Elective Badge #2: Digital Badges and Gamification of Assessment

The digital badges and gamification of assessment readings discuss the use of MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, badges, and games as learning tools. Essentially, educators around the world are creating learning opportunities for those who may not be able to attend traditional schools, who need training in a particular area, or who are interested in a subject and want to learn more. “Badges” are essentially an online module or series of tasks and assessments which teach you something new. Prior to this class, I had heard of a particular project called the University of the People, which allows any individual with a high school diploma and an internet connection to take college courses online for free, although I believe exams cost money, but I had never heard of badges (Reshef, 2012). While I think they are a great resource for individuals around the world, especially those who may not be able to attend traditional schools due to whatever circumstances, O’Byrne, Schenke, Willis, and Hickey (2015) point out that there are a few issues that need to be addressed in using badges. 

The first issue with badges and other online courses is recognition, as many individuals may not be aware that badges exist or may not recognize them as authentic learning experiences. Although I would argue that online courses, especially those which are interactive and reflective, are powerful teaching tools, it seems as though many people believe in the “empty vessel” theory still in which teachers must impart their knowledge onto students. Employers may be less likely to consider degrees from online Universities as “real” degrees, or they may not realize how much work goes into earning a badge and therefore not recognize it as a legitimate achievement. Secondly, anyone can create their own badges, and the assessment tools for different badges are not standardized so not all badges are created equally. Additionally, like in a regular classroom some programs use multiple forms of summative and cumulative assessments as proof of progress, while others may have students only complete one exam at the end of the badge and consider the badge completed. While I personally do not want to see online courses or college programs standardized in the way the public school systems have attempted to standardize education, it is something to consider when asking students to complete a badge, or when considering the accolades of others who have completed badges.  Finally, when someone is being assessed in their learning, their motivation behind the learning process generally changes, which can change the intention earning the badge. While this is true of any assessments in education, it particularly relevant in the case of badges, which are generally self-regulated.

I really appreciated Gee’s (2014) interview about the gamification of education because he explained some of the larger theories that I wasn’t exactly clear on. Although Gee (20140) does think that video games are the future of education, he reminds listeners that games are essentially problem solving exercises, and that even violent games such as Grand Theft Auto involve organization, logic, and strategy. He says the key to selecting video games for students is to remember the question, “What kind of problem do [I] want [my students] to solve?” (Gee, 2014). He does mention of course that video games are only a tool to be used in education, alongside many other tools, but that they present a unique opportunity to accommodate and motivate many different kinds of students. In regard to the violence of some games, Gee (2014) reminds others that thousands of people have died around the world due to interpretations of different books, but less than 10 have been killed due to violence from video games. However, it is important to keep in mind the maturity level of our students and make sure they are engaging the deeper problem-solving skills of the technology, rather than reveling the in the content.

I wanted to try out some of the resources listed, so I enrolled myself in the Smithsonian digital badge program, Smithsonian Quests. Although I only explored a few badges, I liked that they incorporated many multimedia forms of assessment. For example, when studying the Civil Rights Movement badge earners are given several anthems which were sung by members of the movement to listen to as inspiration. The assessment is for the badge earner to write their own lyrics to a song and create their own anthem. I liked that you can share your progress in a social media-type platform as a way of sharing progress, which helps students stay motivated and share their progress. Overall, I found the resource to be very useful and could certainly see myself incorporating these badges into my classroom. 

As I was trying to think of ways I could incorporate more games into my classroom, I came across a blog post on my Facebook titled, Using Games for Learning (Shapiro, 2015) and found it to be very useful.  Mindshift in general is a wonderful resource, which often focus on the gamification of schools and how we can use new technologies in the classroom. My applications for the classroom for this badge involve me asking myself the questions below (which evolved from the blog post) to better incorporate games into my curriculum. 

1. What devices do I have available in my classroom and how will my students use them?

2. What are quality games for me to engage my students with? What lessons do I want my students to learn? Have I played these games enough to know they are sound resources?

3. Who can I observe or use for support when things go wrong? How are other teachers gamifying their classrooms? Am I providing my students the best learning experience possible in terms of the way technology is used in the classroom?

For more information on the University of People (Reshef, 2014) check out this Ted talk. Although not a direct correlation to the subject at hand, I think it shows another way in which technology is changing education in our world.

Gee, J. P. (2014, September 24). Videogames: New literacies for a complex world. Retrieved from: 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 Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(6), 451–454.

Reshef, S. (2014, August 4). Shai Reshef: An ultra-low-cost college degree. [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/shai_reshef_a_tuition_free_college_degree?language=en#t-32281

Shapiro, J. (2014, September 5). Using Games for Learning: Practical Steps to Get Started. Retrieved from: http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/09/05/using-games-for-learning-practical-steps-to-get-started/