#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.
First question coming up. We use the format Q1 (Question1) - A1 (Answer1). Please use accordingly and remember to include the #badgechat hashtag in your tweet:) ...here's a preview
A1: A searchable badge taxonomy would help folks find credentials that will be relevant to them, either as an earner or as someone looking to hire a badge holder for a specific job role. #badgechat
"...Hasn't been done." You're exactly right. That's why I feel this conversation is so important. Badges are running wild...how do we put a few harnesses around them? #badgechat
Were there any interesting responses that came from that? We're all trying to come up with a great answer to this! Glad others are talking about it. #badgechat
Boom-yes! The whole concept of badges is to allow individuality and creation, we don't want to stifle them, but we do need to categorize them somehow! #badgechat
Yeah. Agreed. I think a lot of the people clamoring for standardization don't really understand the core values of digital credentials. Not all badges need to be associated with a standard. It does help every badge to be properly organized. #badgechat
A2: I think it makes sense to let a thousand flowers bloom. You don't want people quibbling over philosophical issues in taxonomy. Let classification tags proliferate and have a wikipedia-like community model in place to assign tags to badges. #badgechat
Very true, I can see a need to classify a participation badge differently than a badge with a formal assessment - or to broadcast it differently to employers. #badgechat
Right. So we want to avoid limiting the categories a badge can be associated with. This also speaks to your point about terminological discrepancies. We need to have a conversation, not a series of edicts. #badgechat
Interesting thought, a badge could live within multiple categories rather than be limited to only one. Yes a conversation is needed! This is just the beginning #badgechat
LOL! I think that's great - I suppose it would help showcase your interests. I think I earned one while walking through Target (buying school supplies). Not sure how that helps me... #badgechat
A3: A formal badge is most likely something associated with an assessment. Its probably issued by a recognized learning institution #badgechat An informal badge might earned for activities done with an online community such as this one!
Yes. I firmly believe that it is absurd to think that any classification system can neatly divide every object of classification into a single category. The world does not neatly conform to the mind's categories. #badgechat
In my view, levels are going to be far less relevant than areas of expertise and competency. There's really no good way to define levels across institutions. Just make it so that badges are easy to find and you've done your job. #badgechat
Such a gray area. I think it totally depends on the skill/competency. Obviously once you've learned it, the knowledge doesn't disappear, but if a newer version comes out, it makes sense to put a timestamp or expiration on the old version. #badgechat
In reply to
@markjotter, @Benjaroome, @randysquier
A4: Create categories that are relevant to specific job roles. Hiring managers want to find people with the right skills for the job. Accurately communicate the skills people have/need for a job and you solve a big problem. #badgechat
Yes, when we designed badges for our Medical Assistant program, we utilized job descriptions to determine what the program was teaching, but not conveying to employers well or completely missing. #badgechat
If the badge is issued for PD and needs to be renewed, the badge needs to expire. Otherwise, I don't think badges need an expiration date. #badgechat@markjotter
In reply to
@LesVoigt, @markjotter, @randysquier, @markjotter
#badgechat Good question. This is a reason micro-credentials/badges are gaining recognition, the idea they are more nimble, responsive to changes than a degree that is often outdated before a student completes four years.
We are past our time here, but I'm happy to keep the conversation going for anyone that is interested! Thank you to all who participated, and to those who were lurking out there - I hope this sparks conversations in your world! #badgechat
Bahahaha. Yeah. 19 years after high school I should probably have my French badge revoked. Not that I necessarily should have earned it in the first place... #badgechat Madame Chan tried her best but languages aren't meant to be learned in the classroom.
Understood, my H.S. Spanish is definitely not something I would put on a resume...but a refresher course where I get a badge might be useful. #badgechat
In reply to
@markjotter, @Benjaroome, @randysquier
We are currently offering 3 levels for each attribute/skill, with the idea elem, middle and high could/would develop the attributes as they grow up. #badgechat
Thanks so much for moderating @LesVoigt! Really interesting convo! Are you working on a specific taxonomy project, or is this a theoretical conversation? #badgechat
We are trying to put some parameters around badges. Our employers want to know if someone just sat in a classroom or were actively assessed (hands' on). I know it says in the "how to earn a badge", but they don't always read that far... #badgechat
