Thoughts on Badges

Do you think badges are having a positive or negative impact on learning?

I don’t have a lot of experience with badges, but from the reading, I do feel like badges are having and have the potential to have a positive impact on learning and education. I feel like a lot of people are frustrated with traditional higher education and this could be a way to open that up a little bit and give credit for gained experience.

• How would you use badges?

I don’t teach in a classroom or do any training right now, so I don’t have an immediate use for badges. Thinking about my project though, I can see using badges for completing certain steps…but I’m not sure what would “badge be worthy.” As my project is piano lessons, I think there could be a badge for completing certain levels of theory or playing certain pieces by specific composers…..

• What long-term consequences of badges in education do you see?

Badges kind of me remind of certifications. And I feel like there are a lot of different opinions about certifications. Some people feel like getting all kind of certifications is great and looks great on resumes, while others feel like they can be waste of time. However, since badges don’t just represent passing a test, but actually completing work and gaining experience, I think employers will start to see them as a valuable way to judge a prospective employees true merits.