A modern day version for stickers which children enjoy and respond to, digital badges bring the a reward system into the 21st century where learning will be more online and such badges allow competence, confidence, skills and achievement to be rewarded online which can viewed by others. Much akin to the badge system created by the scout moment, the customisation of digital badges by educational provider and employees does represent a potential universal system which allows for adaption as the industry and emphasis widens. However, and it is a big however, such a system will always have its problems. Who is to be in charge of such systems, can they be made universal for all to use fairly and justly, who aims to profit for such badges and does the world really need such a tool. Yes the internet has given us many useful things that we can all use and many things that will benefit the few and the many, but are digital badges a passing phase that has good intentions, but like many things fails to take off and become successful? This is something that feel could become an idea of the past or simply used by the few.
Mozilla’s part in digital badges can be seen in their report but highlights the issue of who their attempts are aimed at. I can appreciate the concept in principle and children’s enthusiasm for badge rewards but in my recent school, the use of physical badge stickers and software such as ‘class dojo’ was frowned upon in terms of the schools overall reward policy. Positive praise, house points, earning privileges through hard work and positive behavior are systems that schools, teachers and children are all accustomed to. They are easy to implement and manage, cost effective and do not rely on the expansive use of technology which senior management often seem to shy away from. Is there value for money with such as system that will involve more teacher work and more online access for children, this question will surely be asked by staff themselves. Will such badges become too easy to access, will their worth to the receivers be diminished and will learners be overrun with the whole concept and lose interest. In school I see children’s excitement for rewards, yet the next day they are often forgotten, downgraded and overridden by the next challenge and potential reward.
I agree with the whole idea, it has scope for development and potentially a massive impact on both children’s and adult’s learning, achievement, development and success. However, like many things the internet has given us, just because we can do this does not mean it will work out in the long term, possibly ending up in the big recycle bin of things the internet promised us but that never really materialized.
This post is incredibly impactful.
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