TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Peter Rawsthorne -
Number of replies: 27

Task 4: Go earn some badges already!

7. Identify a variety of sites that issue badges.

Spend some time to find two or more sites that issue badges. Are these event based badges or learning based badges? Do the badges exist on their own or are they a part of a hierarchy or network? Earn some badges and figure out how they are displayed. Were the badges easy to earn? How easily can they be displayed outside of the site where you earned the badges? Display your badges or send the link to a friend.

8. Describe the skills, knowledge and curriculum the badges represent.

Can you easily describe the criteria for earning the badges you just completed? Were they part of a bigger curriculum? Were the badges more commercially oriented? Would displaying the badges attract other to earn the badges or participate in related learning?

Consider these sites, there are others...

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Wayne Mackintosh -

7. Identify a variety of sites that issue badges.

The OER university international partnership of accredited formal education institutions is experimenting with the use of a community-based question and answer forum to support free learning called Ask OERu (as one of the initiatives supporting Academic Volunteers International (AVI)) .

This website incorporates a system of both Karma points and badges. 

8. Describe the skills, knowledge and curriculum the badges represent.

Readers of the list can find more information about the system here:

While these badges may not represent formal academic credit, we are keen to explore how peer-learning support and relevant badges earned through the system might contribute to formal academic credit for community service learning in the OERu system.
In reply to Wayne Mackintosh

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Peter Rawsthorne -

Interesting stuff Wayne. Thanks for sharing...

I like both the karma and the badging approach. It looks very stackexchange-ish... all good! I looked at both your profiles and couldn't see the black karma banner. Where could I find it on your profile?

Do you see enough value in being able to display the OERu or WikiEducator badges out on the social network? having them display on facebook, linkedin or some other professional / job site? Currently, I see them as "locked" into these two sites, do you see moving them into something like Mozilla Open Badges...

Great to have you here Wayne, thanks for contributing...

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Pat Tymchatyn -

4 Square: http://www.4squarebadges.com/foursquare-badge-list/adventurer-badge/

I like this one you get a badge just for registering on the site and a badge for visiting a specific location three times.  Seems that this is a kid's site as well. The criteria is well listed.  I don't think this relates to formal learning but if you are part of the culture it would definitely be a motivator.

 

Miss O and Friends:  http://missoandfriends.com/club/rewards/badges.php

A girl's site which seems quite well-developed with badges for different type of input from MIss Intern (who contributes to the site) to Miss Copyright (who writes often) and Miss Designer (who designs badges).  Who knew that this was a real happening thing?

So I seem to be a little off-track  but it has been interesting finding out that there is a whole world on on-line badges aimed at kids.

 

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by John Dumbrille -

Last night I signed up on the Khan Academy site and started working towards a badge. 

With a staggering number of courses on offer, the Khan Academy designers have opted to design only 6 badges, 4 based on difficulty/level of attainment and two others (Black Hole badges - "… legendary and unknown. They are the most unique Khan Academy awards." - and Challenge Patches, "special awards for completing topic challenges.")

I earned the lowest difficulty badge in a simple subject, adding.  Each time you get a correct answer on this set, you get points, but points do not necessarily earn you a badge. To get the lowest difficulty badge in adding, you need to get 5 consecutive correct answers, in quick time.The award moment reminded me of a video game experience - the user gets an unexpected, congratulatory  view of the award. You can click on the badge, or, after a few seconds the image decays; the user's attention returns to the game, where s/he can continue to earn points. 

The user has to find the badge on the user profile, where there is a badge showcase. There are two steps to  display it: 1) drag the badge into your showcase  and 2) make the showcase public. I found the user experience fun and elegant - the way the badges slide into the showcase was to me visually pleasing, it gives a payoff in of itself. It makes it fun to "earn".

One's badge gets a called out description - what you got the badge in - linked to the ( one of 6) badge graphic. I didn't notice a way to export this badge to another place, it seems limited to the Khan Academy ecosystem - much like in an electronic game.  

In reply to John Dumbrille

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by John Dumbrille -

Something I noticed: If I'm not logged in I can see someone's profile. Mine is here. 

http://www.khanacademy.org/profile/Jdumbrille/

It shows my badges. However,  there is not alot of exposition on what the badge stands for - less than on my own self-view. The opacity makes them in some ways less desirable. How do I respect or want what I don't have visibility into?

