Journal 1 Promise and Problem

THE PROMISE AND PROBLEM OF DIGITAL BADGING
AT DELAWARE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
by
Celeste Kirkland Mozeik
An education leadership portfolio submitted to the Faculty of the University of

Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Education in Educational Leadership
Spring 2020
© 2020 Celeste Kirkland Mozeik

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THE PROMISE AND PROBLEM OF DIGITAL BADGING
AT DELAWARE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
by
Celeste Kirkland Mozeik
Approved: __________________________________________________________
Chrystalla Mouza, Ed.D.
Director of the School of Education
Approved: __________________________________________________________
Gary T. Henry, Ph.D.
Dean of the College of Education and Human Development
Approved: __________________________________________________________
Douglas J. Doren, Ph.D.
Interim Vice Provost for the Office of Graduate and Professional
Education and Dean of the Graduate College
I certify that I have read this education leadership portfolio and that in
my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by
the University as an education leadership portfolio for the degree of
Doctor of Education.
Signed: __________________________________________________________
Fred T. Hofstetter, Ph.D.
Professor in charge of education leadership portfolio
Signed: __________________________________________________________
Danielle Ford, Ph.D.
Member of education leadership portfolio committee
Signed: __________________________________________________________
Susan Giancola, Ph.D.
Signed: __________________________________________________________
Kathern Friel, Ed.D.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my committee chairperson, Dr. Fred Hofstetter, for
guiding and supporting me on this project through the years. He set an example of
excellence as a researcher, mentor and instructor. He was extremely patient and a
pleasure to work with.
I would like to express my appreciation to my committee members, Dr. Ford,
Dr. Giancola, and Dr. Friel for their time and effort to review this manuscript. I
selected these members because I knew they would challenge me to do my best work.
In addition, I would like to sincerely thank my husband, Bradley, for his
unwavering support and encouragement to complete this degree. My heartfelt
gratitude goes to my daughter, Alanna, who was always there as my cheerleader and
my unofficial editor, and to my son Gerrod and daughter-in-law Denisse, for their
inspiration and reassurance. I could not have persevered without all of you. Many
other co-workers supported me in attaining this goal just by being there, being a
willing ear, and keeping me on a path to success – thank you all so much!
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ v

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. viii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... ix
Chapter
1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
2 PROBLEM ADDRESSED .............................................................................. 5
Organizational Context .................................................................................... 5

Organizational Role ......................................................................................... 7
Problem Statement........................................................................................... 9
Is the Cost of Digital Badges an Issue? ......................................................... 10
3 IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES ................................................................. 14
Informing the Problem .................................................................................. 15
4 IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES RESULTS .............................................. 22
Research Design ............................................................................................ 23

Participants .................................................................................................... 24
Descriptive Findings ...................................................................................... 25
Comparison of Faculty, Students and Advisory Board Responses ............... 27
Discussion of Student Perspectives ............................................................... 30
Discussion of Faculty Perspectives ............................................................... 31
Discussion of Advisory Board Perspectives.................................................. 33
Qualitative Results......................................................................................... 40
Discussion...................................................................................................... 45
Recommendations ......................................................................................... 47
5 REFLECTION ON IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS ....................................... 52
Reflection on Artifacts .................................................................................. 52

Surveys .......................................................................................................... 52
Interviews ...................................................................................................... 55
Presentation of Findings ................................................................................ 56
Impact on Programming ................................................................................ 57
Limitations ..................................................................................................... 58
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6 REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ................................ 59

REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 66
APPENDICES
A ELP PROPOSAL........................................................................................... 76

B ARTIFACT 1: LITERATURE REVIEW OF DIGITAL BADGES ........... 106
C ARTIFACT 2: DIGITAL BADGING LOGIC MODEL ............................ 123
D ARTIFACT 3: PRESENTATION DOCUMENTS TO ADVISORY
BOARD ....................................................................................................... 124
E ARTIFACT 4: BADGE DIMENSIONS OF THE PEARSON CAREER
SUCCESS (PCS) FOLIOTEK EPORTFOLIO PROGRAM ...................... 142
F ARTIFACT 5: SURVEY ALIGNMENT MATRIX ................................... 148
G ARTIFACT 6: DIGITAL BADGE PERCEPTION INSTRUMENTS ....... 155
H ARTIFACT 7: STUDENT INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ............................. 167
I IRB .............................................................................................................. 170
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2-1 Cost Differential between Traditional Textbook and Electronic

Resources for BUS275 ......................................................................... 12
Table 3-1 NACE Career Readiness Competencies and Corresponding

Relationship to PCS Digital Badges and Course Performance
Objectives ............................................................................................. 20
Table 4-1 Respondents by Target Population ....................................................... 25
Table 4-2 Are Digital Badges Perceived as Valuable in Giving a Competitive

Advantage in the Workplace? .............................................................. 28
Table 4-3 Do Digital Badges Affect Student Engagement and Motivate Them
to Work Harder and Excel in Their Work? .......................................... 29
Table 4-4 Should Digital Badges be Added to All Courses?................................ 29
Table 4-5 Business Advisory Board Industry Representation .............................. 34
Table 4-6 Business Advisory Board Top Benefits and Concerns of Digital
Badges .................................................................................................. 36
Table 4-7 Descriptive Comparison of Perception of Digital Badges ................... 38
Table 4-8 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Showing Differences Between

Groups .................................................................................................. 39
Table A-1 Challenges and opportunities associated with digital badges............... 86
Table A-2 NACE Career Readiness Competencies ............................................... 92
Table A-3 List of Supporting Artifacts for the ELP ............................................ 104
Table B-1 Chronological Progression of Digital Badge Standards ..................... 116
Table B-2 Digital Badges and Badge Systems .................................................... 117
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4-1 Gender of Respondents 26
Figure 4-2 Perceived Value of DTCC Students Earning a Digital Badge in an

