implementing a digital badge system in higher education

Implementing aDigital Badge Systemin Higher Education

Brett BixlerPenn State UniversityNMC 2015 Summer Conference

It’s All About Me

• Lead Instructional Designer• At PSU since 1984• Work with educational technology• Founded the Educational

Gaming Commons –http://gaming.psu.edu

• Working on bringing best practices/uses of educational technology to Penn State

No – It’s All About YOU!

• Please introduce yourself! (Time permitting.)

• What experience do you have using a Badging system?– None– A little– A lot– I am a Badging Master!

What I Promised To Do…

• Introduction to digital badges (5 m).• Feature set scramble (15 m).• Feature set discussion (15 m).• Digital Badge System Exemplar (15 m).• Q&A (10 m).

Everything About BadgesKnown to Peoplekind

A digital badge is a clickable graphic that contains an online record of:

1. an achievement,2. the work required for the

achievement,3. evidence of such work, and4. information about the organization, individual, or

entity that issued the badge.

Badges – The Visual

How Can Badges Be Used in HE?

• Depict course completion• Establish micro-credentials• Represent honors• Show event participation• Demonstrate community membership• Reduce duplicated requirements

The Ideal Badge System?

Sign inAccess LevelsAPIsUser Profile PageBadge LibraryAdministrator ToolsBadge Image MakerBadge Org Tools

Criteria CreatorEvidence CreatorEarner EvaluationBadge AcceptorBadge PublisherRelated BadgesBadge Tree

Macro-level Features

Feature Set Scramble

• Break into groups of 3-5. • Name your group.• Prioritize and pick five cards from the deck– The critical, “can’t do without” features of a digital

badging system.• Mark the importance on the card.• Define the components of the feature.• Prepare for battle…..

Feature Set Discussion

Refer to the feature set document athttp://tinyurl.com/BadgeIdealFeatureSet .

Do These System Exist?

• Yes, some more so than others.• Credly is one example (see

https://credly.com/upgrade)

The Future of Badges in HE?

Let’s talk!• Strengths• Weaknesses• Opportunities• Threats

Thank You!

I will revise the feature set and ensure it is available via the conference proceedings and the NMC Web site.

Brett BixlerPenn State Universitybxb11@psu.edu