The basic principles of instructional design resonate not only across learning environments but across delivery systems as well; this is no different in the realm of mobile learning, where design itself lay digitally camouflaged amid seamless experience and ubiquitous technology. Scaffolding mobile learning landscapes with integrated programs that MATTER to the learner, therefore, becomes an increasingly challenging task.  While digital badging possesses great potential to enrich the learning environment of hybrid post-secondary courses, developing a meaningful initiative – even within an existing course LMS – will require careful attention to design elements that translate well from theory into practice.

A recent study by Morris et al. (2019) initiated two experiments with undergraduates to determine whether digital badging influenced self-regulated learning in a low-stakes situation (an extra credit opportunity within a credit-bearing course) and in a high-stakes situation (assigned pre-/post-tests and unit quizzes in a credit-bearing course). After deploying badging opportunities through implementation to student groups within these two learning contexts, the researchers found that neither experiment initiated “significant learning gains” in comparison to the non-badging control groups; further, “…the lack of effects of goal setting suggest that the issue might be due to scaling an intervention, rather than the intervention itself. A more conservative interpretation is that … results suggest that the successful inclusion of badges in courses might require considerable effort in design and implementation. Stated differently, badges may not produce beneficial effects by merely being added to a course; significant thought and effort is being put into designing courses with badges in mind” (Morris et al, 2019).  These findings suggest that, while the particular digital badging initiatives in these instances did no harm, careful design considerations must be employed in order to ensure that the micro-credentialing efforts deepen learners’ experiences with course content rather than simply function as tokens of task accomplishment.

In a similar vein, Kyewski and Kramer (2018) studied the effects of gamification (specifically, digital badging) on German undergraduate students’ performance and motivation within an e-learning course. Their findings show “…that badges have less impact on motivation and performance than is commonly assumed. Independent of condition, students’ intrinsic motivation decreased over time” (Kyewski and Kramer, p. 25). Prior to conducting the study, the researchers set forth a number of reasonable hypotheses regarding participants to include these assumptions:

• Intrinsic motivation will increase when receiving badges for accomplishments;
• Intrinsic motivation of low-motivation participants will increase with badging, while intrinsic motivation of high-motivation participants will decrease with badging;
• Students in the badge conditions will participate more actively in the course than students in the non-badging group;
• Students in the badge conditions will show better (measurable) performance than students in the non-badging control group;
• Students who see their own and others’ badges will be more active than those who can only see their own badges; and
• Students who see their own and others’ badges will show better (measurable) performance than those who can only see their own badges  (Kyewski and Kramer, pp. 25-27).

Through the collection of both qualitative data (student self-reporting) and quantitative measures (grades. activity, quiz results), the team concluded that none of their hypotheses were supported. While these findings may appear troubling, Kyewski and Kramer offer this caveat:

“Despite the rather large number of null results, we believe that this study helps to point out important aspects regarding gamification. We strongly believe that more evaluations of badges are required. Studies on cooperative, individualistic and randomly awarded badges should be conducted in order to reveal influences of badges on students’ motivation, activity, and performance in a more comprehensive way. With regard to answering the question of whether to gamify or not to gamify, we can draw the preliminary conclusion that although we were unable to show that badges help to motivate, foster activity and increase learning results, they certainly also do not hinder these processes – especially when participants only see their own badges” (p. 36).

Considering the findings of the Morris et al. (2019) study and the Kyewski and Kramer (2018) study, moving forward with a digital badging initiative appears a more intricate endeavor from a design perspective than one might perceive when considering that final product.  After all, digital badges themselves are simply graphic representations of accomplished tasks.  Right?  … While the token itself may be novel, the infrastructure of that token economy must be held in place by a solid theoretical foundation.  Dumford and Miller (2018) explored engagement practices among college students enrolled in online courses and identified both advantages (greater quantitative reasoning) and disadvantages (fewer collaborative efforts and lower interactivity) in online environments; not only do their findings lend themselves to mobile learning principles, they also hold profound relevance for my specific learning environment wherein in vivo classes are scaffolded by an online LMS (through which I propose a digital badging literacy initiative): “With the proliferation of online learning in higher education, there is an increased need to understand the engagement and gains of students who only have an opportunity for an online atmosphere. While there may be some benefits of online learning in the realm of engagement, it seems that there are also some sacrifices online learners make when it comes to an engaging educational experience. These findings open the door to more inquiry. Further research might look at particular online tools and techniques, both general and discipline-specific, which lead to these different types of engagement and learning in order to improve education for online learners” (Dumford and Miller, p. 462).  I believe digital badging is one of those “particular online tools” that, when implemented properly and thoughtfully, can add a greater sense of meaning and depth to learner experience.  Design – when it comes to digital badging – really IS everything.   (Wish me luck!)

References:

Dumford, A.D. and Miller, A.L. J (2018). Online learning in higher education: Exploring advantages and disadvantages for engagement. Journal of Computing in Higher Education 30: 452-465.

Kyewski, E. and Krämer, N.C. (2018). To gamify or not to gamify? An experimental field study of the influence of badges on motivation, activity, and performance in an online learning course.  Computers & Education 118: 25–37.

Morris. B.J., Dragovich, C., Todaro, R., Balci, S. and Dalton, E. (2019). Comparing badges and learning goals in low‑ and high‑stakes learning contexts.  Journal of Computing in Higher Education https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-019-09228-9.