I. Introduction
I am interested in digital badging and augmented reality (AR) to be incorporated into higher science education to provide personalized learning. “Kearney et al. refer to personalization as a concept that supports the “just enough, just-in-time, just-for-me” aspect of mobile learning which can allow learners to create their own pathway of learning.” (Gamrat and Zimmerman, p. 16) The articles I chose were related to science and included either digital badging or augmented reality that provided examples of personalization in the learning process. After summarizing the articles and giving examples of personalization in those articles, I came up with several ideas of how these technological tools could be used in the context of higher education.
II. Article Summaries
The first two articles focused on digital badging by Chris Gamrat, Heather Zimmerman, et. al. Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program and An Online Badging System Supporting Educator’ STEM learning. Both articles were on the same case study of 36 teachers in evaluating the effectiveness of a digital badge system, Teaching Learning Journals (TLJ), in personalizing professional development (PD). Teachers came up with their own learning goals, chose their own content to study, and their own level of assessment. The results showed that the flexibility and choices provided by the TLJ badging supported teacher’s ability to personalize their own self-development process according to the context of their workplace.
The other article I chose was EcoMobile: Integrating augmented reality and probe-ware with environmental education field trips, by Amy M. Kamarainen. This article showed how augmented reality (AR) personalized the experience of 71 sixth graders in a science field trip analyzing water and organisms at a pond. The students were given smartphones that included AR trigger points over-laid on the landscape of the pond created by FreshAir software (www.playfreshair.com). At each trigger point the AR prompted students to make observations, answer questions, take water measurements with probes, interpret results, make comparisons, and offered feedback on their results. AR allowed students to personally control their experience and learning during the field trip. Statistical results showed student affective and cognitive gains from pre- to post- test results, thus proving that mobile technology was effective as a learning tool.
III. Personalization of Learning
Both articles showed that when learners have personalized ownership over their learning, they are more motivated to complete those activities. For example, one of the participants in digital badging project was “Erin” who was a leader in her own STEM school and needed enhanced PD on STEM material. She was one of the most productive TLJ users and in her logs stated how she could apply the TLJ materials for teaching students with different abilities and for training teachers. As a STEM leader, Erin had high interest in learning more about STEM material. Therefore, she was a very active participant in completing TLJ badges (Gamrat and Zimmerman, p. 19, 20) Personal ownership of the learning was also observed In the EcoMobile. One teacher commented on this saying
…so rather than having whole group of kids clustered in one muddy, wobbly spot at the edge of the pond, they were all at sort of different spots going through it at their different paces and because they were moving independently through the different parts, I felt like it gave a different ownership over the experience than if teacher had been just one teacher voice and a crowd of kids. (Kamarainen, p. 9)
AR allowed the activity become student-centered and the teacher became a facilitator that assisted students one-on-one.
IV. Conclusion: Ideas for Higher Education
I could see badges useful in higher learning to allow students personalize their path of learning within their subjects. For example, if a learner was interested in pharmacy, then while taking a chemistry course the learner could complete a customized digital badge involving chemistry in pharmacy. Or if a learner was interested in engineering, then while taking the same chemistry course that learner could complete a chemical engineering badge. Badges involved with different fields could be accessed by any student. Therefore students could explore different fields of study. Chi et al states that experts’ knowledge is much more than a list of disconnected facts about their disciplines. Instead, their knowledge is connected and organized around important ideas of their disciplines, and it includes information about conditions of applicability of key concepts and procedures (Bransford, et. al, p. 222). Allowing learners to personalize their study by connecting discipline knowledge with general course knowledge and help learners begin to develop their discourse and identity in that field of study.
Besides digital badges,AR can also personalize a learners experience by giving students ownership of their learning and allow learning across contexts in informal or formal learning spaces such as museums and galleries. AR triggers embedded in text could provide additional information for learners to access if learners have problems in understanding specific content or if students are interested in learning more about a topic. Also AR triggers in text could provide accessible methods for those with disabilities, such as text readers or providing other accessible formats. In my specific context I could see augmented reality being used as a visual journey where learners could explore 3D molecules and use AR laboratory instruments that are too expensive for institutions to afford. The YouTube video below shows students using augmented reality for 3D shapes of molecules at time mark 1:44 .
Figure 1. Shows students using augmented reality learning media, Learngears in a classroom to learn shapes of molecules at time 1:44.
I think digital badges and augmented reality can help personalize the learning experience for learners. Are you interested in digital badging or augmented reality for learning? How do you see these tools applicable in your context?
References:
Bransford, J., et al. Learning theories and education: Toward a decade of synergy. Handbook of Educational Psychology. Alexander, P. and P. H. Winne. Mahwah. Lawrence Erlbaum. 2006. 0805859713. pp. 209-244.
Gamrat, C., Zimmerman, H. T., Dudek, J., & Peck, K. (2014). Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program. (pages 1136-1148).
Gamrat, C., & Zimmerman, H. (2015). An Online Badging System Supporting Educators’ STEM Learning. In D. Hickey, J. Jovanović, S. Lonn, & J. E. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Open Badges in Education co-located with the 5th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK 2015) (pp. 12–23).
Kamarainen, A. M., Metcalf, S., Grotzer, T., Browne, A., Mazzuca, D., Tutwiler, M. S., & Dede, C. (2013). EcoMOBILE: Integrating augmented reality and probeware with environmental education field trips. Computers & Education, 68, 545-556.
Linda says
Hi Dana
Your blog has really piqued my interest in digital badging. I am definitely going to read more about this concept.
I, too, am interested in incorporating AR into higher education. I believe it is a great way for students to learn essential 21st century skills such as collaboration and communication. In fact, Martin et al (2014, p 40) quotes an instructor after an AR activity saying: “I noticed after the game was done, students were less likely to see themselves as individuals in a classroom, and more as a community of students with the common aims of learning together and from each other.” I think this is the type of atmosphere we need to produce in our institutions of higher education–the idea that the class is learning together as a whole rather than as individual beings.
Martin et al (2014, p 40) also mentions that “mobile devices are nearly ubiquitous in the American higher education system, where they enable a tremendous level of peer-to-peer interaction and just-in-time learning at an informal level. Traditional academic practice has not evolved accordingly.” As educators, we need to advocate for a change from the traditional academic practice to the new, more interactive academic practice afforded by AR activities.
Source:
Martin, J., Dikkers, S., Squire, K., & Gagnon, D. (2014). Participatory scaling through augmented reality learning through local games. (pages 35-41)
Jessie Bourland says
Dana – I love your digital badging suggestions for higher ed. I especially like that you circled back to the idea of identity when you said badges “help learners begin to develop their discourse and identity in that field of study.” That the visual identity piece is an aspect that higher education currently lacks.
In the article, “Identity as an Analytic Lens”, page 120 states, “affiliations are becoming the new basis of class in the US, as people come to see themselves as the ‘portfolio’ of their experiences,” (Gee, 2001) and “badges can act like a portfolio,” (Gamrat et al, 2014). To expand on the importance of identity, in “Team and Community Building Using Mobile Devices” from Week 5, page 269 states,
“Learning should begin with a social connection… Students in schools with a strong sense of community are more likely to be academically motivated,” (Gerstein, 2013).
Setting the stage for students to build a personal identity with badges should help social connections to happen and thus help learning to happen.
References:
Gamrat, C., Zimmerman, H. T., Dudek, J., & Peck, K. (2014). Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program. (pages 1136-1148).
Gee, J. P. (2000/2001). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education. Review of Research in Education, 25, 99-111 and 119 – 121 (the rest is optional).
Gerstein, J. (2013). Team and community building using mobile devices (pages 268 – 284).