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Prepare for Success: Designing a Digital Badge Program with a School–University Partnership

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Abstract

In higher education, digital badging programs can supplement a student's degree by helping them connect their experiences on-campus to those outside of the classroom, encouraging them to think and apply the knowledge they gain from their college or university to real-world situations. This article discusses the perceptions of participants in a pilot digital badge program to identify important milestones, collaborative efforts, and barriers believed to be instrumental in designing a successful digital badge initiative through a school–university partnership. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to understand how students and members of a school–university partnership perceived the use of an earned digital badge to embrace the legitimacy of instructional technology competencies that can be used as career currency. Data collection included student and partner interviews, badge assessment results, and meeting documentation. Results of the study were framed using Rogers’ (2003) innovation diffusion theory to identify the critical characteristics of the pilot digital badge initiative through a school–university partnership. Results found that relevance to professional opportunities, value to stakeholders, and sustainability plans contributed to relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and observability. Additionally, results found communication and timing contributed to complexity barriers. Results of the current study will be used to further develop a successful digital badge initiative through an ongoing school–university partnership.

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Funding

No funding was received for conducting this study. The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Leadership, Technology & Research College of Education, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, USA

    Michele Garabedian Stork, Nate Turcotte, Melissa Rizzuto & Charles Xiaoxue Wang

  2. Department of Teacher Preparation Programs College of Education, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, USA

    Melissa Rodriguez Meehan

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  1. Michele Garabedian Stork
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  2. Nate Turcotte
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  3. Melissa Rizzuto
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  4. Charles Xiaoxue Wang
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  5. Melissa Rodriguez Meehan
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Correspondence to Michele Garabedian Stork.

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Ethical Considerations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Florida Gulf Coast University.

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Stork, M.G., Turcotte, N., Rizzuto, M. et al. Prepare for Success: Designing a Digital Badge Program with a School–University Partnership. J Form Des Learn 6, 40–52 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41686-022-00065-1

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