Welcome and Overview LKRyder Bb Achievements

Welcome to the Course

This is a publicly available course about a very specific tool that is found in the Blackboard Learn LMS. Despite this focus, the intent of the course is to be useful to a wider audience. The course will be viewed by many who might use another LMS or no LMS but be interested in the concept of using badges in their course design. To meet the needs of non-Blackboard users, or casual Blackboard users, as well as experienced Blackboard users, this course will have 3 paths of learning from which to choose. How do you choose? Your learning path can be determined by using the action maze "Find Your Learning Path" in the next section. This tool will ask you a series of questions and your answers will ultimately guide you to a recommended path. Follow the color-coded path recommended or choose your own path. Consider starting with the recommended path and coming back if you need more specifics.

Prerequisites

Self-selecting your path or allowing the action maze to guide your path will keep the instruction more relevant to your situation and within your skillset. However, certain prerequisites will still be needed to be successful in any of the paths.

These are:

The ability to navigate the web, and follow instructions for new web tools
The ability to use tutorials and videos to learn new technology
Experience teaching, preferably online or with a web-enhanced or blended model that uses web technologies

Badges and Achievements in Blackboard, or Badges in General

Even if you do not use Blackboard, there is much in this mini-course to help you get familiar with the concept of badging and its pros and cons, as well as how to use free web-based tools to create badges.

Badges are becoming a respected vehicle for alternative credentialing and you will have the opportunity to join a number of communities exploring this concept, as well as the use of badges in gamification of courses, at the completion of the course. Many LMS have integrated badging now, and the Achievements tool is the way Blackboard has done this. Seeing it in action may give you ideas for your own LMS or a non-LMS web environment or classroom.

How to Proceed, How to Succeed

You have already found your way here, so you know that the boxes on the front page contain links to course pages. Your next step will be to identify the best path for you and jump in. Start by clicking on "Find Your Learning Path" to get a recommendation for a path through the material. Once you have done that, come back to the home page and get started.

There are 3 color coded paths that you can follow through links at the bottom of each page, but you can also go back and navigate the grid to any place you want to explore. Most paths will take you through most of the material, but if you do not have Blackboard, you will not be directed through the technical tutorials. However, if you are an experienced Blackboard user, you will be directed through the pedagogical material that others will also encounter. Again, if you don't like being told how to navigate the material, jump in and explore in your own way, but be sure you don't miss all the good stuff!

The Path Outcomes stated below are tailored to the different levels of user/learner. The activities in this course are independently completed. Quiz yourself for a quick check on what you learned and remembered, create real badges and put them in your Blackboard or other LMS course, strategize pedagogically appropriate deployment of badging in your course design using the socially networked mind map tool MindMeister, share your thoughts and maps in the discussion page of this wiki course and most importantly, make it your own. Only you know how you will use this information with your own approach to teaching within your own discipline. The goal is to give you the needed tools and activities to make your best decisions.

(That said, if you would like to brainstorm, or work collaboratively with me or others, the MindMeister map has been set up wiki-style so it is fully public and has a chat feature.)

Path Outcomes for experienced Blackboard users learning to use Achievements in their courses

Given tutorials, videos, instructional text and learning objects, experienced Blackboard Users will

accurately identify the new Achievement tool in the LMS and explain how it integrates with other Blackboard tools in the system
demonstrate how the Achievement tool works by using Blackboard tutorials to add functional Certificate(s) and/or Badges to their own Blackboard instance/course
create and save usable badges using the software tutorials and tools from OpenBadge from Mozilla
analyze pedagogical options for badges/certificate use (or not) and document the application of this knowledge in successful quiz results and usable mind map of activities
elaborate on the relationship between course design and use of Achievements by creating a concept map of how they could include the use of the Achievement tool in their course

Path Outcomes for casual users of Blackboard or other LMS systems who want to see how this all goes together

Given tutorials, videos, instructional text and learning objects, casual users of Blackboard will

explain what badging is and how it is being used in education and in Blackboard courses
identify the ways in which a LMS can incorporate badging for online or web-enhanced course design
create and save usable badges using OpenBadge from Mozilla
analyze pedagogical options for badges/certificate use (or not)and document the application of this knowledge in successful quiz results and usable mind map of activities
elaborate on the relationship between course design and use of Achievements by creating a concept map of how they could include the use of the Achievement tool or other badging tools in their course

Path Outcomes for general interest learners who want to learn about badges/certificates (with or without LMS)

Given tutorials, videos, instructional text and learning objects, general interest users will

explain what badging is and how it is being used in education
create and save usable badges using OpenBadge from Mozilla
analyze pedagogical options for badges/certificate use (or not)and document the application of this knowledge in successful quiz results and usable mind map of activities
elaborate on the relationship between course design and use of badges by creating a concept map of how they could include the use of the Achievement tool or other badging tools in their course

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