A part of the ORMS MOOC, we built a series of badges to act as gatekeepers and markers of identity within the community. The ORMS MOOC is a mentored, open, online learning community where we focus on opportunities to authentically and effectively embed technology into instruction. As part of this learning community, we wanted a way to build in assessments for each learning module that mimicked the literacies and technologies espoused in the MOOC. Also…we wanted a way to have learners in the community experiment with badges to see what value they had in their learning.

What is a digital badge?

Digital badges are visual representations of learner accomplishments. Unlike traditional scout badges or other credentials such as school grades or transcripts, digital badges can contain specific claims regarding what the learner learned or did and detailed evidence supporting those claims. For more information about digital badges…please review this post or this post.

Digital badges and the ORMS MOOC

For each learning module, we built in one digital badge at the end of each module. The thinking is that you will complete all of the activities for each module, and then apply for the badge to indicate that you have finished the work for that module.

As an example, let’s take a look at the steps to complete the activities and apply for the digital badge as part of Module 1.

1. Review all directives for the badge as detailed in the badge metadata on the badge page.
2. Develop materials for a multimodal tutorial, you would use with your students. The template for the multimodal tutorial is available here. Examples of other multimodal tutorials are available here. I’ll have more info about the multimodal tutorial in a post next week. For now…start to consider a digital text or tool you would like your students to use.
3. Share your multimodal tutorial and any relevant links in a blog post. You might also choose to list these materials on your classroom website or learning hub.
4. You should share this point out to the Google+ Community and your favorite social networks and use the #ORMSMOOC and #ed6671 hashtags. You’ll also need to leave a link to your work in the ORMS MOOC Google Group.

How to make this happen

If you follow the four steps above, at this point you have a post on your blog or website where you share your work submission for the module. In this case…it’s a multimodal tutorial you would use with your students. You then request admission to this Google Group. Once you have been granted admission to the Group, you’ll share a post with the Group in which you indicate the badge that you’re applying for…in this case Module 1. You leave a little bit of text letting us know what you’re sharing…and paste in the link to your blog or website post. For more information on how to get around Google Groups click this link.

After you share your work to the Google Group, your work will be reviewed by a mentor in the community, and you will receive feedback and possibly the badge. The badge and feedback will come to you from the Mozilla badges site. For the first module, it will be this page.

 

 

Cover photo by Ben K Adams http://flickr.com/photos/schtumple/5187446637 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license