Badges and Recognition!
So, we have been doing these badges and challenges and I will be honest, I am here for it. I love a little challenge to help me to be motivated. I haven't nominated anyone for a badge YET - hold tight, people. I have had a busy week! I went to an AWESOME concert in Saint Augustine, at the amphitheater and WOW, what an amazing venue and great experience. I am ready to go back! I'll include a song from the band that they recorded there at the end of this blog in case you're into totally awesome, wonderful, good vibe music. 💓💛💚
Anyhoo - back to badges. I told my friend, who has a pretty high position in a local government office, about the badges we are earning, and working towards and he tols me about Microsoft TEAMS "Recognize" app!. I don't know about you, but we use TEAMS at my job. We hold meetings, mostly IEP meetings, regarding student services and the such, so we don't use it daily. Well, my friend uses it more than that and he told me that within the Teams app, there is the "Recognize" app where employees can recommend others in the workplace for different badges and the such! He said it is fun and he enjoys recommending people, and so far the people like it. After our conversation I went online and read a little about it and it sounds like a great concept that could be used at work, AND in the classroom. I have provided a link below for you to see for yourself!
https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/product/office/wa200001519?tab=overview
After doing some reading on how to create a badge system in a learning environment, it seems creating such a system is not a "one size fits all" scenario. When choosing to incorporate a badge system into your instruction is is important that is is fluid, that is, the badge not only address content, but actually connects to other badges within the scope of the content so students can make the connections needed academically. Knowing that the Florida standards are making a shift (especially in ELA) to a more content focused literacy approach, it makes sense that if I were to choose to use a badge system in my classroom, I should definitely do the work on the front end to ensure that the badges do not stand alone, but rather connect on some level for my students. The article also mentions being willing to revisit your badges and update or change them over time.
Horstman, T., Tierney, G., & Tzou, C. (2020). Design principles for creating digital badges to support learning. Information and Learning Sciences, 121(11/12), 889–907. https://doi.org/10.1108/ils-02-2020-0042
Thank you for sharing the "Recognize" app! My employer is about to switch us over from using Google Workspace to Microsoft, so perhaps I can apply what I learn about badges via this knew app :). In my reading about badges, I appreciated the framework badge systems seemed to offer designers. It seems like a tool to use when trying to "gamify" or add game elements to a curriculum. Side note, Rebelution is very popular here in Hawaiʻi. I am not surprised the concert was a blast :).
ReplyDeleteOh - I bet they are! I love them and was so glad to see them coming so close to me! I agree about the badges, I can see myself incorporating them throughout my curriculum when school starts. I also like the fact that for them to be meaningful they should interconnect content-wise on some level for the user. This is important to me as a 5th grade teacher, I am always looking for ways to integrate the content and concepts we are learning.
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