Multi-Media Resources Created by Educators
Here is a listing of curated resources for those interested in using digital badging in a K-12 educational context. These resources were created by teachers, for teachers, to support digital badging in districts, schools and classrooms. Click on the images or embedded links to learn more.
#BadgeChatK12: Digital badging in Edu​
#BadgeChatK12 is a teacher-friendly website that includes blog posts related to digital badging. Furthermore, the lead moderators have archived live chats as well as compiled a list of resources educators can use to learn more about badges.
21st Century Assessment: Digital Badges
In this article, Tomaszewski (2013) described why digital badges may be a better option for documenting academic achievement. He noted that digital badges often “paint a better picture of students’ skills and achievements.” There is an embedded, student-produced video that describes how badges can function as an assessment tool in the classroom. Moreover, there are hyperlinks within the article to additional resources (e.g., Open Badges Infrastructure, schools using Open Badge technology).
6 Reasons to Incorporate “Smithsonian Quests” into Your Classroom
Naranjo (2013) described an online program called Smithsonian Quests. Children in kindergarten through high school have the opportunity to earn badges by learning about topics of their choice. Fostering the development of 21st-century skills and self-regulated learning are two benefits to using Smithsonian Quests that can also be applied to other digital badging systems.
There's a Badge for That!
This blog post outlines various ways educators can use badges, such as professional development and during instruction with students. Additionally, Ferdig and Pytash (2014) have shared resources teachers can use to learn more about digital badging, recommended ideas to think about when implementing a badging system, and discussed how teachers can earn badges themselves on open badging platforms (e.g., OpenBadges).
Digital Badges: Examples and Ideas
This web page contains a variety of resources for educators. Topics include digital badging platforms, articles, digital badges for K-12, digital badges for higher education, diverse learning contexts, digital badges for professional development, how-to examples of digital badging in the classroom, and lesson ideas.
Use Badges to Give Students
Control of Their Learning
This short article provided ideas for ways educators can integrate digital badging into learning activities for students. Examples include using badges to reward students for learning experiences, as part of art and technology classes, during project-based learning, and when teaching students about digital citizenship.
Chart Students’ Growth with Digital Badges​
Fontichiaro and Elkordy (2015) stated that digital badging allows students to truly illustrate their learning (e.g., content knowledge, specific skills), rather than communicate knowledge via a numerical grade or statistic. Towards the end of the article, Fontichiaro and Elkordy (2015) also provided several resources related to the creation of digital badges as well as examples of what digital badging can look like in classrooms.
A Teacher’s Journey Into Badging
Are you wondering how digital badging might work in an individual classroom? Take a look at a video created by Heidi Weber, a 3rd grade teacher. She created this short video on how digital badging is used in her classroom and how you can get started exploring badging on a classroom level outside of a larger initiative.
Using digital badges to document online inquiry skills
Putman (2016) described why digital badging could be useful in classrooms. Specifically, Putman (2016) noted how students can use badges to demonstrate their ability to define important questions, read to locate, evaluate, and synthesize online information, and read and write to communicate online information. Along with several resources at the end of the article, Putman (2016) mentioned the Academy Badge Library and Web Literacy Map as particularly helpful.
Design Principles for Assessing Learning with Digital Badges
Itow (2013) offered several suggestions educators should keep in mind when implementing a digital badging system as an assessment tool: use leveled badge systems; enhance validity by combining computerized scoring with human scoring; align assessment activities to standards; use performance assessments in relevant contexts; use e-portfolios; use formative functions of assessment; use mastery learning; use rubrics; promote "hard" and "soft" skill sets; involve students at a granular level.
Digital Badges
This website contains numerous links to resources about digital badging, such as a digital badges collection, an annotated research bibliography, and webinars.
Motivating Literacy: Digital Badges in the School Library
Hallett (2013) provides an example of how she uses digital badging in her classroom. Below the post, other educators have added ideas for digital badging. One librarian noted that at her school they “teach digital citizenship through a badge learning course for all our middle schoolers.”