Academic Course 28
Figure 4-3 Top 3 Skills that Graduates Must Have Once They Graduate from
DTCC with an Associate’s degree in Business 32
Figure 4-4 Advisory Board Top 3 Critical Skills that Business Students Need
to Graduate 35
Figure 4-5 Digital Badge Interview Codebook 42
Figure 4-6 Frequency of the Distribution of Codes from Student Interviews 44
Table A-1 Challenges and opportunities associated with digital badges 86
Table A-2 NACE Career Readiness Competencies 92
Table A-3 List of Supporting Artifacts for the ELP 104
Table B-1 Chronological Progression of Digital Badge Standards 116
Table B-2 Digital Badges and Badge Systems 117
viii
ABSTRACT
This Educational Leadership Portfolio (ELP) examines the implementation of
digital badges in a business capstone course (BUS275) offered statewide at Delaware
Technical Community College (DTCC). In an effort to assist business students with
more marketable credentials, digital badges showcasing soft skills and professional
competencies were implemented and piloted in a business capstone course in summer
and fall 2019. The BUS275 course prepares graduating students with help acquiring
workplace skills necessary for professional job placement and career success.
Digital badges are electronically shareable micro credentials that can capture
and communicate a student’s authentic and diverse learning experiences. These
achievements can be communicated to college faculty, potential employers, and
prospective transfer institutions through electronic portfolios, as well as social and
professional networks such as LinkedIn. A review of the national literature
demonstrated that digital badges may help students develop career-ready skills and
may communicate what students know and are able to do once they enter the world of
work (Carey 2012; Ericson, 2015; Raish & Rimland, 2016, University System of
Maryland, 2018). However, there has been much controversial publicity with digital
badges in education and little has been done at DTCC to explore and develop these
electronic badge competencies.
The purpose of this ELP was to assess DTCC business stakeholder perceptions
of the value of career focused digital badges in response to continuous employer
concerns that graduates lack career ready skills needed for workplace success in the
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twenty-first century. In addition, the study makes recommendations for DTCC that are
consistent with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) career
readiness competencies and other higher education best practices.
A mixed methods research approach was employed and included related
artifacts, surveys, and interviews. Analysis of this body of work garnered positive
feedback and indicated that the digital badge learning experience is a valuable addition
to the business capstone course and should remain in the curriculum as external
communication of students’ soft skills. Yet there is a need to build continued
institutional capacity for scaling and sustaining digital badge initiatives at DTCC.
Recommendations moving forward include using digital badges for professional
development at DTCC so that educators can display their accomplishments as a model
for students. This will lead to scaling the use of digital badges in other courses. In
addition, results warrant exploring the creation of a DTCC brand of co-curricular
digital badges to use across all programs. DTCC will need to continue to explore other
higher education digital badge best practices and identify where there may be gaps in
course material which do not align with local employers’ industry hiring needs.
Increased adoption of digital badges to complement traditional credentials will
increase students’ marketability and employment opportunities, thus further enhancing
the value of digital badges.
x
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Recently, digital badges have gained attention in the world of education as a
way to capture, showcase, and legitimize twenty-first century competencies.
Community colleges have a dual mission to offer both traditional degrees and
workforce development programs. Therefore, the community college can provide an
opportunity for piloting and embedding new credentials in existing curriculum, such
as digital badges (Gallagher & Maxwell, 2019). Digital badges validate a wide variety
of student experiences, knowledge and/or achievements in the classroom, and can aid
students in building a stronger professional identity. A review of the literature has
shown best practices with digital badges, and this review indicates the promise of an
innovative disruption in higher education, but the badges remain slow to gain traction.
Today’s definition of student success while in college, and expectations out in
the workplace, have evolved. College graduates need to be able to draw from the skills
developed in multiple arenas, yet the skills students learn in one space are rarely
acknowledged or valued in other spaces. According to the Chronicle of Higher
Education, digital badges are alternative credentials that have tangible value including
preferential treatment in job interviews and internships (Blumenstyk, 2018). By
visualizing student accomplishments through digital badging, educators and employers
1
can better see the individual’s range of potential. Digital badges have the potential to
be effective tools to help guide, recognize, assess, and spur learning (Fontichiaro &
Elkordy, 2015). These snippets of digital information can capture and recognize skills
not evidenced by traditional assessments, and can capture abilities such as critical
thinking, teamwork, and effective communication. Devedžić & Jovanović (2015)
identify that digital badges can offer new ways of motivating learners and scaffolding
the learning process. Students may have a competitive advantage in telling their story
to prospective employers when earning digital badges. In addition, digital badges have
the capacity to transform the way students share their academic accomplishments.
Badges include online access to viewable artifacts providing evidence of learning to
employers and other key audiences. The badges are then openly accessible, portable,
and can be shared through electronic portfolios, social and professional networks such
as Facebook and LinkedIn.
Today, employers are looking for ways to identify individuals who have the
specific skills that go beyond traditional coursework, such as teamwork, soft skills and
problem solving. Digital badging evidence can provide alternate credentials. Fong,
Janzow, & Peck (2016) indicate that alternative credentialing can play a critical role in
revenue planning for future success in academic institutions. However, digital badge
credentialing may not be widely valued by the DTCC faculty, staff, as well as
students, due to lack of knowledge of what badges are and the communication of their
importance to the College strategy. It will be necessary to find out the perception of
2
these key stakeholders to see if the development, implementation and use of badges
will be accepted as an important evolving opportunity and strategy for the future.
Hickey (2017, p. 1) states that “if post-secondary institutions disregard electronic
credentialing now, it will be like retailers who dismissed e-commerce twenty years
ago”. Currently, the DTCC instructional division lacks an evidence-based approach to
finding out whether digital badging is warranted as co-curricular achievements. This
ELP project aims to thoroughly examine the perceived value, benefits, concerns, and
challenges related to digital badging from the perspectives of DTCC stakeholders
including business faculty, advisory board members, and business students across the
statewide campuses of DTCC.
To inform this study, I administered surveys to business students, business faculty,
and the collegewide business advisory board members, who include local employers.
The remainder of the ELP is organized to include a thorough discussion of the
problem, improvement actions taken to better understand the problem,
recommendations for the DTCC administration based on the findings of the analysis
of the data, and my reflections on the project. In Chapter 2, the problem is addressed
including the organizational context and my role at the College as it relates to the
problem. Chapter 3 contains the actions taken to implement the pilot and educate
stakeholders about digital badging. This section includes analysis of the data collected
to inform the strategy for the improvement actions. In Chapter 4, the findings of the
research are discussed, along with reactions from key stakeholders regarding the main
3
findings, and suggested improvement actions. Finally, Chapters 5 and 6 include
reflections on the improvement efforts and subsequent leadership development as a
result of this implementation.
4
Chapter 2
PROBLEM ADDRESSED
Digital badges can give a more granular view of student accomplishments
based on the metadata contained within, and the information is portable over social
networks. The metadata may include course learning objectives, grades, or topics
studied, thereby providing the observer with a powerful landscape of a student’s
particular learning experience. By being able to get a better resolution of more
specifics of what students have done, digital badges can offer employers and
universities enhanced insight when making decisions about prospective candidates.
The portability of digital badges can also be a plus, as decision makers are able to vet
applicants more thoroughly before or after interviews on social media, such as
LinkedIn (Nerstrom, 2015). Beyond the components of granularity and portability, the
literature supports the notion that digital badges can be used to provide an additional
critical perspective for employers to choose the best qualified candidates. Digital
badges tell a better story about potential candidates beyond their coursework and can
highlight other abilities such as teamwork, professionalism, and critical thinking. The
literature shows the promise of digital badges, but there has been little done at DTCC
