Digital Badges are gaining traction in the education landscape, and librarians have been some of the leading pioneers at the forefront of this exciting new frontier. This book provides examples of how badges are being used to enhance and invigorate the teaching and assessment of information literacy. Chapters provide inspiration for teaching librarians interested in:
Providing an engaging experience for their students Gaining insight into this growing innovative technology trendDiscovering how librarians are using badges to enhance their teachingForming meaningful collaborations with faculty and teachersDeveloping knowledge about badge system design and badging platformsLearning how badges can motivate, support, and celebrate learning achievementsLaunching a badging project
The book is divided into two sections. The first section explores the environment in which badges are being developed, in particular situating them within the current educational setting, and provides guidelines on how best to create a badging program. The second section details contributing authors’ firsthand experiences creating, implementing, and refining digital badges and digital badging systems, in some cases collaborating with teachers and faculty. These chapters provide a wealth of ideas about using digital badges in academic and school libraries to engage and motivate students.
Kelsey O'Brien is an Information Literacy Librarian at the University at Albany, SUNY. She has been involved with digital badges for the past several years, beginning in 2013 when she first started working on the Metaliteracy Badging System. Since then she has played a central role in its design and implementation, and enthusiastically follows the latest badge-related literature and trends. Kelsey is incoming co-convener of ACRL's Digital Badges Interest Group and an active member of SUNY's FACT2 Micro-credentialing Task Force. She has presented extensively on badges at her home institution and at national (ALA, LOEX) and international conferences (LILAC), and has also co-taught two metaliteracy MOOCs, one of which incorporated digital badges. Prior to her role as an academic librarian, Kelsey has worked as a high school Library Media Specialist and a Youth Services Librarian. She serves as the liaison for the Writing and Critical Inquiry program at the University at Albany, a required course for first year students, and enjoys helping students transition from high school to college research. Kelsey can be contacted at klobrien@albany.edu or via Twitter at @KelseyMoak.
Professor Trudi E. Jacobson, before her retirement, held the rank of Distinguished Librarian and was the head of the Information Literacy Department at the University at Albany, State University of New York. She and Tom Mackey worked closely for many years, first on distinctive collaborative opportunities between classroom and library faculty in information literacy, and then on their signature contribution with the development of metaliteracy. They continue to collaborate on their blog, Metaliteracy.org. Post-retirement, Trudi has found a new passion in pastel painting and exhibits her work frequently at local libraries. She works closely with AI on documenting and conserving antiques, particularly antique needlework tools. She contributes content to both Wikipedia and the Historical Marker Database. Her website is trudijacobson.com.
