Digital Badges as an Educational Affordance in
a Disrupted Learning Era

Digital badging systems may offer timely affordances for learning design efficacy in higher education in the current pandemic-disrupted era and beyond. Badges offer potential affordances as both a system of micro-credentialing to recognise transferable skill development toward employability and as a competition-based learning (CnBL) adjunct for structuring learning pathways. A summary of a small-scale curriculum-development research project will be presented which shines a light on the importance of students as co-creation partners for designing such Technology Enhanced Learning adjuncts.

Session Aims

The aims of the session are to:

• Introduce digital badges as a potential learning adjunct in HE and show some of the different ways badges can be used to support learning and skill development.

• Share some insights from my small scale curriculum development research project as to the requirements of a badging system to win the buy-in of our students.

• Cultivate discussion of how we can derive utility from learning technology adjuncts and plan their successful integration based on stakeholder insights and involvement.

Links to UKPSF

A1: The session will help towards the designing and planning of technology enhanced T&L adjuncts
A2:  The session will be beneficial to teachers and help develop a discussion around how we can support learning through engagement and completion of learning activities and the development of skills
A3: As a method of micro-credentialing for skills assessment and a system for acknowledging the completion of learning activities, digital badges support assessment and feedback.
A4: A discussion of digital badges, as a support system for structuring learning in the online environment helps us develop awareness of the systems available and how we can derive utility from them.
A5: The session will help to disseminate research and stimulate conversation and sharing of insights.
K2: The session focuses on one potential method for teaching,  learning and assessing student’s progress.
K4: The session looks at how a technology adjunct could support learning and skill development.
V3: The session uses evidence informed approaches to help develop professional practice.
V4: The session has a focus on both learning within a HE context and providing students with employability skills.