to explore and develop them. To address the problem, the following sections will
explain my role in piloting a soft skill digital badge initiative at DTCC.
Organizational Context
DTCC is a statewide open enrollment higher education institution with four
campuses (George, Stanton, Terry, and Owens). DTCC prepares students with the
5
knowledge and skills needed to enter the workforce and/or transfer to another post-
secondary institution. DTCC serves a very diverse population of students throughout
the state of Delaware. According to the 2019-2020 DTCC Common Data Set, the
College’s total enrollment was divided into 9 distinct demographic populations and
reported 49.2 percent of the student population identifying as white, 24.8 percent
African American, and 14 percent Hispanic (DTCC, 2019b). In addition, the student
body is reported as 64.9 percent female and 35.1 percent male and student enrollment
status is 70.7 percent part-time and 29.3 percent full-time.
In 2017, President Dr. Mark Brainard charged faculty with implementing
innovative uses of technology in learning and teaching and launched the “Innovation
in Action” initiative, found on the DTCC website. This initiative explicitly states,
“community colleges must monitor the trends in the economy, respond to market
demands, tackle new challenges and continually look for ways to help our students
succeed.” (DTCC, 2019a). In order to achieve this goal, the DTCC 2016-2021 vision
statement published on the college website identifies that the College will be
“…dedicated to providing innovative instructional practices and high impact
engagement strategies to support student success” (ibid).
In addition, the College’s Strategic Directions (2017-2021) document, also
found on the college website, is based on the mission and goals of the College, where
the number one directive is communicated (DTCC, 2019 b):
6
Advance the delivery of innovative instructional offerings, such as pathways
and stackable credentials, to meet competitive workforce needs and increase
educational and career opportunities for students. (p. 7)
Drilling down further, one of the key areas listed within the Strategic
Directions document was the Community and Industry Partnerships Overarching
Trend which states that “changing employer demands, limited resources, and evolving
industry credentials will require colleges to expand and sustain meaningful
partnerships with individuals, business and industry, educational institutions, and
government to ensure value is maintained and stakeholder needs are met” (p. 8). This
document further describes that “stackable and innovative credentials, such as digital
badges, provide students with more opportunities and career pathways by
demonstrating valued competencies and skills to employers” (p. 9). The College’s
stance has identified that digital badges are a directive that needs to be carefully
considered. Piloting the digital badging initiative, along with the accompanying
recommendations, will help inform the College whether these are a valued addition to
the business curriculum and may be a bellwether for other departments to consider.
Organizational Role
As an Instructional Director with expanded department chair duties, I am
accountable for informing the department of the perspectives and actions of the Dean
of Instruction and other administrators that might affect the department. I am
responsible for leadership in developing the George campus Business department's
academic programs within the mission of the College. While pursuing the doctoral
7
degree, I have served on various committees charged with developing, outlining, and
communicating the future directions of the College. My role is integrally connected
with focusing on student success through graduation and beyond. I believe that
students should be able to get transparent and readily verifiable credentials for each
stage of their educational journey. Individual courses have their own inherent
educational value, not just a stepping stone to complete a degree. DTCC has been able
to incorporate stackable professional certifications in many other courses, including
some business courses. Similarly, students can also accumulate micro achievements as
digital badges. There are many formative and summative assessments that can be
measured within each course that can add skills to increase students’ personal value
and these can be captured in digital badge form.
Taking on the implementation of digital badging has contributed to my
professional growth in numerous ways. Our local employers who comprise our
advisory boards are repetitively telling us that our students need to be taught soft
skills. Thus, piloting the soft skills digital badging initiative has strengthened my
ability to innovatively update curriculum, effectively collaborate with key
stakeholders, and initiate collegewide change. Next, I was able to use primary data to
inform my decision making and have collected comprehensive data to understand the
problem, inform stakeholders of digital badging successes and shortcomings, and can
offer a plan to move forward to achieve the goals of the College. And, I have had the
ability to help to bring about change by leveraging my knowledge and enthusiasm for
8
this topic and by garnering support I have established with my counterparts downstate,
along with business advisory board members.
Problem Statement
Although the DTCC Strategic Directions document was launched in late 2016
with the intent of increasing awareness and capacity within the College, there have not
been any digital badges implemented within the Instructional Division in any program.
The scholarly literature shows the promise of the value of these micro credentials and
there is a wider spectrum of technology mediated measurable data and observable
records of achievement today than ever before. Moreover, there is a critical issue of
employers’ perception of graduates lacking in career ready skills needed for workplace
success (Blumenstyk, 2018; NACE, 2018; University System of Maryland William E.
Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, 2018).
According to Education Design Lab (2019), a cohort of colleges, universities
and companies pulled together to test the effectiveness of digital credentials in the
TeeUpTheSkills study in 2018-19. In order to get a better understanding of employer
perspective on credentialing, the study indicated that seventy-eight percent of
employers are very interested in new ways to assess the skills of recent college
graduates. The University of Maryland college system designed, developed, and
explored the feasibility of digital badging of career ready skills, based on the National
Association of Colleges and Employers career ready skills framework (Appendix B,
Artifact 1). Likewise, the Colorado Community College System is continuing to
develop badges after identifying agreement between educators and industry leaders
9
showing that digital badges are evolving into a key credential that can be used to meet
current education needs (Perea, 2014). According to a report by the University
Professional and Continuing Education Association, one in five institutions now offer
digital badges (Markowitz, 2018). Digital badges can represent a number of outcome
achievements and may be a welcome co-curricular addition based on the assessment
and experience.
Digital badges provide opportunities as authentic teaching tools to motivate
students, deliver a more granular level of learning and achievement, and the badges
can empower students (Perea, 2014). However, faculty question the validity of digital
badges, and are challenged by the barrier of traditional academic culture. Moreover,
faculty have limited time to explore innovative teaching strategies when faced with a
large teaching and advisement responsibility. In order to actualize the College’s vision
and strategic direction initiatives, I have examined how students, faculty and advisory
members perceive digital badges, based on evidence from the literature, and grounded
in primary and secondary data for the senior administration at DTCC to consider.
Finding new and better ways to provide students with value is essential in an
increasingly competitive and complex environment of higher education and is a
critical element of my leadership role as a department head.
Is the Cost of Digital Badges an Issue?
In the ELP proposal defense, the doctoral committee expressed that the cost of
digital badges for students could be another issue, which was not addressed in the
literature review in Appendix B, Artifact 1. Cost is a factor that should be considered
10
when implementing new programs, methods and curriculum. According to Perea
(2014), costs associated with digital badges will depend upon the issuer and there is no
singular quantified figure. There are no costs associated with badges collected within
the Open Badge Infrastructure (OBI), as reported by Open Badges (2019). Badge cost
can be built into traditional tuition costs, or as a fee for evaluation, or in some cases,
free. However, Wright (2016) discusses how the cost of creating digital badges is
keeping many colleges, particularly two-year schools, from creating their own. The
digital badges have to be hosted, the host site has to be secure, and there is an
infrastructure cost to providing and supporting badges.
For the BUS275 digital badge pilot, we used the Pearson Career Success (PCS)
Foliotek platform and students had to purchase this product in order to obtain access to
complete the digital badges. The badges are housed in Credly’s Acclaim repository, a
respected global third-party resource. Prior to incorporating the digital badges in the
summer and fall session, students had to purchase a textbook for use in the BUS275
course. Not all sections of BUS275 use the Foliotek content, which could be an equity
issue. The cost between a traditional textbook and Foliotek is negligible. Table 2-1
shows the cost differential between a traditional textbook and the electronic learning
management system, Foliotek, April, 2019.
11
Table 1 Cost Differential between Traditional Textbook and Electronic Resources for
BUS275
Textbook Resource Electronic Resource

