Digital and Open Badges: Assessment Tools for 21 Century Teaching and Learning?

A Poster Session for ISTE 2015Raymond S. Pastore Ph.D.ProfessorBloomsburg UniversityBloomsburg, Pennsylvania

What are Digital Badges?

Digital Badges are graphic representations of:

• Knowledge

• Skills

• Achievements

• Abilities

• Accomplishments

History and Development of Digital Badges

Physical badges have had an important role in Girl and Boy Scouts.

Digital badges have been used many gaming companies such as Xbox.

In 2011, the Mozilla Foundation develop Mozilla Open Badges and the MacArthur Foundation and Gates Foundation gave support to projects utilizing digital badges.

Digital vs Open Badges

Open Badges is a new online standard to recognize and verify learning. Mozilla Open Badges are not proprietary — they use free software and an open technical standard. That means that any organization can create, issue and verify digital badges, and any user can earn, manage and display these badges all across the web.

From: About | Open Badges

Who is using Digital Badges?

Digital badges have widespread applications and are used by persons in Education, Business, Industry, and Government.

Examples of Digital Badges

Digital Badges and AssessmentDigital Badges are more than a grade.

Example: Chris received an “A” in Biology

They represent actual achievement.

Example: Click on the image below o see a list of skills that Chris achieved in Biology this marking period.

• Experimental design• Light microscopy• Biochemical

characterization• of cells• DNA extraction • Genetic transformation• Differential staining• Enzymatic assays• Spectrophotometry• Bacterial culture

=

Digital Badges for Credentials

Digital Badges can provide prospective employers with SPECIFIC lists of skills and competencies.

Creating Digital Badges

Digital badges can be created in common applications such as Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, and graphics program, or free online web sites with templates.

Criticisms and Challenges of Digital Badges

• Students may focus on badges just as they do on grades

• Decisions will vary on how many badges, how to organize them, and where to draw the boundaries of content.

• Should a course have one badge or multiple badges and who will decide the standards and divisions?

• Badges may be seen by students as rewards and take away intrinsic motivation.

The Mozilla Digital Badge Backpack

From: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Badges/FAQs#Open_Badge_Infrastructure_.28OBI.29

“The Badge Backpack is Mozilla's core repository for storing digital badge data.

Each earner can have his/her own Badge Backpack, accessible only to him/her, where s/he can view badges, set privacy controls, create groups and share them.”

Digital Badges and

Online Learning

Digital Badges are badges are being awarded to students in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and hybrid and online courses.

Digital Badges of the Future

Will badges replace or supplement:

Resumes

Transcripts

Diplomas

Certifications

More and more digital badges will appear on social media, eportfolios, personal web sites, online job applications

History and Development of Digital Badges

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Digital Badges and Gaming

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Resources

See: A History and Frameworks of Digital Badges in Education

Nathaniel Stashewski and Doug Reid