DL Spotlight: Digital Badging in Ram Nation

When it comes to the topic of teacher professional development, many teachers want timely and pertinent professional development. Simply stated, they want to learn about strategies and tools that will have an immediate and positive impact on student learning. Almost universally, teachers want more choice in their professional development. Choice allows teachers to personalize their learning to fit the needs of their students.

Districts across the country are listening to the feedback and are offering their employees choice when it comes to professional development. Some of those districts are offering another incentive, recognition for completing training and the implementation of the learning with students. One of the tools being used to offer these micro-credentials is called digital badging. The Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory, or HASTAC, defines digital badging as “a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality, or interest that can be earned in many learning environments.” In other words, the learner acquires a new skill, or standard, and receives a digital badge.

The Birdville ISD Digital Learning Team will soon offer digital badges for the completion of self-paced online learning. To get ready for the district-wide implementation, Richland Middle School is piloting a version of the program that has been enthusiastically embraced by staff. Since the campus started digital badging in the middle of the fourth six weeks, the staff have currently earned 140 badges. Earning a badge at Richland MS is a three-step process. First, the teacher works with their digital learning specialist to learn a new digital tool or strategy. Next, they use the new tool or strategy with their students. Finally, they send evidence of their students using the new tool or engaged in the new strategy. So far the feedback is very positive. Most of the feedback refers to how they like that they are collecting badges to demonstrate their learning on their T-TESS. Some teachers say they enjoy seeing which department is leading in total badges. Another motivational factor is also emerging, competition. “I am a very competitive person, and even though it is not a competition, I want to have the most.”, said 7th grade Science teacher, Tony Moreau. Whatever the motivation for earning badges, the results are that more students are using digital tools for creating products and the staffs' continued professional improvement in the area of 21st-century learning.

HASTAC. "Digital Badges." HASTAC. n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2018. https://www.hastac.org/initiatives/digital-badges