Anderson, L. & Bolt, S. (2014). Pearson Career Success program with
Professionalism: Skills for Workplace Foliotek ePortfolio access
Success, New York, NY: Pearson.
$92.32 $91.00
Source: Hagey, D. personal communication, 4/13/19.
Students were asked whether cost was an issue in the survey and interview
instruments.
The Foliotek product gives students in the BUS275 course access to the PCS
program, which includes the Career Success curriculum, a Foliotek e-portfolio, and
identity page. The Foliotek product contains the following:
 Real time access to job market trends data for students to get a better
understanding of careers and respective salaries.
 Career preparation activities.
 Career portfolio development, including resume and cover letter writing,
interviewing skills, as well as getting students to become familiarized and
established on LinkedIn.
 ePortfolio to show off accomplishments.
 Digital Badges to provide digital proof of achievements.
12
The collegewide advisory board at DTCC has been shown the details of the
PCS platform and what the digital badges contain, as shown in Artifact 3, Appendix
D. The textbook that was previously used does not offer digital badge credentials.
The digital badges found in PCS were employed in BUS275 as a co-curricular
formative assessment enhancement and the assignments, including the digital badges,
were worth fifteen percent of the final grade. A common lament amongst instructors is
that students quite often do not read the textbook, unless it is tied to an exam. The
evaluation measures for all graded activities that have been employed in this course
have been decided by collegewide faculty. The BUS275 course does not have typical
unit exams as part of the summative assessments. The course has implemented a
comprehensive standardized national exam, namely, the Peregrine Business
Assessment exam. This exam assesses student knowledge in numerous functional
areas of business, such as management, marketing, leadership, law, and accounting.
The Peregrine exam is used to directly measure student knowledge used for quality
control, gauge student learning outcomes, and is externally benchmarked with other
community college business programs across the nation. Other summative
assessments in BUS275 include a comprehensive research business analysis, a mock
interview, an electronic portfolio, and an experiential learning component, such as a
documented job shadow, internship, networking events, volunteer, or community
service activities. Chapter three discusses detailed strategies for the digital badge
intervention that accompanied the existing curriculum.
13
Chapter 3
IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES
My ELP improvement goal is to make recommendations about the potential of
digital badging at DTCC by understanding the perception of business students,
business faculty, and local advisory board members collegewide in terms of a value-
add as a co-curricular component to enhance student marketability. The advisory
boards are composed of local employers, former business students, K-12 and higher
education partners. My first improvement action was to communicate to the board
members what digital badges are and how the digital badges can be used in BUS275
as a supplement to our existing curriculum. Thus, bringing in innovative digital
educational technologies shows alignment with the DTCC Strategic Directions, the
college mission, and President Brainard’s call to action.
Before the study was implemented, the initial introduction about digital badges
was presented to the George campus Business Advisory Board, to inform and discuss
possible benefits and challenges. A more comprehensive dialogue is found in
Appendix D, Artifact 3. Based on the comments from the April 12, 2019 meeting,
some of the beneficial comments from the meeting minutes were as follows:
 May help with the hiring filtering process.
 May help in making a decision between 2 candidates – the one with the
badge would receive greater consideration.
 Digital badges would influence hiring. Seeing exactly what training and
skills each prospective applicant has helps the decision process.
14
 Students may like to collect them; employers would have access to
course content.
Some of the challenging comments from the same group included:
 May be difficult to complete due to personal demands, work, balancing
life, etc.
 Criteria for awarding must be rigorous.
 If these are just completing objectives, then I don’t see value. If they
can be used in an e-portfolio, then I see great value.
 Nice, but not important.
 No – these are all the things that you receive in life and the employer
will see after getting hired.
The meeting dialogue set the stage for the ensuing study. According to Perea
(2014), a digital badge ecosystem includes a complex scaffolding process that needs to
support the validation, recognition, endorsement, and overall acceptance of badges by
relevant stakeholders. This arrangement requires stakeholders to agree on the value of
digital badges based on competencies attained that are contained in the metadata of the
digital badge. Therein lies a conundrum of differing opinions, as evidenced by the
Business Advisory Board comments.
Informing the Problem
To better understand the problem and frame my suppositions, I completed a
series of eight artifacts. Appendix B, Artifact 1 is a scholarly literature review of
15
digital badges. The literature review explores some of the relevant aspects of
employing digital badges in higher education. The literature reviewed focuses on the
history, standards, opportunities and challenges, contextual usage in higher education,
and the nation’s perspective with the use of best practices, along with the theoretical
framework that surrounds digital badging implementation. It is important to
benchmark and find out whether there has been widespread or nominal acceptance for
digital badges, as well as solid reasoning for implementation. It is arguable whether
digital badges would have gained traction were it not for economic and policy
conditions that make the window of opportunity ripe for an innovative system of
alternative credentials.
Appendix B, Artifact 2 is a visual representation of the overall strategies
conceptualizing this change effort. The Digital Badging Logic Model articulates the
current situation and the changes I hope to bring about. I endeavored to bring
awareness to students and faculty; engage local employer support; and pilot the badges
so that these become a more accepted mechanism for assessing competencies, thus
increasing adoption of digital badges, leading to increased employment opportunities
and increasing interest at DTCC to designing in-house branded digital badges. As
noted by Carol Weiss (1998, p. 25), an important reason for undertaking action
research in evaluation is to find out what is going on early in the game so that changes
can be made and measured. The study is dedicated to finding out whether the
implementation of digital badges is warranted and whether DTCC should continue,
expand, or abandon them, based on analysis of the data collected. Appendix D,
16
Artifact 3 is a compilation of the presentations that were given to the Business
department advisory board members; the first was given collegewide in October 2018,
the second presentation was delivered to the local George (Wilmington) campus
Business advisory board members in April 2019, and the most recent presentation was
delivered collegewide on October 2019. The members were comprised of local
employers, higher education, and K-12 community partners. It was really gratifying to
see how much more receptive this group was about digital badges with the last
presentation when I could actually show what students can achieve and the metadata
that is contained.
Appendix E, Artifact 4 showcases the digital badge dimensions of the Pearson
Career Success (PCS) Foliotek E-Portfolio program. It is important to understand why
BUS275 is a capstone course and how digital badges are a good fit for supplementing
this course. Students can only take the course in their last semester and it draws
cumulative knowledge from other courses required in Business degree programs.
BUS275 is only required for the Accounting, Management, Marketing and General
Business programs. The other Business programs, Hospitality Management,
Entrepreneurship, Logistics, Supply Chain, & Operations Management, and Business
Administration Transfer have their own capstone requirements. The course description
of BUS275, Portfolio/Experiential Learning is as follows:
This course prepares students with the workplace skills necessary for
professional job placement. Emphasis is given to self-assessment techniques,
career planning tools, and professional workplace behavior. The student
17
constructs a professional portfolio that includes work samples, a job search
package, and a reflection on the required experiential learning component
(Delaware Technical Community College, 2019).
The BUS275 course syllabus identifies specific core course performance
objectives (CCPO’s) for students, tied to Delaware Tech’s Student Learning Outcomes
Assessment, a process designed to assess student learning at the program level for the
purpose of improvement. Three out of six of the CCPO’s specify professionalism and
soft skills:
 Evaluate the impact that setting professional goals and objectives have on a life
plan.
 Demonstrate professional interviewing and job search techniques and
behaviors.
 Use a self-discovery process that will culminate in the creation of a job search
portfolio. The digital badges are posted to each student’s e-portfolio and are a
portable showcase for their achievements.
Only the Basic Professionalism digital badge in the course was required in
BUS275 at this time. There are other mandatory requirements in the course for
