#BadgeChat was founded in December, 2014 by a group of educators who are passionate about credentialing learning and achieving. While there are thousands of us around the globe issuing badges to learners, there was not yet a regular twitter chat for those of us in the K-12 space to gather for learning and sharing about badging. After reaching out to leaders in the field (like the good folks at Mozilla and The Badge Alliance) for their thoughts, #BadgeChat was born.
Please take a moment to introduce yourself. I'm Noah in Denver. Evangelist for using micro-credentials to tell stories about who we are as learners and achievers. Also, lead organizer of #BadgeSummit:) #badgechat
Don from Canada, where Spring Thaw has suddenly become Winter Whiplash. Host of @CanCredCA, Canada's warm and friendly Open Badges solution. Co-founder of the @OpenRecognition Alliance #BadgeChat
First question coming up. All are welcome to jump in anytime and lurkers are always valued and appreciated for your own form of active engagement! #badgechat
A1: I believe there IS a place for Gamification. In most Badge Systems it is inherent...it's there even if not by design. To that end, designers are wise to intentionally consider and incorporate it #badgechat
Randy Macdonald, Program Manager for Innovation Academy, an after school CS program for MS & HS students in Oregon. Also a program manager for SuperQuest, the @OregonCSTA PD program for K-12 CS Ed in OR. Just beginning to use digital badges for @OregonCSTA PD
#badgechat
A1 Mixed feelings about gamification as an Open Badges advocate. Khan Academy-type badges can be useful for those who like them. But Open Badges are about portable recognition beyond the course and "course sticker" badges tend to devalue Open Badges #badgeinflation#BadgeChat
Dig this notion of leaning on Gamification as a starting point with Badging. What about Gamification do you think makes it more accessible for folks just getting going? #badgechat
A1 cont. I never "lead" with gamification, just as I try to avoid mentioning boy scouts for the first 5 minutes of any conversation about badges. #BadgeChat
A1 Mixed feelings about gamification as an Open Badges advocate. Khan Academy-type badges can be useful for those who like them. But Open Badges are about portable recognition beyond the course and "course sticker" badges tend to devalue Open Badges #badgeinflation#BadgeChat
A1: Gamification and badging seem like a natural fit, but we should be careful to distinguish their intended outcomes. Gamification -> better learning engagement & Badging -> better learning recognition. #badgechat
Excellent point! This is definitely something we are considering as we implement badging - we are trying different names - tokens, medals, etc. for the gamification piece #BadgeChat
A1: Gamification and badging seem like a natural fit, but we should be careful to distinguish their intended outcomes. Gamification -> better learning engagement & Badging -> better learning recognition. #badgechat
Sometimes, a fun experience can spark creativity and new ways of thinking. It may not need to start with coursework, it could be a scavenger hunt or participatory event like a library or campus tour. #BadgeChathttps://t.co/lZmQS4VFKB
A2 That said.. some game mechanics are helpful, even for Open Badges: goals, pathways, leveling up, dashboard, quick feedback, fail/fail/succeed, dashboard, teams.... Not so much: competition #BadgeChat
I've used it with teacher leaders - provided them with various tokens to earn - then set an expectation of levels and XPs they need to reach as a leader. Provides choice and gets things done without the compliance checklist #BadgeChat
Great point, Martin! We can have the most amazing Badge System in the world but it's only meaningful if people actually care to use it. Using Gamification to foster engagement can be a means to that end #badgechat
Q3: If Gamification is a consideration when designing Badge Systems, what important questions can this help designers think about (that they might not otherwise be asking themselves)? #badgechat
A2: I have worked with teachers who are very experienced in gamifying their curriculum. Some have even created or used existing badging systems as recognition of achievements. However most of these badges have little value outside of their classes. #badgechat
I've used it with teacher leaders - provided them with various tokens to earn - then set an expectation of levels and XPs they need to reach as a leader. Provides choice and gets things done without the compliance checklist #BadgeChat
This really compliments @donpresant's point about thinking about implications when it comes to #openbadges. Will gamified mechanics positively impact Badges' value in broader ecosystem beyond our own classes/schools? #badgechat
A3 What behaviours are you trying to encourage? If engagement, are badges the only answer? If badges, who is the audience for your badges and can you separate engagement badges from recognition badges?
