Use of Online Badges in Schools

In the modern world we are constantly learning but not always receiving the recognition our learning deserves; this is where Open Badges steps in. Mozilla spotted a gap in the market, a need for a place to collate all of your accomplishments and academic achievements in one online space. Using courses run both online and in the real world, users are able to develop what is effectively an online CV. This video explains exactly what a badge is, how they can be obtained and where they can lead you.

Now that we’ve grappled the concept of Badges, let’s take a deeper look at their uses and drawbacks.

The first positive of badges that come to mind is that they are a great example of Skinner’s Positive Reinforcement as badges can be used as a reward for positive behaviours or excellent work. They also help a teacher in their professional life as, with any other profession, teachers are able to gain badges which display achievements in their careers; an extensive badge collection could be the extra boost needed for that job at a new school or that deputy headship you’ve been striving towards for years. The positives are very similar for children as they celebrate finally earning the writing badge they’ve been working towards; whilst a traditional teacher might praise a child for good work, the new age enables us to reward children with a tangible accolade which will provide an enormous sense satisfaction.

Despite the positives, OpenBadges is not quite as revolutionary as Mozilla would have you think. Whilst it seems like a great idea on paper to use OpenBadges as a ‘secondary CV’, this would only work if the job you’re applying for recognises OpenBadges as worthy achievements. Due to still being in relative infancy, it is impossible to expect that all organisations will have heard of OpenBadges let alone recognise your achievements on there. This is the main drawback for both pupils and teachers; teachers may not be supported by their badge collection in their professional lives whilst children have spent years of hard work throughout their schooling on badges only to find out they’re useless in the job market.

Overall, despite being a really innovative idea that could be huge in the future, at the moment badges are simply not known well enough around the world for them to have the kind of impact that Mozilla is claiming they will/do have. That being said, if one wanted to use them in the classroom for nothing more than just recognition in that class, then they are a fantastic tool for positive reinforcement. I would say that the potential with badges is huge, but currently I can only really see them as being applicable on a class by class, or even possibly school-wide, basis as they do not have the worldly impact claimed by Mozilla.