students to complete based on the measurable performance objectives and time was
limited to adjust the formative requirements and align acceptance collegewide. The
rest of the digital badges were optional for students to obtain, but many were eager to
complete them. The PCS platform offers five other badges, such as Communication,
Leadership, Critical Thinking, Social Responsibility, and Teamwork. As updates are
18
made to the curriculum over time, adding the rest of the digital badges in the PCS
platform to this course could be considered as another formative curricular
requirement.
Career readiness of DTCC graduates is an important issue and is equally as
important in the higher education arena, in the labor market, and in the public eye.
According to the Colorado Department of Education, (2017, para. 5), “A benefit of
badges can be developed many ways, and one way is to generate the competencies,
evidence and assessment through collaboration with area educators, employers,
industry representatives and labor market data.” The National Association of Colleges
and Employers (NACE) defines career readiness as “the attainment and demonstration
of requisite competencies that broadly prepare college graduates for a successful
transition into the workplace,” based on extensive research in 2014 (NACE, 2019).
NACE has identified eight competencies associated with career readiness, shown in
Table 3-1 compared with the relationship to the PCS digital badges employed in
BUS275, as well as the measurable performance objectives for the course.
19
Table 2 NACE Career Readiness Competencies and Corresponding Relationship to
PCS Digital Badges and Course Performance Objectives
DTCC Measurable
NACE Competencies PCS Digital Badges
Performance Objective
Critical Thinking /Problem Critical Thinking
Solving
Oral/Written Communication
Communications
Teamwork/ Collaboration Teamwork
Digital Technology Use a self-discovery process
that will culminate in the
creation of an electronic job
search portfolio
Leadership Leadership
Professionalism/Work Professionalism Demonstrate professional
Ethic interviewing and job search
techniques and behaviors
Career Management Evaluate the impact that
setting professional goals and
objectives have on a life plan
Global/Intercultural Social
Fluency Responsibility/Global
Issues
Source: Pearson Education, 2018; NACE, 2019; DTCC, 2019c.
The PCS digital badges cover a significant portion of the NACE competencies
and correspond to several of the DTCC measurable performance objectives.
In Appendix F, Artifact 5, the Survey Alignment Matrix illustrates where the
survey questions were obtained as found in the scholarly literature to inform this
study. The key questions are as follows:
 What is the perception of digital badging in terms of value?
 Will digital badges provide a competitive advantage to students earning them?
20
 Do digital badges affect student engagement and motivate students to work
harder and excel in their work?
 Should digital badges be added to all courses?
The value of a college course can be challenging to measure, because its
impact is not strictly academic, but all-inclusive (Kehoe & Goudzwaard, 2015). Using
digital badges as an academic teaching and learning tool is a strategy to promote
technology-enhanced learning.
Appendix G, Artifact 6 helped me to understand the problem, and involved
designing survey instruments to collect quantitative data from faculty, students and
business advisory members. The surveys were built to ascertain interest levels in and
to get a feel for the overall perception of value for digital badges.
Appendix H, Artifact 7 details the process to collect qualitative data by
interviewing students. The student interview protocol sought to find out how students
felt about whether the digital badges completed were valuable and identified concerns
students had about these electronic credentials.
In Chapter 4, I present the detailed findings from my improvement actions as
related to the national trends and provide recommendations for further exploration
with digital badging at DTCC.
21
Chapter 4
IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES RESULTS
The results of this ELP are informed by conducting an in-depth evaluation of
digital badges in order to accomplish DTCC’s mission, to communicate the potential
of digital badges, and better understand the perception of business students, faculty
and advisory board members. Most of the participants indicated that digital badges
were a valuable co-curricular addition to a course. Previous studies have investigated
the skills employers think are valuable upon entering the workplace, and a review of
the national literature has pointed to the need to better understand the use of digital
badges in higher education, found in Appendix B, Artifact 1. Recently, the University
Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) found that ninety four
percent of four-year institutions were issuing digital badges (EDUCAUSE Learning
Initiative, 2019). For example, recent digital badging initiatives include University of
Maine and their Black Bear Initiative for student engagement and leadership; the
University System of Maryland, which sponsors the Badging Essential Skills for
Transitions (BEST), showcasing students’ career ready skills; and the University of
Notre Dame and Colorado State University, both offering a wide array of digital
badges. Fresno City College is mentioned as the one of the first community colleges to
issue digital badges to validate core industry-specific employability and soft skills.
These examples show that the introduction of digital badging is gaining
momentum in higher education and is becoming important; but many postsecondary
institutions are not connecting with the needs of employers and today’s learners
22
(Grant, 2016; Merisotis, 2016; Welch, 2019). Merisotis (2016) advocates colleges
must be agents of change based on the changing needs of the workforce and the
potential of post-secondary credentialing. Recent evidence suggests a growing
acceptance among employers (Fain, 2016; Rubin, 2018; Educational Design Lab,
2019; EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, 2019; NACE, 2019). Digital badges can also
document learning that is developed through internships, volunteer work, and other
co-curricular activities. Developing a similar digital badging model could be a long-
term objective for the DTCC Business department in order to enhance how we teach
business soft skills and the same premise could be used for other departments.
Since digital badges are a relatively new educational technology for teaching
online activities and learning, students, faculty, and employers are generally not quite
familiar their use. The framework of this study is to identify the quantifiable factors
that propel postsecondary institutions to incorporate digital badging from previous
studies that have been identified as important in the scholarly literature. Findings
validate the connection between the employer and digital badge soft skills relevancy to
increase hiring prospects.
Research Design
A mixed methods research study was conducted to gauge student, faculty and
employer perceptions of the value of digital badges. This approach identifies strengths
and weaknesses of the digital badges in order to ascertain value. The design of the
study was intended to gain a better understanding of the perception of digital badges in
terms of value, whether digital badges would give a competitive advantage in hiring
23
decisions, whether digital badges would affect student engagement and motivation,
and whether badges should continue to be a co-curricular addition to courses. Data
was collected through semi-structured interviews and open-ended survey questions.
The surveys administered to students, faculty, and advisory board members contained
15 questions and the student interview protocol contained 6 questions.
Participants
A purposive convenience sample was obtained for the study. The survey
participants were collegewide and included business students in BUS275, business
faculty, and business advisory board members, consisting of local employers and other
higher education partners. Students were asked to participate over the summer and fall
of 2019 in 5 sections of BUS275 collegewide.
To begin, I introduced digital badges to the DTCC business faculty and
advisory board members by way of presentations, with comprehensive discussion
(Artifact 3, Appendix D). After implementing digital badges in the BUS275 capstone
course, I invited participation in a Qualtrics survey. Survey participants, including
BUS275 students, business faculty, and business advisory board members, were
recruited online through email. The interview participants were business students in
BUS275. The data were collected over Zoom web conferencing software and were
analyzed using thematic coding. The protocols for each instrument used in my study
were reviewed and revised by my ELP committee and were subsequently submitted to
and approved by the University of Delaware’s Human Subjects Review Board
(Appendix I, Artifact 8). Consent forms were signed by all subjects, and Institutional
24
Review Board guidelines were followed concerning the treatment of human subjects
and the subsequent storage of data. I was thereby able to collect both quantitative and
qualitative data, providing insight into the perception and value of digital badges at
DTCC.
Descriptive Findings
The voluntary survey was administered electronically to all participants’ email
addresses, including sixty-two students (n= 42, 72.6% response rate), seventy-two
faculty (n= 47, 70.8% response rate), and eighty-two advisory board members (n= 34,
43.9% response rate). Table 4-1 denotes that the largest respondent group came from
faculty.
Table 3 Respondents by Target Population

