Getting Started with Badgr - An Overview

So, what does a badge look like? Well, that's up to you! Really, all you need is a square image. As a basic example, here's a badge I created in just a few seconds on Canva Links to an external site. as a reward for completing the first module of an HTML training! You can find more examples of badges at this TCS Ed Tech website Links to an external site.!

Before we really get started though, let's address a common concern: Why use badges at all? Should higher education professionals be investing time and money into them? Isn't it childish? Doesn't it essentially boil down to just sticking a gold star on a paper?

The simple answer comes down to two words: motivation and retention. While we might associate badges with children's games, they work just as well with adults. The video game industry is huge, especially with the rising popularity of mobile games, and applying video game design concepts to other aspects of life, like the points you earn on your credit card, is often wildly successful. Badges only equate to gold stars if they're handed out with reckless abandon and students don't have to actually work to earn them. That's the 'why' here: to motivate our 21st century students to genuinely reach, and persist in reaching, for higher and higher levels of achievement.

Using Badgr boils down to just a few steps. To get started with Badgr, we'll give you a quick vocabulary lesson and an overview of the process.

Badge

A digital credential of achievement.

Issuer

The person, organization, or group that awards a badge.

Criteria

The requirements to earn a badge.

Evidence

Optional artifacts that prove the student completed the badge criteria.

Canvas Integration

This refers to the Badges link in your Canvas course.

Badgr/Badgr.io

This refers to the Badgr.io Links to an external site. website.

Badgr's Knowledgebase has a Checklist for Awarding Badges in Canvas Links to an external site., but we've adapted this list to be more user friendly! (The checklist includes lots of back end stuff that's already done!)

• Choose a course to use Badgr in.
• Create an Issuer that suits your needs.
• Decide how you'd like to award badges.
• Set up your course Modules to fit your badge layout.
• Design your badges.
• Assign your badges in the Badges section of the course.
• Watch the magic happen!

Stuck somewhere? Contact eLearning or post a question to our Question Corner!