Badges
"Digital badges are an assessment and credentialing mechanism that is housed and managed online. Badges are designed to make visible and validate learning in both formal and informal settings, and hold the potential to help transform where and how learning is valued." ~ MacArthur Foundation
As our youth develop their digital citizenship skills with their teachers’ guidance, we’d like to recognize and honor their growth through the awarding of Digital ID Project badges.
The Who, What, When, Where, How and Why of Digital ID Badges
Who: all students, ages 9 – 18 years and their teachers
What: 4 badges (unique Digital ID electronic icons) verifying a level of demonstrated achievement in each of the 4 foci:
Badges (4) available to be earned
Examples of evidence of achievement
Focus 1: Stepping Up – being an upstander
- Speaking out on behalf of someone being bullied or marginalized, either online or in person
- Creating PSAs or presentations on Focus 1 issues
- Sharing a personal story about Stepping Up and posting it to the VoiceThread for Upstanders, Not Bystanders located on Focus 1: Stepping Up page
Focus 2: Building Identities – having a positive digital footprint
- Passing the self-googling test
- Posting positive, appropriate contributions or work
- to an online site with an audience beyond the classroom
- wall
- Creating PSAs or presentations on Focus 2 issues
Focus 3: Boundaries – respecting other’s intellectual property
- Citations properly done in research projects, etc.
- Contributing own work under Creative Commons
- licensing
- Creating PSAs or presentations on Focus 3 issues
Focus 4: Online Privacy – having safe online behaviors
- Properly following recommended naming protocols
- Interceding when peers err in privacy issues
- Creating PSAs or presentations on Focus 3 issues
*Note: The above icons are not the actual badges. Please do not download them. We will be sending you customized badges for your students to display.
When: Ongoing throughout the school year
Where: Students can upload their electronic badges to their own electronic “backpacks” or ePortfolios (their website, blog, wiki, etc.).
How: By following these 4 basic steps:
- Teachers will identify students who have demonstrated a level of achievement in any of the 4 foci. The evidence of achievement is at the teacher’s discretion.
- They will then post to our Digital ID form a formal request for badges for the respective foci for their students.
- Digital ID will email official badges to teacher’s email.
- Teachers can disseminate the badges to their students accordingly
- Students can re-earn badges each year
Why: Because we are proud of our students who are learning to be global citizens and who behave responsibly and respectfully in all the communities of which they are members. They will help make the digital future a kinder, more civil place. We want to honor their growth as digital citizens.
Additional Why: The Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts of America - as well as all video game creators - have long understood the power of visible recognition of skill mastery in the form of badges. Since the mid- 2000s, there has been a coordinated effort to create electronic badges that serve as confirmation of skill mastery at all levels of learning in a wide variety of areas. The US Dept of Education (Connected Educators Month), Mozilla, and other leaders have laid the groundwork for a publicly recognized badging system for learning achievement. Organizations such as Google, Linked In, the City of Chicago, and numerous universities and training entities are utilizing badges for both hard and soft skills. For students to be able to begin earning official badges of achievement is an important step in developing their personal and professional identities as lifelong learners, which will become increasingly important in the digital future.