Frequency Percent
Employer 34 27.6%
Faculty 47 38.2%
Student 42 34.2%
Total Respondents 123 100%
The survey included 5-point Likert items with some open-ended answers and
allowed all participants to indicate the following:
 Levels of perception of the value of digital badges.

 Consider whether badges would enhance advantage in employability.
 Evaluate perceived interest in using digital badges as a complementary
educational tool.
 Identify whether badges could potentially increase student engagement.
The survey protocol and questions can be found in Appendix G, Artifact 6.
One limitation of this survey research is that the subjects surveyed were not a random
25
sample. Therefore, the survey participants were not representative of all employers,
student population, and postsecondary faculty, as a whole. Thus, the results that follow
have limited application.
As shown in Figure 4-1, sixty-seven percent of students reported their age
between 18-30 and females represented 55.9% of the group which generally aligns
with the college’s overall student population. The majority of the target survey
respondents were female in each target category and the percentages were consistent
within each target category. 57.7% of the faculty are females and 51% were over fifty
years of age. 57.6% percent of the advisory board members were reported as female,
and 53% percent were also over fifty.
Gender of Respondents
70
55.9% 57.5% 57.6%

60
50 44.1% 42.5% 42.4%

40
30
20
10
0
Male Female Male Female Male Female
Students Faculty Employers
Figure 4-1 Gender of Respondents
26
Comparison of Faculty, Students and Advisory Board Responses
About a fourth of the employers (26.5%), about a third of the faculty (34%),
and almost half of the students (42.8%) did not originally have any knowledge of
digital badges. The survey answers show that the participants had a positive perception
of digital badges once they were described and defined. Table 4-2 shows the majority
of students (80.9%), faculty and advisory members (76.6%), and employers (88.2%)
agree that digital badges are very valuable and somewhat valuable.
27
Figure 4-2 Perceived Value of DTCC Students Earning a Digital Badge in an
Academic Course
Perceived Value of Digital Badges Employer Faculty Student

n % n % n %
Very Valuable 7 20.6 10 21.3 20 47.6
Somewhat Valuable 23 67.7 26 55.3 14 33.3
Neutral 2 5.9 0 0 4 9.5
Not very valuable 2 5.9 7 14.9 2 4.8
Not at all valuable 0 0 4 8.5 2 4.8
Total 34 100 47 100 42 100
The information in Table 4-3 indicates the larger majority of students (71.4%)
and employers (70.6%) agreed or strongly agreed that digital badges will provide a
competitive advantage in the workplace, compared to faculty members (57.4%). As
usage and acceptance of digital badges increase over time, this number may increase
(Rubin, 2016; EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, 2019). Technology adoption takes
time to gain traction in all industries.
Table 4 Are Digital Badges Perceived as Valuable in Giving a Competitive Advantage

in the Workplace?
Digital Badges Provide a Employer Faculty Students
Competitive Advantage
n % n % n %
Strongly agree 5 14.7 6 12.8 19 45.2
Somewhat agree 19 55.9 21 44.7 11 26.2
Neutral 8 23.5 17 36.2 6 14.3
Somewhat disagree 2 5.9 1 2.1 1 2.4
Strongly disagree 0 0 2 4.3 2 4.8
Total 34 100 47 100 42 100
28
Table 4-4 shows the majority of participants strongly or somewhat agreed that
digital badges increase student engagement and motivation, to include employers
(76.5%), students (66.75%), and of faculty (53.2%). Literature suggests that digital
badges can help students focus more intentionally on the why and what of the learning
(MacArthur Foundation, 2011; Grant, 2016; Goodyear, et al., 2017; EDUCAUSE
Learning Initiative, 2019). The gamification learning aspect of digital badging further
supports that digital badges can increase motivation to learn valuable credentials.
Table 5 Do Digital Badges Affect Student Engagement and Motivate Them to Work
Harder and Excel in Their Work?
Digital Badges Increase Employer Faculty Students
Motivation
n % n % n %
Strongly agree 10 29.4 5 10.6 11 26.2
Somewhat agree 16 47.1 20 42.6 17 40.5
Neutral 6 17.6 20 42.6 7 16.7
Total 34 100 47 100 42 100
As seen in Table 4-5, half of the students (57.1%) and employers (52.9%)
strongly or somewhat agreed to adding digital badges to all courses, in comparison to
the faculty (36%), who were substantially less receptive.
Table 6 Should Digital Badges be Added to All Courses?

