ALT East England Event report on Digital Badges – where do we go from HEAR?
By Neil Dixon, Uwe Richter (Anglia Ruskin University), Rob Howe (University of Northampton)
This is a report of our recent ALT East England (ALT EE) event on 4 July 2024. The blog starts with a brief summary of digital badges, and reports on the three presentations: Peter Harrison (Cranfield University), Bernadette Martin (The Open University) and Cory Saarinen (Institute of Continuing Education (ICE), University of Cambridge).
Attendees in the session were asked how many were considering or have used badges, and most had either tried badges or were considering investigating them. The polling results showed that there is an increasing recognition of the importance of reward and recognition within institutions. Therefore, this event was a timely way to share case studies and examples of how universities in the region are using digital badges and certifications.
Introduction: What are digital badges? (Uwe Richter, Associate Professor: Digital Pedagogic Innovation)
Digital badges are verifiable digital tokens and certificates that represent a skill or competency learned, an accomplishment achieved, or a program completed. Compared to traditional paper certificates, they offer greater accessibility and shareability.
In the education context, digital badges can be used to supplement traditional transcripts and certificates. They certify and showcase a student’s activities and accomplishments in curricular, co-curricular or extra-curricular activities. These badges are highly motivating for students and a way to maintain a record of achievements and evidence for applying for jobs on graduation. However, badges may also be used to motivate progression within a module or course (gamification) using badging tools embedded in a virtual learning environment and these may not always be shared externally.
Uwe also differentiated between digital certification and micro-credentialing, the latter being credit-bearing and, therefore, subject to quality assurance similar to academic modules and courses.
Using digital badges and credentials to enhance UX in learning and teaching (Peter Harrison, Head of Academic Practice and Education Excellence)
Cranfield University introduced badges originally as a good way to encourage students to undertake activities that supported employability. From this the portfolio has expanded to more than sixty badges. Examples of badges included showcasing industry skills, personal growth and development, and self-evaluation and success. The most popular platform to share these badges is LinkedIn.
Some of the learnings from implementing badges included the importance of metadata, which makes the badges easier to verify, and allows for portability. Another important factor is the design of the badges, using different templates and colours for core badges and short courses. Students can progress to different levels of badge within each area, so it is key that each badge theme remains consistent. To retain the integrity of the badge rewards, it is advisable to have awarded badges approved centrally.
One takeaway from the project was to have a clear and transparent system from the outset, rather than making changes later on. By having such a system, the benefit is that badges can be changed and updated, so they can be used for different purposes as required.
Badged digital and information literacy course – the journey so far (Bernadette Martin, Learning & Teaching Librarian)
The Open University (OU) has a long history with badges and is increasingly offering digital badges within undergraduate modules to improve student engagement, motivation, well-being, and retention. Bernadette highlighted research from their curriculum design student panel indicating that 75% of students would be motivated by the prospect of earning a digital badge and 73% would be inclined to finish an activity if a digital badge were on offer.
To capitalise on the potential usefulness of badges, the OU library is working towards offering badges for digital and information literacy skills, which is expected to launch in September 2024. The primary motivation for creating the badged course is to provide a “shop front” for the OU’s skills activities, increase engagement with these activities, and provide equity of access to all students. The badge courses will be aligned with the OU’s Digital and Information Literacy (DIL) framework and will cover all the DIL skills expected of students at each level. The benefits of the awarded badges are that they will give students opportunities to share evidence of their skills externally, such as to enhance their employability (like through LinkedIn, or their CVs).
Digital certificates and badging: our story so far (Cory Saarinen, Assistant Director – Technology Enhanced Learning )
A digital certificate and badge pilot project for non award-bearing courses at the Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) aims to prepare for a flexible, modular future in higher education, where students may customise their learning paths. Previously, students received paper certificates of participation, which had limited utility and were time-consuming to produce. The digital certificates and badges aim to enhance student achievement recognition, improve shareability, increase utility, and ensure security.
Again, the most popular mode of sharing was either LinkedIn or email. Cory also talked about many of the benefits and values of digital badges such as automating processes, the ease of sharing, and the role in marketing. He also noted issues such as the security of the badges, for example, the risk of certificate alteration.
Concluding remarks
In summary, the main themes that came out of the discussion were that students value badges and find them useful. From a university perspective, they are useful for tracking learning and helping to motivate students to engage. However, there are still concerns raised regarding the value of badges to employers or how employers regard badges. With the amount of badge sharing on LinkedIn, it is clear that most badge holders value them. The impact on employability and the value to employers still needs further investigation.
We thank Uwe, Peter, Bernadette, and Cory for such a fascinating session, and everyone who attended and contributed to the lively chat discussion.