Who knew that Wikipedia was so extensive and provided such vital resources for anyone interested in participating in knowledge construction?  Truthfully, my knowledge of Wikipedia has been limited to the admonition I, and the library orientation staff at my college, give:  Wikipedia is an okay place to start obtaining background knowledge, but it should never be listed as a source on a final paper.  I do know that as a beacon of all things popular culture, it is the premier encyclopedic reference.  What I didn’t know is almost everything else that the tutorials for educators and students contain.

Wikipedia has many different types of involved participants.  I do not think I can use this with my eighth graders although showing them that the tutorials exist might be intriguing and engaging for some of them.  The novel that many of them read (made into a movie which always spurs them) Paper Towns by John Green creates “Radar,” a character who is actively engaged throughout in content creation on the Omnictionary, modeled on Wikipedia.  For college students, however, the thought of using Wikipedia as a tool for developing audience awareness and expertise in subject matter is a possibility.

Just last week, Faculty Focus discussed the use of Wikipedia with students.  (The article was earlier published in Online Classroom in 2015.)  The article explores some of the possible ways Wikipedia could be used, for example as a course-long project, or as a repository for a syllabus and students’ projects as part of the Wikiversity (examples of projects are provided), or as a way for students to add content to already existing articles.  Furthermore, it discusses the definite benefits of additional academic “eyes” on student work as a source of motivation for revision and the grading scale that could be used, and that the author used, with students.

I have a new, and justified respect for Wikipedia.

I am excited as can be about discovering class badges.  (The video, short, promotional, explains everything.) The link Erica provided to the edudemic article hit the spot!  I love how cleverly and clearly it is presented.  I have signed up and created my first badge.

Over the summer, I spent some time and energy exploring Classcraft.  I don’t know if any of you are familiar with it.  To be honest, I wished I could try it, but the extent of the endeavor was too much for me.  Furthermore, it is much about controlling behavior, and that is not a real issue in my classes. What I do like about the game system is that motivation becomes a primary goal; engagement matters.  This same invitation to engage is what I see with Class Badges on a more manageable scale.  We have read articles about the importance of motivation, and mindset, particularly among the younger students. Badges may be a way to encourage this.

In exploring further, I came across this updated post, dealing with using badges for motivating professional learning.  Kasey Bell’s blog makes is clear that youth aren’t the only ones who benefit from the incentive of earning badges.  It is clear that any age loves games.  “Gamification with badges can be a great motivator for teachers and students.”  She includes advice from Michelle Phillips, an IT Specialist, “Start with the badges you really want everyone to have experience with, then add more as you go.  Competitions are a great way to get teachers engaged in the program.”  These are words I will take to heart.

Here is how I envision using class badges in the upcoming months. One of the ways badges can be used is to mark progress during a long project.  The upcoming Book Clubs project is just such a project.  I can see structuring the required assignments, and building in Challenges (or “extraordinary targets” as the edudemic article explains).  The very first task the students must do is create their own Google Site to use a Book Club Central and link it to their Google Classroom account..  I will create a badge for that accomplishment.

One of the discoveries I have made in researching this platform is that the badges cannot be assigned in Classroom.  What I will do, as was recommended in the forum, is make a Class Badges folder in the “About” stream in Classroom, so students can easily check their badge progress.  This is a bit of a drawback, but not prohibitive.  The motivation will outweigh the inconvenience.  When I told my colleague my plans, she said,” They’ll [the eighth graders] do anything for a sticker.  I guess we’ll see how effective this turns out to be.

I’m completing a screencast and going over how to create a site next week, on Monday (11/7).  I’m introducing the idea of badges on Friday when the students set new marking period goals for their independent reading.  The Site badge will be up for grabs after Monday when I show the screencast and the students try their luck.  I’ll keep you posted on how the new addition is received.