges
- Create a badge issuing plan
- Issue badges
NOTE: To obtain full value from the webinar, participants should plan to complete brief assignments between the course segments, in support of the webinar learning objectives. See https://www.educause.edu/eli/events/eli-short-course-digging-into-badges for more detail on the learning objectives and for a short list of resources about digital badging.
“A collection of badges may represent a deeper body of knowledge and skills.” What I think is essential to a truly global new culture of (online) learning would be that people could earn credits, whether officially matriculated or not, on activities such as MOOC participation and the like. That way, while encouraging life-long learning as a second benefit, people could avail themselves of the huge and growing potential for gaining knowledge and skills worldwide. Poor kids from Africa even could earn the equivalent of a Harvard education or at least climb the first stepping stones. However, to pull this off, serious educational programs would need to come together under one evaluation framework which e.g. would have to be administered by a body like the ISO or the UNESCO. But it would help greatly in increasing productivity, the division of labor, alleviate shortages of skilled labor and even allow many refugees who today arrive in a foreign country with their national diplomas not recognized to seek work that fits with their qualifications. (To give an example: I know a Ph.D. in statistics, refugee from Iraq, who works as a taxi driver in a European capital as his papers are not recognized. Had he had internationally standardized and recognized credentials, not only he, but also we as a society might be better off.)
Very good read. Many thanks ! Just as badges in the physical world serve many functions, digital badges are employed in a variety of ways. Badges can serve different functions depending on the activities with which they are associated. Commonly, badges are thought of as rewards but have been found to be most effective when they also contribute to goal setting, reputation, status affirmation, instruction and group identification. Badges also promote lifelong learning that extends beyond the classroom and brings to light accomplishments that otherwise might have been hidden