Elective 2 – Badges
A New Tool for Assessment?
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My initial blog post for this course mentioned my own
hesitance when it came to badges in education.
They seemed a little silly to me, but I also did not have much
familiarity with badges. Honestly, it
made me think of my kindergarten teachers putting stickers on top of
handwriting worksheets. Could these
types of assessments truly be qualitative?
However, the readings that I did this week really broadened
my knowledge on badges, and I would say that I have changed my mind on the
issue. I can see the value in badges,
although I now find myself questioning them for other reasons. At the end of the day, are these badges much
different than current methods of assessment?
My mind started to shift when I read O’Byrne et al. (2015). Their introduction to badges really helped me
understand these assessments much better.
Now, I have at least a functional definition of digital badges. “Digital badges are web-enabled tokens of
accomplishment. They can contain
specific claims and evidence about learning and are intended to culminate in
social networks that badge issuers and earners participate in” (451-452). As I read about the “claims and evidence” and
social potential for badges, I realized that these tokens of accomplishment can
be much more valuable than just a picture or a sticker. They can provide data and chart
accomplishments for students.
I agree with O’Byrne et al. when they state “two of the most
challenging design principles [with badges are] associating badges with
existing credentials and determining how learners will interact with badges to
unlock their value.” Associating badges
with existing credentials can be challenging, however I think that it can be
done and badges can achieve a lot of the same results. They can create that same (or greater) level
of “motivation” that more traditional assessments have created. However, at the end of the day, I am left
wondering if a shift to badges is really necessary.
In a bizarre way, I think that badges are just another form
of assessment. They serve as another set
of tools in a teacher’s toolbox. The
tools are less important than how they are used. Can’t a skilled teacher use traditional
assessments to motivate students to do well while also gathering valuable data? It seems to me that a carefully planned badge
is just as effective as a carefully planned “traditional” assessment. At the end of the day, there is still some
type of “grade” and the efficacy of assessment really depends on how it is
implemented in the classroom. Therefore,
I am a little hesitant to dramatically shift the assessment landscape for the
same type of results. Also, I would
share O’Byrne’s concern that “a badge does not guarantee that those outside
specific learning communities recognize the achievement or metadata as a
credible marker of success” (452).
I may seem a bit pessimistic, but I don’t think that badges
“will ever really matter.” I like the
concept, but I don’t know if there is a necessity or desire for this type of
assessment within the landscape of education.
When looking at the list of organizations that use open badges, I am
impressed. Moodle, Microsoft, Michigan
State, these groups might be trendsetters and their appearance on the Open
Badge List might indicate that things are headed that way. However, there is also a chance that these
institutions have joined a fad that may prove to be ephemeral. However, even if badges are a fad, I hope
that their appearance will encourage educators to think about assessment and
make adjustments with the positives of the badges in mind.
Goals:
1. Talk to the
teachers at my school and see if any of them have heard of the badge
system. I don’t think that I have ever
heard it mentioned in my school, but I would love to talk to someone who is
making it work.
2. Videogames as
educational tools? This topic is
fascinating to me and I would like to read a little more. I enjoyed the podcast, but I am still
skeptical of the value of video games. I
grew up with a Commodore 64 that had only “educational” games. However, once I moved beyond that primitive system,
I don’t think I ever encountered another video game that enriched my mind. Throughout middle school and high school,
videogames were nothing more than a way to pass the time, but I am curious to
learn more about their educational potential.
I think that I know the “problems that need solving” but I am not quite
ready to incorporate video games into my high school English curriculum.
Video of the Day:
More James Gee talking about video games:
References:
Gee, J.P. (2014, September 24). Videogames: new literacies
for a complex world. Podcast available
at: http://www.americanradioworks.org/video-games-new-literacy-for-a-complex-world/
O’Byrne, W.I., Schenke, K., Willis III, J.E., & Hickey,
D.T. (2015) Digital badges: Recognizing, assessing, and motivating learners in
and out of school contexts. Journal of Adolescemt & Adult Literacy,
58(6), 451-454.
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ReplyDeleteI had the same questions about badges that you did! Instead of stickers on a handwriting assignment, I pictured a reading log at the local library. You know the ones they use to track summer reading? I am the kind of person who was mortified to not have “enough” stars, but it didn’t seem to affect my best friend. He really didn’t care if everyone knew he only had a couple of stars. I haven’t read the works you quoted, but my perception is that badges could be the same. Motivators for some.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have read some of Ian O’Byrne’s work as he was a creator of the #walkmyworld project, which I participated in for a class this spring. (Here is the link if you are interested - https://sites.google.com/site/walkmyworldproject/). After the final task, we were awarded a badge. Again, I am one of those students motivated by it, so I was anxious about earning it. But, what I really liked about the badge was that it wasn’t a grade. I had either done the work or not, and I didn’t have to feel bad about my work in regards of comparing it to my peers because we either had the badge or not. I think that is something good about badges. They allow teachers to assess students without giving them anxiety over the grade they received.
Just another way to look at the toolbox I guess!
Thanks,
Josie
Brick, I am working on badges as my elective badge number 3 topic and I walked away with a different viewpoint than yourself and Josie. I think badges are a viable method of assessment because of their transparency, the ability to provide multiple learning pathways and link the multiple spheres of learning that a student encounter. Basically, they are an opening for us to examine the traditional assessment system that tend to privilege a certain kind of learning and learner, and often does not truly assess what it purports to assess. The readings reminded me of Gee's (2012) discussion about ideology in his book, Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideologies in Discourses. In this book, Gee argues that literacy and politics are inextricably linked, because politics in the sense that it is a system of assumptions, attitudes, values and perspectives that determine who get what social rewards. The traditional way of assessment has implicit and tacit theories that tend to have a particular view of literacy that disenfranchise certain populations of learners. The badge system is questioning these assumptions and recognizing that learning takes place outside of the classroom and can be anywhere, anytime. At minimum, the badge system is making explicit and transparent, some of the previous hidden assumptions that are associated with the traditional methods of assessment.
ReplyDeleteWhile there are some kinks to work out, I think it may be a trend that is here to stay based on the number of participants and the interoperability of badges and the fact that they are linked to particular evidence of knowledge or mastery. As more people are educated about what badges are and can do, I believe they will become viable tools of assessment, especially as they tie formative and summative assessment to the learning cycle and give students choice to individualize learning through choice.
Hi I forgot to include my name in my response to you on JUne 19, 2015 at 9:34 pm was Jacinth or thereadwritenexus
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