The idea of conventional (boy scout, etc) badges is that you have a pretty good affordance provided on what the badge is all about. The Khan badge system is extemely impressive, and visually appealing, but if I'm to criticize, exporting badges and better transparency into another person's badges are 2 things I'd like to see.

In reply to John Dumbrille

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Pat Tymchatyn -

When I put my cursor over your badge it says that you answered 5 questions successfully in a time limited time.

In reply to Pat Tymchatyn

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by John Dumbrille -

Yes, that's true, Pat.

The thing I'm missing is - what is the skill? I see a title - "Picking up steam" and a very generic ( you answered 5 questions...) defintion of what I did to get the badge, but I dont know what  "Picking up steam" represents in terms of skill. And a search doesnt tell me.

Most physical badges give an indication of what the skill is you've got a proficiency in; I miss that here.

In reply to John Dumbrille

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Julia Hengstler -

Would also be nice to connect that to the "evidence" of the badge achievement like an eportfolio. Anyone wondering about the "credentialling" could take a look at the evidence itself--if you chose to publish it--to make their own determination.

Julia

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

SkillsPages (not badges) and Mozilla Badges

by Verena Roberts -

7. Identify a variety of sites that issue badges.

I joined SkillsPages - because someone sent me a link this morning. I asssumed that you would attain badges as a result of joining, but no, it is a site that offers people jobs and helps you look for your jobs - based on your skills. I now have people who have calimed that I have skills, but no badge. What I have learned in this process is that it is extremely easy to confuse badges and “skills” websites.

Mozilla Badges - I earned my Badges 101 Badge and now I have a Badge Backpack.

8. Describe the skills, knowledge and curriculum the badges represent.

With SkillsPages - I have other educators who have told the world that I have skills in eLearning. I made up the skill though, so not a lot of quality control at this site. Great idea though and a way to implement competencies/ peeragogy in HS courses.

Mozilla Badges - Badges 101. It took me no time at all to complete the badge - online - but I have no idea about the skills I aquired (Did I miss this somewhere Peter?). I did cover some basic curriculum that focused on “knowledge” and lifelong learning as opposed to satndardized tests and marks. The badge says that I “really get badges”. I would argue that I have an “open to badges mindset” instead.

In reply to Verena Roberts

Re: SkillsPages (quality control)

by Sylvia Riessner -
I would think that the value of their badges is about the same as Monopoly-money. I guess this is one of the reasons for my hesitation about the proliferation of badges. It is not just the lack of quality control but the need for learners to be clear about who recognizes the badges and what they mean and why they might want to collect them. I was trying to think if there is any quality control in the claims that people make about skills on sites like Linked In, and I think the difference is that claims are generally linked to employers or educational institutions so they could be verified. I'm assuming your skills site didn't do that? I haven't had a chance to explore that...maybe I'll go do that now. Thanks for sharing Sylvia
In reply to Sylvia Riessner

Re: SkillsPages (quality control)

by Peter Rawsthorne -

Sylvia,

Mozilla is not intending on the badges earned while exploring open badges will have a value beyond having explored open badges. To continue the analogy... the value isn't in the monopoly money, but in that they developed the game of monopoly. And it is a game with great value.

Mozilla intends on using open badges to issue web maker badges with is targeting digital literacies and web making skills; https://webmaker.org/en-US/

So you are correct, people need to develop the skills sites that use open badges and Mozilla will provide infrastructure to support the badges. So the skills, learning, knowledge, etc... come from the sites that are using open badges...

Cheers, Peter

In reply to Verena Roberts

Re: SkillsPages (not badges) and Mozilla Badges

by Peter Rawsthorne -

The mozilla badges you earned are really more a way to get you familiar with how the process works than developing skills. Their skills development is more aligned with digital literacies and web making...

Good point "open to badges mindset" !!!!

Thanks for sharing could you find the link to share the badges you have earned?

This is the link to a group of the badges I have earned so far for this seminar series...

http://beta.openbadges.org/share/62d0f399bef6fdfdfc56a86ef9a40277/

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Colin Madland -

I've been faffing about with the Mozilla open badge specs and use and went over there to earn a couple badges. Like Verena, I 'Really get badges' after answering some pretty obvious T/F questions, which made me wonder how a person could verify that the issuing organization was legit, rather than just the badge earner.

