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Competitive in a Digital World

 Joining Friday's Zoom session about the various challenges and badges we will have the opportunity to engage with throughout the summer initially brought out the competitor in me. However, digital challenges provide a unique spin for me when considering my competitive identity and how it shows up in this digital world. Many of the challenges and badges for the course will only enhance my competence, knowledge, and expertise when it comes to using the various social media platforms and sites. Instead of thinking solely of "winning" when it comes to engaging in the challenges and badges, I am reframing my thinking to embrace the challenges and badges as developmental opportunities to continue expanding my technology knowledge and skills. Dr. Dennen mentioned how students in the past have printed out the badges for them to display or have physically worn some of the badges that they have earned. 

I decided to explore the concept of digital badges; one type of digital badge I was familiar with prior to our discussion is LinkedIn digital badges. I heard about the LinkedIn badges during my master's program as it was promoted for us to explore them and add them to our profiles to make ourselves "more marketable" when it came to applying for jobs post-masters degrees. Learning more about digital badges, I needed a working definition that would help me understand the purpose of digital badges, "digital badges provide a secure digital proof that recognizes achievements. They are verifiable demonstration of competencies and skills and are a component of identity" (BadgeCert, n.d). It has been shared that digital badges can create a smoother and more accessible path for employers to discover individuals' skills before hiring them. Additionally, these digital badges provide convenience since there is so much on social media sites and platforms for people to learn about someone; why not have a place to showcase your skills and talents through digital badges? 

Are digital badges a viable way to measure skills? How is trustworthiness practiced through the implementation and usage of digital badges? 

I will continue to think about digital badges within my life and see how I can continue to use the challenges and badges in this class to fully enhance my digital skills! 

Reference: 

BadgeCert. (n.d). Digital badges: What they are, how they work, and why you should use them. https://badgecert.com/articles/digital-badges-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-you-should-use-them/#:~:text=Digital%20badges%20engagement,are%20a%20component%20of%20identity.


Comments

  1. DaeunMay 31, 2023 at 4:12 PM

    Hi Johnnie, I like how you synthesized the concepts of digital badge and raised some important questions (e.g., trustworthiness issue). You're absolutely right in your descriptions about the purpose of the digital badges in this course as a way of learning various tools! :))

    ReplyDelete
  2. DaeunMay 31, 2023 at 4:45 PM

    You may have read it, but I'm sharing one of our classmates' post regarding digital badges, which I found relevant to your post... https://melaninbliss.blogspot.com/2023/05/ill-show-you-mine-if-you-show-me-yours.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. J.AllenJr.June 8, 2023 at 7:43 PM

      Thank you for sharing! I did not get the opportunity to read their blog but I will now!

      Delete

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