Badges

Starting Fall 2015, several groups at Earlham will explore using badges as a way to recognize student skills and knowledge, grant students access to various instruments and spaces, and give students a way to communicate to the broader world that they have been recognized for certain competencies.

Make a Badge

Note: All steps MUST be completed before a badge can reasonably be issued. Changing a badge after it is already available, and in particular if it has already been awarded to anyone, is difficult and may raise questions about expectations or ethics at a later date. We should all build good habits now to prevent problems later.

Getting Started in Moodle

Go to the EC Badges course on Moodle. Must have Awarder (Teacher) role in course.

Add a Topic for your badge. This will be the home for all activities needed to get that particular badge. Create these activities at any time before badge completion.

Creating the Badge

Scroll to the "Administration" section, click Badges, and click "Add a new badge." (If you click "Manage badges," you will have the option to change badge settings and add new badges.)

Fill out the blanks for "Name" (two badges may not have the same name) and "Description."

Have a square PNG image prepared as an icon, and upload it under "Image."

Under "Issuer details," change the name to your organization's name (e.g. Earlham CS, JMM).

Update contact information if desired. (You may change badge expiration information; default is that badges do not expire).

Click "Create badge."

Adding Requirements

You should now see the "Manage badges" screen, including your badge (name, icon, etc.). Click the gear icon.

Go to the "Criteria" tab. Options: - Manual issue by role: allows a human being with a given Moodle role to grant a badge. - Course completion: self-explanatory - Activity completion: require a Quiz, Assignment, or other Moodle activity be completed as a condition for getting the badge

As a rule, both "Activity completion" and "Manual issue by role" should be required. This ensures students earn their badges properly and that faculty/other awarders are aware of who has earned the badges and stay in regular communication about it. You may, however, choose to reward a badge based on "any" of the conditions being met rather than "all" of them.

(All criteria will be displayed when a potential Earner looks at the list of available badges.)

(Optional: The "Message" tab will change the message sent to a user when they receive a badge. Might be nice, if you want it.)

Making the Badge Accessible

By now you have probably noticed the yellow text reading "This badge is currently not available to users. Enable access if you want users to earn this badge." When you are completely satisfied with how your badge looks and the conditions required to earn it, click "Enable access." Hit "Continue" if you are comfortable with the warning.

(The yellow box should now be green and read "This badge is currently available to users. Disable access to make any changes.")

The badge is now available for students to earn.

Award a Badge

Must be in Awarder role.

Go to Administration > Badges > Manage badges.

Scroll down to Recipients and click "Award badge"

Select from list of names of people who are enrolled.