© 2014 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Using Moodle Badges to Track Course Completion Martin LaGrow Senior Academic Consultant June 2014

2© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. What is a Badge? A badge is an electronically awarded symbol of accomplishment. Example: A student completes Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry and is awarded the “Mathematician Badge.” Example2: A student participates in five optional live chats in a course and is awarded the “Communicator” Badge.

3© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. What are the elements of a badge? A badge includes the following:  A Name  A description  An image (can be custom or downloaded from many open source badge sites)  The issuer Name (set by LMS)  The issuer (set by LMS)  The Badge expiry (optional)  A set of criteria defining how it is issued  A message to the user that is sent once it is earned (optional)

4© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. How are badges issued in Moodle? Site Badges can be awarded…  Automatically for completion of selected elements of your user profile. Example: A student is awarded the “Chatter” badge for adding a Skype ID to their profile.  Automatically for completing a set of courses. Example: A student is awarded the “Mathematician” badge for completing four higher level Math courses.  Manually by role for the same criteria as above. Example: All teachers are given the right to manually issue a badge for attending live sessions in a course.

5© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. How are badges issued in Moodle? Course Badges can be awarded…  Upon the completion of a course (must be enabled in course settings).  Upon the completion of an activity. Example: Teacher awards the “Plagiarism expert” badge for completion of a quiz on plagiarism.  Note: can be ‘all’ or ‘any’ of selected activities  Manually by role. Example: A Teacher or Teaching Assistant uses this to create a “Socratic Method” badge for students who ask thoughtful questions in a discussion forum.  Note: can be ‘all’ or ‘any’ of the selected roles

6© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Where are badges displayed?  Badges are visible on a student’s profile.

7© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Where are badges displayed?  Clicking on the badge provides related information.

8© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Where are badges displayed?  Issuers can track who has received badges. Clicking on the number of recipients yields a list.

9© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Where are badges displayed?  A student’s Moodle badges can be linked to a backpack at

10© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. What is a backpack? At Openbadges.org, anyone can earn, issue, and display badges in their backpack. It links to many educational contexts, including museums, MOOC providers, LMS’s, and schools. An Openbadge backpack is designed to provide validation for the completion of learning objectives in multiple contexts, something like a portfolio.

11© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Application of Badges in Higher Education Incentivized Programs (Gamification) REWARDSTATUSACHIEVE- MENT SELF- EXPRESSION COMPETITION Points Levels Challenge Virtual goods Leader boards Growth Engineering (Academy LMS)

12© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Application of Badges in Higher Education Recognition (Internal)  Professional Development  Purdue Passport  “Learning management mixed with gaming mixed with e-portfolio”  Badges connected with course objectives

13© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Application of Badges in Higher Education Alternative Credentials (external)  CompTIA—Recognized leader in IT certifications  Why do their certifications have value?  Industry interaction and recognition  Microsoft—Certifies in their own software  Why do their certifications have value?  Knowledge of product  Your Institution—Certifies students with badges  Why do your certifications have value?

14© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Application of Badges in Higher Education  Madison Area Technical College  Noncredit in workforce development  Awarded for program completion  Meeting employer needs  Inform/educate/market to employers  Creating specialized badges  Patterned after certifications Taken from

15© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Application of Badges in Higher Education  Kathleen Radionoff, Dean of Continuing Education, Madison Area Technical College  “…Using badges to increase academic rigor of non- credit, not just seat time.”  “…Badges are tied to learning outcomes based on employer and industry standards.”  “…Local employers are all over badges—we work cooperatively to cobrand them with the business.”

16© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Badges in Action: CS2N CS2N ( uses a badge- based system to motivate students, help them to define pathways and set goals, and indicate that they have mastered concepts. Badges are a core component of CS2N that seek to solve two key problems:  How do you capture a record of students’ learning in a form that is recognized and valuable everywhere?  How do you encourage students to continue beyond the initial stages of engagement into long-term and lifelong learning?

17© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Badges in Action: CS2N Badges should be MAGIC: Motivation Assessment Guidance Identification Certification/Credentialing

18© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY.18 Badges? BADGES? Do we need stinking BADGES?

19© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY.19 Yes, we need badges! Badges are considered useful for these main purposes:  To set up an incentivized program within a course, providing motivation to participate (gamification),  To recognize completion of a set of standards,  To provide alternative credentials and recognize independent and informal learning. Badges allow students to “differentiate themselves and tell a narrative (Normoyle, quoted in Inside Higher Education).”  A method of assessment other than “multiple-choice form of testing [that] doesn’t measure all that is being learned and de-motivates true curiosity (Davidson, 2012).”

20© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY.20 Yes, we need badges! Digital badges are getting a serious look on many university campuses because they may allow students to demonstrate a greater variety of skills. "A diploma says as much about the institution you attended as it does about you," notes Bill Wisser, instructional designer in the Graduate School of Education (HGSE) at Harvard University (MA). "A portfolio gets more granular, and badges can show individual records of accomplishment (Raths, quoted in Campus Technology)." What says more about the learner?

21© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY.21 We don’t need no stinking badges!  Badges (in gamification) focus on extrinsic instead of intrinsic motivation. “Students will focus on accumulating badges rather than making connections with the ideas and material associated with the badges – the same way that students too often focus on grades…or the points in an educational game rather than the ideas in a game (Resnick, 2012).  Anyone can award badges based on any criteria. What value does a badge from your institution hold in an external context?  “Informal learning works because it is informal. Yet, any coherent system of badges requires systems and structure…too quick a move towards badges runs the risk of destroying the complex but fragile ecosystem within which participatory learning thrives (Jenkins).”

© 2014 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Should your institution ‘turn on’ badges in Moodle? Are you ready?

23© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Readiness questions:  Will the focus of your badges program be:  Internal—motivation  Internal—recognition  External—validation  How will your badges program be introduced? Will it be a centralized effort or pockets of innovation?  How does the introduction of the badge transform discourse? Will it encourage students to engage more deeply?  How will you maintain the integrity of your ‘brand?’  How will you promote and regulate the issuing of badges?

24© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. The Mechanics of Badges OutcomesLearning ObjectivesLearning ActivitiesAssessment

25© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. The Mechanics of Badges Outcome Learning Objectives Learning Activities Assessment 1a Assessment 1b Assessment 1c

26© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. The Mechanics of Badges You can’t tie activity completion to a minimum grade!

27© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. The Mechanics of Badges Assignment 1b Assignment 1a Summary Discussion Forum Restrict access to discussion forum based on performance in assignments Activity Completion

28© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. The Mechanics of Badges Access Restrictions to a Summative Discussion Forum

29© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. The Mechanics of Badges

30© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Relevant Resources  “Badging Alliance” orking_Group#Examples_of_Badges_in_Higher_Education orking_Group#Examples_of_Badges_in_Higher_Education  “Badging from Within” – dead link (?) groundbreaking-digital-badge-system-new-sustainable- agriculture-program groundbreaking-digital-badge-system-new-sustainable- agriculture-program  CS2N  “Can Badging be the Zipcar of Testing and Assessment?” zipcar-testing-and-assessment zipcar-testing-and-assessment

31© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Relevant Resources  Growth Engineering, “The Psychology of Badges and Motivation” psychology-of-badges-and-motivation/ psychology-of-badges-and-motivation/  “How Badges Really Work in Higher Education” Badges-Really-Work-in-Higher-Education.aspx Badges-Really-Work-in-Higher-Education.aspx  “How to Earn Your Skeptic Badge” badge.html badge.html  “Digital Badges for Workforce Development: A Case Study at Madison College” non non

32© 2015 ELLUCIAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY. Relevant Resources  “Still a Badge Skeptic” skeptichttp://hastac.org/blogs/mres/2012/02/27/still-badge- skeptic  “Rethinking Digital Badges”  “Seven Things You Should Know About Badges”