#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.
All are welcome to jump in anytime (just remember to use #BadgeChat so we see it:)
And if you're just lurking, we value your own form of engagement!
First question coming up...
A1: #badgechat End of the year 'can' be a great time for a pilot so that you can find what works vs what doesn't and iterate towards a stronger roll out the following year. That said, making sure you have appropriate buy in for the pilot is key.
Randy Macdonald, Program Manager for Innovation Academy, an after school CS & STEM program for middle and high school students in Oregon & program manager of SuperQuest, @OregonCSTA PD program for K-12 CS Ed in OR. Beginning to use digital badges for @OregonCSTA PD
#badgechat
Hola Martin! Great point to highlight "CAN" as it's also possible to be a terrible time:) Any thoughts about how to be seek the appropriate buy in you suggest? #badgechat
I'm taking part in this week's #badgechat conversation for the next 30 minutes. What will you do today with #openbadges? @senorG is moderating & providing the community with topics/questions to consider.
This time of year I'm always excited about what's new...and as long as I stick with the established programs, it's easier to actually try out the new without attracting critical attention from leadership #badgechat
5 hours until #BadgeChat!
Join us at 4:30 MT | 6:30 ET for this week's convo about using the end of the year to jump in the sandbox and run a Badge pilot
A2: Find some who is already doing one or has some experience with badging to give you some starting tips or even some digital badges to start with. No need to reinvent the digital wheel. ;-) #badgechat
A2: Find some who is already doing one or has some experience with badging to give you some starting tips or even some digital badges to start with. No need to reinvent the digital wheel. ;-) #badgechat
A3: I'm a believer in the 'A' in SMART Goals ("Achievable") and thinking ahead about what won't break my back and spirit but will still be impressive enough to inspire support as long as goals are met #badgechat
A3 & A4: A shared vocabulary needs to be established. What can we take from the Daily Vocabulary being used by the parents, teachers, staff, and community, to propel a new badge project into a position of instant relevancy and adoption? #badgechat#iterativeapproach#bi#edtech
A3: Maybe tying the badges to learning outside the classroom - field trip, club sport, etc. with an easy to earn badge. Everyone can participate #badgechat
Q3: Having goals can help guide our efforts. Are there any goals you can suggest for an end of the year Badge pilot?
Love Love Love this!!!! I've seen so many people invest hours and hours into planning and then not issue a single badge. Setting a goal to issue 1 is actually and in all seriousness a super smart goal #badgechat
A3 & A4: A shared vocabulary needs to be established. What can we take from the Daily Vocabulary being used by the parents, teachers, staff, and community, to propel a new badge project into a position of instant relevancy and adoption? #badgechat#iterativeapproach#bi#edtech
Ours is a profession of perfectionists, many of whom are prone to confusing being under-planned with being under-prepared. This can lead to paralysis by planning and, ultimately, never getting to launch. #badgechat
A4: Try to get buy in from as many stakeholders as possible. Start with the low hanging fruit (students, parents & teachers) and reach higher (administrators, employers, etc.) as you expand.
#badgechat
A4: Repeating what Kyle and Kim have both suggested: Start Small! When (not if) things fail to go as planned, the necessary pivots are proportionally less painful the smaller we've started #badgechat
A4: Nobody wants to finish up a school project in summer. Keep it small and manageable; easy to understand what the award is for; and design the work for a single point in time. #badgechat
Thanks to all who joined! Loved to see some new folks tweeting and lurking. Feel free to share news, updates and resources on your way out. I'll remind everyone that #BadgeSummit is June 23 in Chicago! #badgechat
Have a Badge worthy week everyone! I have to run right away to meet some friends at an escape room so sorry in advance for delayed responses to post-chat followups! #badgechat
A4: Been thinking about this. Seems like making the value add of badges understandable to all stakeholders, and at each phase of a pilot, is important (but tricky) #badgechat
