"Let's take a lesson from video games or Scouts...Badges in the classroom" |
A digital badge is “a representation of an accomplishment, interest, or affiliation that is visual, available online, and contains metadata including links that help explain the context, meaning, process and result of an activity” Digital badges afford learners a new game-like way to educate themselves. They motivate students by having something to show for their learning achievements, and build on their online identities by building a reputation as a learner. Gibson et al. (2013) argue that digital “badges motivate continued engagement, which increases time on task and supports skill acquisition through performance” (Gibson, Ostanshewski, Flintoff, Grant, & Knight, 2013, p. 403)
Online social media environments are a platform in which people enjoy sharing their achievements, and success. Through the use of digital badges, students can now create a digital portfolio, or resume of their skills. Since it is imperative to be able to effectively use technology in future society, digital badges are a way for students to show that they are capable of using different technology to employers; this is important as the one of the main reasons for modern education is for students to come out of school with the necessary skills to be employable in an area that they are interested in. Since literacy, and the skills to function in society have changed so drastically from using one skill to being able to collaborate, and transfer skills to different problem-solving environments, post-secondary institutions are not able to show the plethora of different skills students may have through a degree, diploma, or certificate. This is where digital badges come in to play. “Digital badges have the potential to become an alternative credentialing system, providing visible recognition in digital symbols that link directly via metadata to validating evidence of educational achievement” (Gibson, Ostanshewski, Flintoff, Grant, & Knight, 2013) In this respect, I predict that in the future, digital badges may replace traditional grades, as they are better suited to show specific evidence of learning. Digital badges are another great way to introduce the localized curriculum aspect of multiliteracies pedagogy, as badges can be created through many different organizations, based on credentials that they deem necessary for skills within a certain area. They also touch on game based learning, as students can compete to get more badges, or be a top performer. |