Similarly, a couple weeks ago I was invited to www.elearingindustry.com and noticed that you could get their 'badge' by filling out a little form.  <Testing Mode On> <Try to paste an HTML snippet> <Fail> <Testing Mode Off>

I've created a page on my wiki to display the badge here http://cmadland.wikispaces.com/badgetest.  I found that the badge isn't a badge after all, just a cheap way to advertise for someone else's website.

Have any of you noticed any such instances of badge abuse?

In reply to Colin Madland

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Kathleen Zarubin -

LOL "Badge Abuse"  - the term makes me smile for some reason :)

In reply to Colin Madland

Badge "Abuse"

by Verena Roberts -

Hi Colin - Thanks for the reply.

I also saw a "Google" Badge advertised. I assumed it meant some kind of "Google" skills were needed. No, it was a "badge" to advertise Google on your blog or webpage.

This leads back to what Peter suggested...somewhere...in the course....Maybe in the webinar? Having a common area for "badges" will help with "Badge Quality Control". Although outside groups can create badges, there is a certain protocol and process to follow.

I have to admit - I am swayed by badges that connect with Mozilla now, based on my "small" amount of research on badges!

At least I have an common idea about the expectations  for Mozilla Badges - that can't be said for badges not affiliated with Mozilla at this point.

Common language is key in developing the culture of new communities. The clear langauge and prcedure give me my "badge idea". As the "one who speaks a different lanague" at my organization, Mozilla's clarity makes it easier for me to pitch the idea to my fellow educators. They speak everyone's language.

Verena :)

In reply to Colin Madland

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Peter Rawsthorne -

Hmmmm....

I agree you could view things in such a way... As mentioned previously I think Mozilla is more focused on getting you earning a badge and storing it in your backpack. Not pushing your learning...

badges really are going to be what the badge issuers want them to be. If the social meme sees tham as "the abuse of badges" they will be ridiculed through time... we see this, the internet does become a good filter. The badges of quality will rise to the top...

Keep in mind, it is early times and badges are just getting started... I am sure our conversation around this will be different in a few years time... particularly if / when badges become more entrenched...

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Patric Lougheed -

7. Identify a variety of sites that issue badges.

I always seem to start at the bottom and work my way up. So, I went to the open badges Github and installed it on my server. Wish I had found your YouTube videos from your channel before I started. Anyway, it took around 15 minutes to get it going and then I needed to setup my Persona account (needed it for my Mahara install anyway) and after logging into my instance was pointed to P2PU where I shall earn some badges. I did find another Github project called badge-it-gadget-lite which then directed me to the Badge Bingo website. From there I was able to earn my Badges 101 and Web Navigator badges. I am very keen on having my site setup to be an issuer and integrate this into some simple tutorials.

8. Describe the skills, knowledge and curriculum the badges represent.

My nice new shiny Badges 101 was a very good introduction into the way badges can be used in comprehension exercises and quizzes. I can see real value in a mechanism like this in one of my daughters IEP meetings... a document of progress and tasks completed. 

The Web Navigator badge was a very low stress basic digital literacy skills test that I can imagine building on for some of the professional development I do with instructors. These badges might not mean much on their own but the sum can represent a full curriculum resulting in certification (which is a wieghty word with more respect).

My Backpack: http://beta.openbadges.org/share/32537638d18936708e8a2ab9a4df905e

In reply to Patric Lougheed

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Jo Freitag -

Peter, I am having no luck at all with getting the first Open Badges badge to go to my backpack - I have tried many times and each time I get an error message saying Sorry! An error occurred Try again later

Am I doing something wrong?

In reply to Jo Freitag

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Peter Rawsthorne -

Jo,

How did you go about earning the badges? Did you push the bkue get started button on the Mozilla Open Badges site? http://openbadges.org/en-US/ Or did you earn badges in some other way?

I do know that some browsers do not work so well with open badges... Internet Explorer in particular...

Stick with it Jo. The struggles you are having may be shared with others... so keep speaking up...

Thanks...

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Jo Freitag -

Yay! I now have the first of the Open Badges badge using Firefox instead of Iinternet Explorer.

