Developing Ready-to-Use Digital Learning Badges to Improve Workforce Readiness
by Jama S. Coartney -- Most people enjoy games. From an early age, whether it’s peek-a-boo or hide-n-seek, games are one of the fun ways in which we learn and engage with each other. Within education, Bellotti and colleagues describe gamification as the “introduction of game elements in the design of learning processes.” In an earlier post, Dr. Ben Casteel described the benefits of creating fun and engaging learning through the use of gamification. He has experimented with gamification, including the use of digital badges to mark learning achievements. You can read more about his work here . Digital learning badges are an increasingly popular means of adding game-based learning to curricula to help motivate and engage students. These badges are an educational strategy to award achievements and skill-development. Digital learning badges are versatile tools that can be applied across a multitude of settings and purposes. For example, Virginia Cooperative Extension offers a cert