Digital Badges
Digital Badges is an online record of achievements
(Google, 2013). A badge icon usually appear on a web page and may indicate
completion of an assignment or a game, mastery of skills or knowledge, and representation
of achievements (EDUCAUSE, 2012). The implementation of digital badges allows
for a transformation of traditional lecture-pedagogy to multiple-level learning
based on collaboration and cooperation through interactive use of media, social
network, and other online resources. Digital badges can be used in education,
community-based programs, and work-related settings. Software packages such as
the Mozilla Open Badge Infrastructure verify whether a certain level of knowledge
or skills has been met and award the badge. To get a badge, students may be required
to watch a certain number of videos or read a certain number of articles during
a certain period of time. Digital badges focus on individual student
accomplishments and can be a part of a resume or portfolio. However, it is not clear
at this point whether badges will be accepted by universities and employment agencies.
If they will, the credibility, validity, and security aspects of digital badges
should be considered (EDUCAUSE, 2012).
The Digital Badges Tetrad
Physical badges have
been used for centuries to represent different levels of achievements in armies
or other organisations. Digital badges appeared on the scene with the
development of gamification. In 2005, Microsoft implemented a digital
achievement system in the Xbox 360. In 2007, the American Education Research
Association asked software companies to focus on the development of digital
badge system. In 2010, Basno, a digital badge service provider, launched a digital
badges platform that could be used to reflect athletic accomplishments. In
2011, the Mozilla Foundation began developing a common system for collecting and
displaying badges on instructional sites. Recently, Basno and Mozilla Open Badge
have began working on an set of standards for exchanging badges across the web (EDUCAUSE, 2012).
References
EDUCAUSE. (2012). 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Badges. Retrieved http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7085.pdf
Google (2013). Badge System Design Principles.
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