Implementing a Digital Badge System in Higher Education Brett Bixler Penn State University NMC 2015 Summer Conference
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 [email protected]