Florida Library Webinar (FLW) presented on September 17, 2014: Librarians are always searching for new and innovative ways to motivate and engage their target audience. But, what incentives work in today’s digital age? Learn how to use online badges as a new and non-traditional reward for learning and participation at your library. This fun and interactive session will include an introduction to digital badges, as well as a tutorial on how to create and incorporate them into your library instruction and programs.

1. RETHINKING
REWARDS IN THE
DIGITAL AGE
An Introduction to Digital Badges
Jaime M Goldman

2. REWARDS
Question: how do you motivate
patrons to participate?
The Sawyer effect
Extrinsic rewards vs. Intrinsic Enjoyment
 Motivation
Goal: to increase engagement and success via
fun, online tools

3. WHAT ARE BADGES?
badge (noun)
 a small object (such as a tag, pin, or metal shield)
that is worn or held up by a person so that it can be
easily seen, that has writing (such as a person's
name) and often a picture on it, and that shows who
the person is
 a special or distinctive mark, token, or device worn as
a sign of
allegiance, membership, authority, achievement, etc.
 a cloth patch that can be sewn onto clothing and that
is awarded to a person (such as a Boy Scout or Girl
Scout) for doing something
 something that represents or is a sign of something else

4. WHAT ARE BADGES?
http://openbadges.org/

5. BADGES
 The badge is not the reward –
the accomplishment is!
 Earn badges when you
achieve something and
display them proudly
 Badges communicate the
value of what you learned
 A way to organize and
recognize learning
 Have you ever earned a
badge before?

6. WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN BADGES
USED?
Scouting
Military
Gaming
Social Media

7. WHAT ARE DIGITAL BADGES?
“A digital badge is a validated
indicator of accomplishment, skill,
quality, or interest that can be
earned in many learning
environments.”

8. WHAT ARE DIGITAL BADGES?
“Digital badges are an assessment
and credentialing mechanism that
is housed and managed online.
Badges are designed to make
visible and validate learning in
both formal and informal settings,
and hold the potential to help
transform where and how learning
is valued.”

9. THE OPEN BADGE MOVEMENT
 Open Badges started as a collaborative project
between MacArthur Foundation, HASTAC and
Mozilla
 Stemmed from the independent learning and
massive open online course (MOOC)
frameworks
 Learners experience instructional content,
usually delivered in a module-based format, and
are rewarded with a digital image of a “badge”
upon completion
 Digital badges become recognizers of certifiable
skills
 Recognizing work through badges is a kind of
gamification

10. WHY DIGITAL BADGES?
Open digital badging through an infrastructure that uses
shared and open technical standards:
 Issue
 Earn
 Display
 Motivate
Recognize, assess, motivate, and study learning
The world is changing fast and, today more than ever,
traditional modes of assessment fail to capture the
learning that happens everywhere and at every age.
 Digital badges are a powerful new tool for identifying and validating the rich
array of people's skills, knowledge, accomplishments, and competencies.
Digital badges inspire new pathways to learning and connect learners to
opportunities, resources, and one another.

11. DIGITAL BADGES – PROS/CONS
 Autonomy
 Interest-driven
learning (motivation)
 View progress
directly & visually
 Individual feedback
& improvement
 Recognition
 Engaged learners
 Verify skills
 Procrastination (self-paced
learning)
 Extrinsic motivator that
competes with intrinsic
motivation for
accomplishment & mastery (is
reward desirable?)
 May not motivate all learners
 Learners must be comfortable
using technology

12. DIGITAL BADGES - BENEFITS
Shareable on social media
Show what you know!
Can track badge progress
“e-portfolio”
Verifiable learning
Digital credentials
Interest-driven learning

13. WHO COULD USE DIGITAL
BADGES?
1. Employers
2. Schools
3. Universities
4. Community
programs
5. Libraries

14. DIGITAL BADGES Q&A:
1. Who had heard of
digital badges
before?
2. Who has received
digital badges?
3. Who has created
digital badges?
4. Who is interested in
utilizing digital
badges in their
organization?

15. DIGITAL BADGE CREATORS
1.Credly - https://credly.com/
2. Open Badge Designer - https://www.openbadges.me/
3. Official Badge Generator - http://www.says-
it.com/badge/
4. Passport by Purdue University-
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/studio/passport/
5. Achievery - http://www.achievery.com/

16. DIGITAL BADGE CREATORS
 Credly: www.credly.com

17. CREDLY
 Credly: www.credly.com

18. CREDLY – GETTING STARTED
Credly:
www.credly.com
Create an
account
 Facebook,
LinkedIn, or Email
sign up
 Individual or
an
organization

19. CREDLY
Credly: www.credly.com
3 ways to create badges
1. Use their online tools and resources
2. Use their online tools but upload your own
images/icons
3. Create your own badge and upload to
Credly
…Let’s make some badges!

20. WEBINAR BADGE
 Here’s your badge!
 Questions?
 jaime.goldman@gmail.com
Stay tuned for Part II in
2015:
o Sharing badges
o With participants
o On your social profiles
o Storing badges
o Managing badges
o Tracking badges
o Integrating badges into
online courseware
o Creating badge ecosystem

21. RESOURCES
 Credly: https://credly.com/
 Mozilla Backpack:
http://backpack.openbadges.org/backpack/login
 Mozilla Open Badges: http://www.openbadges.org/Badges
 HASTAC Digital Badges: http://www.hastac.org/digital-badges
 MacArthur Foundation Digital Badges:
http://www.macfound.org/programs/digital-badges/
 Bibliography: http://www.hastac.org/digital-badges-bibliography
 Case Studies – Badges in Action:
 http://www.reconnectlearning.org/case-studies/