What badges can do is provide an avenue to create the next generation of assessments.
If the student doesn't care about a learning objective, why would they care about the badge? But if we can provide a badge for something they've mastered that is important to them, then we can use that as a foundation for their future learning."
badges can be important supplements to more established educational assessment.
They add another dimension to the learning process that traditional testing devices.
When was the last time you had to take a traditional test for your job? And even if you pass a test at the end of a course, it's hard to know what that means in regards to your learning. It's what you do with what you learned and how it continues to grow that matters. We're all lifelong learners.
Badges can change the focus on test-taking, providing a tool for motivation and assessment, and a way to provide credentials for learning.
What badges do is target the learning that is traditionally unrecognised.
Badges, of course, are not a new concept. A Girl Scout or Boy Scout merit badge is a good example, and video games often offer digital badges for a level of achievement.
Badges provide feedback that tells you what you accomplished, even if it isn't explicitly about winning or getting a grade. And you can display a badge in an online profile or on Facebook, so your social network is notified."
One of the threefold benefits of badges includes motivation.
Video games already take advantage of this by acknowledging that the player achieved a certain goal. A badge tells the player he accomplished something. It's not necessarily for winning the game, but rather provides an "assessment" of the player's progress.
Badges also designate credentials, a representation of ability.
In professional settings, the value is that employers can see what an individual has learned and who verified that they possess a particular skill ... was the issuer of the badge.
