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You Get A Badge! You Get A Badge! Everyone Gets a Badge

 

This was iconic right! Most of us remember Oprah giving away a plethora of free stuff each year during her favorite things episode. As the show evolved she used this episode as a way to highlight people who had gone above and beyond. One episode was full of expectant mothers, another was full of teachers.


Not once did the world say wait a minute, what did each teacher do to deserve that car. They were just excited! When it comes to the idea of awarding digital badges many people see it through the "everyone gets a trophy" lens. I personally don't have a problem with everyone getting a trophy. For me it is about socioemotional health. The idea of recognizing all students is one that appeals to me. In today's education system, there are a large number of students who go through the day unnoticed. They do what you ask, when you ask, within the parameters that you have set. Digital badges will allow educators to acknowledge the accomplishments of those students. Why shouldn't the students who completes an assignment or meets a milestone be encouraged and recognized. 

Another benefit of digital badges is that it allows for flexibility when it comes to recognizes accomplishments. Because educators are able to design new badges, they can create badges surrounding new skills or ideas that come up during the course. If I notice that students are not reading enough of a particular genre, I could make a badge targeting that issue. 

As a whole I don't see it as everyone getting a trophy, instead I see badging as a way to encourage to continue working towards their learning goals. 


Horstman, T., Tierney, G., & Tzou, C. (2020). Design principles for creating digital badges to support learning. Information and Learning Sciences, 121(11/12), 889–907. https://doi.org/10.1108/ils-02-2020-0042

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  1. Lauren ShellJune 4, 2022 at 9:55 PM

    Yes! I was thinking about needing to make sure I wasn’t just giving out a badge for everything, but trying to make it meaningful. I love your comment that badging is a way to encourage students to keep working towards their learning goals!

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