Digital badges Digital badges are a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality or interest that can be earned in various learning environments.[1] Origin and Development[edit] Showing a user's group of badges from Mozilla's Badge Backpack. Traditional physical badges have been used for many years by various organizations such as the United States Army[2] and the Boy Scouts of America[3] to give members a physical emblem to display the accomplishment of various achievements. While physical badges have been in use for hundreds of years, the idea of digital badges is a relatively recent development drawn from research into gamification. In 2007, Eva Baker, the President of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), gave the Presidential Address at their annual conference on the need to develop Merit badge-like “Qualifications” that certify accomplishments, not through standardized tests, but as “an integrated experience with performance requirements.” Functions of Badges[edit]
Encyclopedia of Earth Virtual Worlds, Avatars, free 3D chat, online meetings - Second Life Official Site Open Badges Badges What is a badge? A badge is a symbol or indicator of an accomplishment, skill, competency, or interest. Badges can be used to represent achievements, communicate successes, and set goals. They can support learning that happens beyond traditional classrooms. What can badges do? Badges can: Illustrate wide sets of skills and achievements; Provide concrete evidence and proof of skills, achievements, and interests; Help unlock new career and learning opportunities. Why do we need badges? Learning today happens anywhere and everywhere. What are the benefits of badges? Signal achievement to peers, potential employers, collaborators, educational institutions, and others. What forms do badges take? The badge itself is more than a static image or button. The information behind each badge provides justification and validation, including: This supporting data reduces the risk of “gaming” the system and builds in an implicit validation system. Who can issue badges? Badge Systems The OBI: Absolutely.
Badges for Lifelong Learning Georgia Virtual Learning Open Online Teacher Training Games For Learning Institute 'Badges' Earned Online Pose Challenge to Traditional College Diplomas - College 2.0 By Jeffrey R. Young The spread of a seemingly playful alternative to traditional diplomas, inspired by Boy Scout achievement patches and video-game power-ups, suggests that the standard certification system no longer works in today's fast-changing job market. Educational upstarts across the Web are adopting systems of "badges" to certify skills and abilities. If scouting focuses on outdoorsy skills like tying knots, these badges denote areas employers might look for, like mentorship or digital video editing. At the free online-education provider Khan Academy, for instance, students get a "Great Listener" badge for watching 30 minutes of videos from its collection of thousands of short educational clips. Traditional colleges and universities are considering badges and other alternative credentials as well. But the biggest push for badges is coming from industry and education reformers, rather than from traditional educational institutions. What is the best way to certify higher learning?
net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7085.pdf Send Them on Learning Missions Posted by Shelly Terrell on Wednesday, December 4th 2013 Included in the Digital Tips Advent Calendar and part of the Effective Technology Integration category “If you think of learning as a path, you can picture yourself walking beside her rather than either pushing or dragging or carrying her along.” ~ Polly Berrien Berends We are born curious. Observe toddlers playing and you will notice their eyes questioning the objects around them. I want to be the kind of teacher who inspires my students to actively learn beyond my class, because they are curious. Create an online community Set up a class blog, wiki, Facebook group, Google Plus Community, Twitter, Instagram and/or Edmodo site.Keep it active by posting video and image challenges, polling them, posting fill-in-the blank statements, featuring their work, and hosting events like chats or Hang-outs on AirLet the students organize their own chat topics and times. Give them a choice of missions that are engaging. Integrate games Challenge:
A Night at the New York Public Library | Wired Magazine On May 20, 500 people will spend the night at the New York Public Library for an exclusive, invitation-only event designed to bring players in contact with some of the many inspirational artifacts housed at the library as part of a game called Find the Future. The New York Public Library is hosting the game during its Centennial celebration, and players worldwide can participate starting May 21. By Kris Nordgren, originally posted at ARGNet According to Jane McGonigal, gamers tend to read books more than they watch TV. The New York Public Library wants to change that perception. To do this, the library has developed Find the Future, an interactive experience that guides visitors through the many artifacts housed at the New York Public Library. Find the Future will initially be played by 500 participants who will be locked into the Stephen A. If you want to join the lucky few selected for Find the Future‘s inaugural run, go to the website and enter to win.
Questions about badges in higher ed Amy McQuigge’s prompt How can colleges and universities use badges? is a lot more slope of enlightenment and a little less peak of inflated expectations when it comes to badges in higher ed (Looking at you, major media sources.) The disruptive potential of badges in higher ed makes for compelling headlines, but the real nuts-and-bolts innovation is happening at ground level. I thought I would contribute something to Amy’s question by taking a look at the variety of badge systems being designed for colleges and universities. I started with HASTAC's higher ed tag in the Badges for Lifelong Learning topic on Scoop.it, but please add others I may have missed in the comments section below. By higher ed, I mean universities and colleges as institutions, not only a place where students learn, but where everyone learns. How are badges being used in colleges and universities? At the classroom level, we know one professor used badges in his calculus course. Where will all this innovation take us?
Rewards and Gaming #3dgamelab The idea of badges and achievements in gaming is a problem for teachers who have abolished extrinsic motivators in their classrooms. In 3DGL there is a Badges section, an Achievements section and an Awards section. I’m really conflicted by the awards section because it’s more like rewards than badges and achievements in my eyes. I wrote a blog post years ago that led me to raise the discussion of awards ceremonies at my school. We used to have monthly awards ceremonies where we’d give out awards to some kids and choose a few students of the month. It never felt good and the many kids who sat with no award were not being motivated to try harder. We actually put a stop to it. So I’m thinking of not offering any awards and making sure the badges and achievements are tied directly to actual completion of work. Be Sociable, Share!
The New Global Hiring Hall In the annual debate over how many foreign engineers should be permitted to work in the United States, one idea is predictably absent: reciprocity. Top engineers from around the world often find appealing jobs and pay in the United States, but the reverse isn’t necessarily true for equally talented U.S. workers [PDF] seeking engineering jobs abroad. To ensure an even playing field, why not promote a new global ethos of employing U.S. engineers, scientists, and software programmers anywhere in the world? Promoting a single global employment standard for engineers would help defuse the tense debate over how many foreign engineers should be permitted to work in the United States. To be sure, many U.S. engineers will never want employment outside the country. Things may be changing, though. Five factors are behind what may one day become an unstoppable worldwide desire for American engineers: G.