Digital badges

What is the state of play within the New Zealand Higher Education sector?

Abstract

The importance and influence of digital technologies as a mediator and facilitator of learning is fundamentally changing education; what it encompasses, what counts as learning, who has access, where and when it occurs, and the ways in which skills, knowledge and capabilities are recognised. One technological innovation that has emerged within the last few years is digital badges. Developed to act as indicators of accomplishment, skill, or interest, they are being used in a variety of contexts for purposes such as to motivate, capture achievement, or credential learning. Digital badging is a technology that has the potential to change how we engage learners, deliver content and acknowledge learning. Internationally, digital badge use is growing particularly in Higher Education. However, to- date, it is difficult to determine how many institutions are using digital badges and for what purposes. This is particularly true within the New Zealand Higher Education context where little research is currently available. The focus of this study was to identify the ‘current state of play’ of digital badge use (i.e. which tertiary institutions are using badges, and the perceived benefits and drawbacks associated with their use) within the public New Zealand Higher Education sector.