Digital Badges Should be Employer Faculty Students
Added to All Courses
n % n % n %
Strongly agree 2 5.9 6 12.8 8 19
Somewhat agree 16 47.1 11 23.4 16 38.1
Neutral 8 23.5 12 25.5 9 21.4
29
Total 34 100 47 100 42 100
Faculty may still feel tentative about adding digital badges to classes due to other
situational factors, such as time to build, learn the new technology, and understanding
how digital badges fit into the measureable learning objectives of the course. Most of
the respondents seemed somewhat skeptical to adding digital badges to all courses.
The student population showed the strongest disagreement with adding digital badges
to all courses (14.3%).
Discussion of Student Perspectives
The results of the survey data showed that students responded favorably from
their learning experiences with the digital badges. Most comments were positive and
several indicated reasons such as, “The more that you can use to differentiate yourself
to employers and to have something that verifies your skill is very helpful,” and “I
learned a lot.” Another student said, “These badges act as ‘proof’ that someone is not
just trying to look good, but actually showing the work that has been done.”
The majority of students (80.9%) indicated that earning digital badges in a
course was very valuable or somewhat valuable. One student comment was, “This is
something that proves that you have the skill that you claim. It is not just words on a
resume but a verification.” Additionally, the majority of students (73.2%) agreed that
adding digital badges to a course would better reflect their accomplishments in class
and the students (71.4%) believed that digital badges would give them a competitive
advantage in the workplace. Many students (64.3%) agreed that listing the digital
30
badges earned is valuable to display on social networks. The student survey responses
indicated that a much smaller number of students (29%) neither agreed nor disagreed
to paying more for a course with digital badges, and even fewer students (23.8%)
strongly disagreed with paying more for a course that offered digital badges.
Discussion of Faculty Perspectives
The faculty appear to have an epistemological view about how digital badges
can feasibly transform learning. The results from the faculty survey demonstrate that
most (74.5%) had little or no knowledge of digital badges. However, most faculty
(76.6%) responded in agreement that their level of interest in offering digital badges in
courses was somewhat or very valuable. The majority of the faculty (74.5%) indicated
that the top three critical skills that graduates must have are critical thinking, the
ability to effectively communicate orally(61.7%), and the ability to effectively
communicate in writing (61.7%), as depicted in Figure 4-3.
31
Figure 4-3 Top 3 Skills that Graduates Must Have Once They Graduate from DTCC
with an Associate’s degree in Business
A review of the open answers to survey question six, “After reading the
definition of a digital badge initially provided, what would be your level of interest in
offering digital badges in any of the courses that you teach,” illuminated the faculty’s
level of interest in offering digital badges in their courses. Comments included, “to
note critical skills displayed in class,” while another said, “I think the badge could
help influence the students to seek out the skills that employers require and make
active efforts to achieve the skills.” Another faculty member indicated, “Any
credential that accompanies a degree is helpful.” Conversely, there were comments
32
such as, “I’m not certain about the credibility or value of digital badges. They seem
like the new ‘stickers’ for homework,” and plainly, “I do not see a use.”
The faculty (53.2%) appeared to be generally positive when asked if digital
badging will affect student engagement; however, many faculty members (42.6%)
remained neutral. It was evident that faculty strongly or somewhat agreed (68.1%),
and indicated that earned digital badges would be advantageous to showcase on
LinkedIn or other social media platforms. Some comments included, “Notable
accomplishments are valuable LinkedIn credentials.” Another student said, “We are
living in the digital age. Let the complete qualities of a person be seen beyond a GPA
…Digital badges could help students have stronger professional profiles, and
therefore, be more marketable. This is particularly important when there is little
professional experience.” Conversely, one indicated, “As a previous business owner,
I’ve seen many people with degrees and awards, yet they are not able to perform. I
would like to see good communication, professionalism, timeliness, etc. and not just a
badge.” Another faculty member indicated they were not certain that badges are
important to employers and needed to see more information on digital badges.
Discussion of Advisory Board Perspectives
The DTCC business advisory board consists of local employers and local K-12
and higher education partners. Some of the respondents were employed in education
(38.2%). A slightly higher number of participants (47.1%) reported being in middle or
upper management positions. Table 4-6 shows the various areas in which respondents
were employed.
33
Table 7 Business Advisory Board Industry Representation
Industry n Percent
Banking and Finance 3 8.8%
Marketing 2 5.9%
Education 13 38.3%
Logistics and Supply Chain or 1 2.9%
Manufacturing
Government or Public Administration 4 11.8%
Retail 0 0.0%
Information Technology 0 0.0%
Scientific 1 2.9%
Other: including Employment Services,
Media, Accounting, Journalism, 10 29.4%
Wholesale, Construction, Retired and
Unemployed
Total 34 100%
Advisory board members’ responses were generally positive regarding the use
and value of digital badges. Many of the respondents (26.5%) had no knowledge about
these micro credentials before this study. The majority of employers (70.6%) indicated
that they would be somewhat or very likely to use the digital badges to influence a
hiring decision, and the same number (70.6%) strongly or somewhat agreed that the
digital badges gave students a competitive advantage in the workplace. Advisory
board members (78.8%) chose agree or strongly agree that digital badges could help to
motivate students to excel in their work. Most of the students (82.3%) reported
somewhat or strong agreement that digital badges would become more popular in the
future. A comment on the benefits of digital badging indicated that, “Students become
34
aware of what skills companies are looking for.” This finding substantiates the link
between the employer and digital badge soft skills relevancy to hiring opportunities.
Figure 4-4 shows the Advisory Board’s reported top three critical skills for
business students necessary to graduate: 1) problem solving; 2) work ethic; and 3)
critical thinking. To contrast, the Educational Lab Design’s survey results of
employers (2019), critical thinking and oral communication were among the top skills
that they would like for students to learn and earn.
Figure 4-4 Advisory Board Top 3 Critical Skills that Business Students Need to
Graduate
These skills were showcased in the PCS digital badge assessments and connect to the
NACE Career Readiness Competencies (2019), previously shown in Table 3-1. Each
35
digital badge is grounded in sound research that illustrates how that specific
competency supports positive professional impact.
Table 4-7 showcases the Advisory Board’s top three benefits and concerns
with digital badges.
Table 8 Business Advisory Board Top Benefits and Concerns of Digital Badges
Count
Top 3 Benefits Percent
(n=34)
Credential transparency and quality assurance 7 20.6%
Learners have a means to present themselves
8 23.5%
digitally
Digital badges highlight specific competencies that
9 26.5%
employers expect
Top 3 Concerns
Not widely recognized 10 29.4%
Not taken seriously 7 20.6%
Inconsistent meaning to the badges 6 17.6%
The answers in this category could be listed multiple times by respondents.
The data indicated that the advisory board listed the top benefit of digital badges as
highlighting specific expected workplace competencies, and the top concern is that
digital badges are not widely recognized. This finding parallels a concern noted in the
scholarly literature that it will take some time for badges to become established and
gain industry wide acceptance (Grant, 2014; Raich & Rimland, 2016; Hickey, 2017;
Hickey, et al., 2017; EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, 2019). A little over half of
advisory board members (52.9%) indicated that they would be interested in using
digital badges for hiring purposes. However, several advisory board members (11.7%)
36
did not see the value of digital badges, but conversely, a similar number (11.7%) said
that there were no drawbacks to incorporating them. When asked how digital badge
perception could be increased over time, the majority of employers (73.5%) identified
that there needs to be better industry and market recognition and acceptance of badges,
along with standardized criteria for achievements. In addition, employers (58.9%)
identified that there needs to be increased matching of job requirements with applicant
skills (50%) and more communication of companies who are looking at digital badges.
Despite digital badge initiatives being in relative infancy, the future holds much
potential for connecting employers.
Table 4-8 shows the relationship of standard deviation to the mean and the
measures of variability for the data.
37
Table 9 Descriptive Comparison of Perception of Digital Badges
Standard Standard
Question Survey Target N Mean Deviation Error
Perceived Value of a Student 42 4.14 1.09 0.17
Course with a Digital Faculty 47 3.70 0.83 0.17
Badge Employer 34 4.03 0.71 0.17
Total 123 3.94 1.03 0.12
Digital Badges give a Student 42 2.12 1.33 0.09
competitive advantage in Faculty 47 2.40 0.89 0.21
the workplace Employer 34 2.21 0.76 0.13
Total 123 3.76 1.04 0.13
Digital badges motivate Student 42 2.37 1.20 0.09
students to work harder Faculty 47 2.43 0.79 0.18
Employer 34 1.94 0.78 0.12
Total 123 3.76 0.96 0.13
Student 42 2.63 1.26 0.09
Digital Badges should be Faculty 47 3.00 1.20 0.20
added to all courses
Employer 34 1.88 0.76 0.18
Total 123 3.27 1.17 0.16
The standard deviation shows how the individual responses deviate from the
mean. Looking at the data between categories, the largest standard deviation came
from adding digital badges to all courses, where there was more variation between the
groups. Within each category, the highest standard deviation came from the student
responses. Because the student answers were quite polarized, a larger segment of these
respondents indicated disparity in agreement. The lowest standard deviation was the
perceived value for each survey target.
A one-way between subjects ANOVA analysis was conducted in SPSS to
examine the perception of digital badges regarding value, competitive advantage,
motivation, and whether they should be added to all courses. This test was used to
38
compare the amount of variation between and within the target groups of students,
faculty, and employers, as shown in Table 4-9.
Table 10 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Showing Differences Between Groups

