EdTech Playbook: Digital Badging

#Technology

by John Jennings

John Jennings Managing Editor

The struggle is real.

Your teachers have boundless tools available to supplement their chosen instructional approach. Your administrators have all the performance data and student trends they need to make better decisions. Everyone who contributes to the organization has at least one process he or she could make more efficient through automation.

And yet, it remains exceedingly difficult to get the buy-in you need to get the most out of the technology at your disposal, let alone adopt anything new or different.

Digital badging represents the happy marriage of gamification and positive behavior recognition. There's a reason it's looking more and more like the future of professional development is finally here. In this first edition of the EdTech Playbook series, we'll offer up some ideas and resources to help you get your badging program off the ground.

↪ See how Houston ISD has transformed its PD culture with digital badges (EdSurge).

The Digital Badging Playbook

Step 1: Planning

Step 2: Issuing

Step 3: Administration

Step 4: Rollout

Low-Hanging Fruit

While every school district is unique, there are some universal professional development opportunities that can always use a little more attention. We've identified nine potential starting points for your badging program, from the classroom to the business office. Take a look.

Free Designs

If you've made it this far, we'd hate for you to get hung up on the design aspect of digital badges. We took the nine badges featured in the infographic above and created a downloadable package for your convenience. This .zip media kit features a generic design for each, as well as three ranked badges for those who prefer to measure varying proficiency benchmarks.

↪ Click here to download our full library of 36 free badge designs.

***Bonus: The Future-Ready Teachers Badge Group

While the above resources should go a long way toward helping you get off the ground with your badge program, we've also taken things one step further by partnering with Badge List to build a free, no-strings-attached badge group for future-ready teachers. Now, you can reap the benefits of digital badging for teacher professional development without having to dedicate any time or resources of your own. Anyone can join, submit their evidence of mastery, and start building a head-turning portfolio. Head on over, take a look, and start sending your teachers our way.

↪ Click here to access the Future Ready Teachers badge group.

For more information, including a brief welcome video from the founder of Badge List read the full announcement here.