AWT4CL 00 Welcome Badge

Help Your Students "Level Up" Learning: Take the Welcome Badge Tour--
Author: Jama S. Coartney   --
As educators, we’re constantly looking for ways to make learning stick—and to help learners recognize how their education connects to their futures. Digital learning badges may be able to help.

This post introduces the Agriculture Workforce Training for Collaborative Leadership (AWT4CL) project Welcome Badge module. Designed with instructors and facilitators in mind, the Welcome Badge module offers a brief orientation to the AWT4CL project and digital badges. At the end of the module, there's an opportunity for you to go through the process of claiming a digital learning badge—just like your learners will need to do.



How Can Digital Learning Badges Motivate Learners?
Consider the success story from the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, where a badging system helped learners clearly connect their academic achievements with sustainable career practices. It’s a model for how badges can build confidence, professional identity, and momentum toward lifelong learning.

Research shows that people learn best through example, social interaction, and reflection (Bandura & Schunk, 1981). Digital badges tap into these powerful mechanisms. They provide opportunities to converse with students about the assignments.  There's even a bit of gamification built into the system (Caponetto et al., 2014), letting learners experience the fun of "leveling up" as they progress.

As instructors, we also have the opportunity to go beyond awarding a badge: we can engage in dialogue with students about their submissions, deepen their reflections, and celebrate their progress. Once a badge is earned, learners can claim and share it publicly—showcasing their commitment to growth in ways that future employers will notice.

Whether you’re curious about adding digital badges to your course or simply want to explore new ways to motivate your students, the Welcome Badge module is a great starting point.

Let’s get started!
Take the Welcome Badge Tour today, and you can experience for yourself how digital badges can turn everyday learning into career-readiness for learners.

For more detailed info on how to use digital learning badges, check out the AWT4CL Implementation Guide.



Project Resources:
Instructor Welcome Module
AWT4CL Project Website
AWT4CL Implementation Guide - instructions and example assignments for each badge
APLU - Association of Public & Land-grant Universities Employability Skills
Badging System - AWT4CL Badgr/Canvas Credential badges, maintained by Virginia Tech 









Location: Blacksburg, VA, USA

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