#BadgeChat
Great point @donpresant . Perhaps it’s a bit telling that @khanacademy has not yet embraced portable credentials. Hopefully they’ll roll something out eventually around subject mastery. #openbadges#badgechat
In reply to
@donpresant, @donpresant, @khanacademy
A3: Will these badges transcend this gamified course or curriculum? Will earners and others recognize these achievements outside of this gamified course? #badgechat
A3: Definitely the badge earners and what they plan to do with the badges. As @IA_TAOF stated, does it travel outside the environment and have meaning to others? #BadgeChat
Q3: If Gamification is a consideration when designing Badge Systems, what important questions can this help designers think about (that they might not otherwise be asking themselves)? #badgechat
A3: Designers might be more inclined to dig into learners' own behaviors and motivations, and not just the inputs/outputs in order to earn the Badges #badgechat
A1: seems to me like many badging systems have #gamification elements built in so I say yes! The two seem to go well together. In fact from my perspective badges serve well to exemplify the end of s quest line and demonstration of completion #BadgeChat
A3 What is the goal/objective? What are paths to achieve the goal? What will it recognize - the completed path, mastery, implementation? How does it align with current administrative goals & initiatives? #BadgeChat
A4: I defer to points made by @badgrteam and @donpresant. To have good response to this critique, we need to be thoughtful about how the Digital Badge Credential lives beyond the walls of our own classes/schools #badgechat
Lisa Giambattista, a alternative program middle school teacher who became interested in badging and student learning engagment when I noticed how excited my students get when they earn a badge award on the Achieve 3000 online reading program.#badgechat
A4. I keep in mind something from a previous chat, "All badges are micro-credentials, but not micro-credentials are badges" Differentiation between the two, and branding the purpose of each is critical #BadgeChat
Let your voice be heard! According to you, the educator, what is the single biggest factor impacting teacher retention? Please RT to your PLN @tes@CognitaSchools
Hola Lisa! Didn't realize that Achieve was giving out Badges. If it is working for kids, you might want to also check out @stackupscore for the Badges students can earn for their online reading #badgechat
A4: I’m not sure we need to worry about this. Digital Badging is a big tent and should include recognition of many kinds and values. It just depends on your audience and intended outcomes. #badgechat
A4: this is such a great (and relevant) question. I believe we need to ensure quality of the credential represented by the badge. Standardizing could help or a rating system to vote up and down badges (I.e. yelp for badging) can help as well #BadgeChat
it's often debated that Ss will either have a performance goal with badges -- just collect 'em. Framed well, there's also a learning goal, too #badgechat
A4: I’m not sure we need to worry about this. Digital Badging is a big tent and should include recognition of many kinds and values. It just depends on your audience and intended outcomes. #badgechat
A4 Consider using points and a dashboard to track progress instead of badges. Or have "closed badges" (not exportable - "tokens"; thx @ShabbyGeek101) and open badges in the same system. Open badges would be exportable, possibly as milestones for tokens #BadgeChat
Takeaway: Another of Randy's points about this being a Big Tent...we are wise to be careful with building fences around any of this work and declaring what should/shouldn't be "right" ways to badge #badgechat
Awesome chat this week! Super big gracias to an amazing collection of geniuses from San Antonio to Ontario generously sharing a few minutes of your Monday to drop knowledge on us! #badgechat
Also great to have some long lost friends back this week for the first time in a minute. And to the Lurkers, we love and value you scrolling and clicking along with us! #badgechat
A5 It'sd\ complicated, goes beyond simplistic intrinsic/extrinsic dichotomies but I do like @IA_TAOF's engagement vs. recognition matrix.. worth thinking about more, especially in light of the work that @participate are doing with teachers #BadgeChat
My takeaway: The value of badges depend on the earners perception of the value which can motivate the earner. Higher levels of badges could be more difficult to earn but depends on the goals. Can be similar to gamification sometimes but other times different #badgechat
@SenorG Glad to have you and all our other @OpenBadges friends back for this weeks #badgechat. Hope everyone has a first week of April and see you next week.
@SenorG Glad to have you and all our other @OpenBadges friends back for this weeks #badgechat. Hope everyone has a first week of April and see you next week.
#BadgeChat I am almost completely new to this. I was graded via badges in a grad class this past summer and I'm interested in making my grading for yearbook pages badge based. Where do I start?