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Christine Horgan -

Peter

Task 4:

7. Identify a variety of sites that issue badges:

I checked Mozilla open badges and Khan Academy and ran into roadblocks both times. Clearly, what's logical and intuitive to others is not to me. If i weren't so determined to succeed and earn some darn badges, I'd throw up my hands, mutter some rude words, and write the exercise off. But . . . I know I'll return and try to figure out where I'm going wrong. It does, though, raise some questions: as in, where am I going wrong and why.

8. Describe the skills, knowledge and curriculum the badges represent.

the mozilla badge was a curriculum related badge. three questions. I have no value for the badge as a result - i just have a value for the experience becasue it was my first badge. The khan academy badge was a time telling (analog clock) exercise. I'm not sure whether or not I was successful (no obvious, "Ta Dah, you have a badge") and no idea where the badge is housed.

ummmmmm, it surely can't be this difficult.

Cheers, Chris

In reply to Christine Horgan

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Peter Rawsthorne -

Chris,

You are correct it should not be that difficult.

What internet browser are you using? Microsoft internet Explorer? Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome?

This will help me troubleshoot your badge earning struggles... Keep going, I'm here to help...

Peter

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Christine Horgan -

Peter:

 

Internet explorer and, if I read an earlier posting correctly, it's a browser prone to giving grief. I'm going to try again from home and see if I have any more luck. Otherwise, you'll have to create a badge for dummies.

 

Cheers, Chris

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Jo Freitag -

And now I have gained the hackasaurus badge also. I nearly did not do this one as when I moused over the link on the word address in change your address here it appeared to lead to a site which could have caused problems However after rereading the instructions I just added the words to the address bar and it worked for me During this challenge there were pop up box rewards for each task incorporated in gaining the badge.

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Christine Horgan -

Yeah! success! I appear to have earned a couple of Khan Academy badges. Chris

Your Challenge Patches

 
Telling time
                                                Last achieved 46 seconds ago                                                       
 

Your Badges

 
Just Getting Started
                                                Last achieved 46 seconds ago                                                       
100
x1
Picking Up Steam
                                                Last achieved 9 minutes ago                                                                                            in Telling time
100
 

All Badges

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Margot Croft -

Went to Mozilla and got the basic badges--and agree with other comments that they are a bit lightweight.  However, in looking at examples of cumulative badges and peer reviewed, those appear to have more substance.

Tweeted my 'earned' badges, but this is an area I'll have to work on a bit--not as seamless as I thought.

And it took a while to figure out that the Hackasaurus task page wasn't doable on the iPad....  On the pc it took about 5 seconds....  So UDL is something to consider in setting up tasks for users!

And although the below examples are also lightweight, like how technology is leveraged to enhance awareness.

Safer Internet Day 2013 

Orientation

In looking at some research in the area of social marketing, I think that displaying badges has strong potential for attracting others and helping to establish social norms but will have to test it out!  Am working on a paper for VIU's Online Teaching Diploma and had this very conversation (engagement of communities) with a classmate today. We're both exploring how badges could work in our areas which are completely divergent--Kindergarten and Sustainability awareness at a post-secondary level.

In reply to Peter Rawsthorne

Re: TASK 4 (Dec 5th): Go earn some badges already!

by Julia Hengstler -

I've earned some badges in my Purdue Passport account and in Mozilla.

My Passport ones: http://beta.openbadges.org/share/8c95a6142c3abb0d370677e4bcd65d7e/

My Mozilla one http://beta.openbadges.org/share/03023b1be9631b6220447fbbda21eb79/

 

These were learning type badges. They have an independent and collective existence. Re. Purdue I felt compelled to complete the set to get off the "compete newbie" level. I don't think anyone told me to do this. Their collective meaning--in my Openbackpack--came from how I decided to group and display them as a collection.

It took me a bit to figure out how to group and display my Open Badges at first--but wasn't completely difficult.

 

The Purdue Passport badges were very clearly designed in a sequence to lead us through the basic tasks re. interacting with the badge platform first--then how to publish to the Mozilla Backpack second. After these tasks, as an instructor, I have badge development and design badges that took me through the basic tasks and considerations for creating badges.

I think that badges in closed systems have far less opportunities for "attracting others" unless they--like Purdue is doing--are pushed into a more public platform like Mozilla's.