Join us to discuss and learn about the potential of digital badges to facilitate learning and address learning competency transfer issues in an online higher education environment as well as their value across hybrid and traditional learning environments. We'll share what we've learned about digital badges and their implementation from our experiences building a pilot badge program at an institution with increasingly diverse program options. Badging allows for new solutions to define and establish student learning outcomes, provides a platform to teach and learn those skills, and includes a transferable method to effectively communicate standardized skills development by students to faculty, support staff, and (following graduation) potential employers.

OUTCOMES:

Determine badging issues and types that are best for confirming competencies
Explore the use of badging programs across various educational settings including online, hybrid, and traditional
Learn about issues and options from a real-life implementation of a badging program

ASU librarians launched a pilot digital badge system for students to learn and demonstrate information and research proficiency while addressing two recurring needs with one solution. Specifically, college professors desire ways to improve and ensure high levels of research skills among their students (including transfer, distance, traditional, and online). In 2012, Project Information Literacy reported that employers seek candidates who can locate, select, and synthesize information and use information with colleagues to create new solutions to problems. Digital badge systems are scalable; they also promote learning and provide a way for students to demonstrate that learning to instructors and employers.