Question Sum of df Mean F Sig.
Squares Square
Perceived Value of a Between Groups 4.66 2 2.33 2.22 .113
Course with a Digital Within Groups 125.94 120 1.05
Badge Total 130.62 122
Digital Badges give a Between Groups 2.19 2 1.09 1.01 .369
competitive advantage in Within Groups 130.48 120 1.09
the workplace Total 132.68 122
Digital badges motivate Between Groups 4.74 2 2.37 2.64 .076

students to work harder Within Groups 107.94 120 0.90
Total 112.68 122
Digital Badges should Between Groups 4.06 2 2.03 1.50 .226
be added to all courses Within Groups 162.08 120 1.35
Total 166.15 122
Significance levels: p < .05
The results showed that there were no significant differences among measures
of the four questions between faculty, students and advisory board members. The
largest difference was in the groups' answers about whether they thought digital
badges may increase student motivation (F=2.64, p=.076). Regarding feelings about
whether digital badges would give a competitive advantage in the workplace, there
was little variability between each group’s opinion (F=1.01, p=.369). No further post
hoc tests were conducted.
39
Qualitative Results
An open-ended, structured interview script containing 6 questions was
employed at the end of the BUS275 course. This approach defined the key questions
in order to glean more in-depth information based on the student perspective after
completing the digital badges. Eighteen students agreed to being interviewed, after
continued course announcements and personal email solicitation. I conducted the
interviews over Zoom web conferencing software for the convenience of the
participants. Two students came by my office and I conducted those two interviews in
person. Zoom made it possible for students with busy schedules to participate. Written
transcripts were obtained by uploading the MP4 videos to YouTube. Once transcribed,
the YouTube videos were deleted. The six interview questions were asked exactly as
they were written (found in Appendix H, Artifact 7). In order to obtain a deeper
understanding of the students’ experience, I was able to follow up the semi-structured
questions with open-ended questions in order to drill down more deeply, such as “can
you give a specific example?”
It was interesting to hear what students found important to them and it was
evident that their statements aligned with the key findings of the surveys. The majority
of students (93%) agreed that the digital badges reflected their skills. One student
responded, “I ended up completing all of them and added them to my LinkedIn. I was
able to pinpoint some of the work that I had learned in previous courses too.” The
majority of the students (83.3%) also felt that the digital badge credentials had specific
benefits. One student’s comment was “I had limited knowledge in the beginning, but I
40
think that the technology is great because these can be posted to LinkedIn. Recruiters
have reached out already. They can see in depth what I have done in class.”
When students were asked whether they had specific concerns about digital
badges, less than half (44.4%) said, “I don’t know.” One student indicated that he
could see how some people would not take them seriously, but he could not expound
on that remark. Another student felt that generally students could click through the
material and don’t take the time to learn the material, but that it happens in every
class. Then she added that the badges benefit the students that pay attention to the
work.
Students generally felt that digital badges had application to other courses. The
majority of the students (83.3%) indicated that digital badges were applicable in this
course and that the badges would also be appropriate in other courses. Some of the
examples of other good course matches mentioned were First Year Seminar, English,
Management, Marketing, Sales, Excel, Math, Oral Communications, and Accounting.
One student indicated that digital badges should be a part of every class. Another said
that the topics could be use with other content, which was the intent for BUS275.
When students were asked how much they would spend for a digital badge,
many students hesitated, did not know how to answer this question, and needed further
prodding. Many answers were “I don’t know,” or “unsure,” “hard to say,’ along with
“it depends.” Half of the students (50%) indicated that they were not sure. The survey
results indicated that less than half of students (45.2%) disagreed with paying extra for
digital badges. The interview answers indicated that less than half of students (38.9%)
41
felt that badges should be part of the course or textbook cost; others would pay some
as an add-on to a course, depending on level and material learned. One student
mentioned that cost is an issue. A few students (22.2%) actually quoted dollar values
ranging from $50.00 to $250.00. Another student indicated that they did not think
Foliotek was expensive and said, “I think they gave relevant, real life examples.”
The last interview question asked students whether they thought that the digital
badges would be valued by employers. Only one student said, “I don’t know,” and
where the majority (94.4%) said yes, or were hopeful; however, some still seemed
somewhat conflicted, due to their hesitation in answering directly. One student said,
“If employers see the skill needed for the industry, then they will be valued. Today,
we need to stand out amongst the competition for a job.”
The interview recordings were transcribed, and I uploaded the transcriptions
into QDA Miner Lite software and assigned labels to the research questions. I broke
out the data into identifiable ideas by assigning categories and then further coded with
identifiable descriptions. Categorical coding, along with multiple descriptions are
shown in Figure 4-5.
Figure 4-5 Digital Badge Interview Codebook
Analysis yielded four distinct categories regarding perception of value of
digital badges: skill achievement; hiring benefits; good course addition; and they
42
should not cost much more than a required textbook. Eighty-seven percent of the
participants agreed that the digital badge experience reflected their skills. Most
students (83.3%) were encouraged that digital badges have benefits and felt that the
digital badges contributed to learning skills and new information. These contributed to
the first emergent theme, Skill. One interview participant noted that they felt, “I had
limited knowledge in the beginning, but I think the technology is great because these
can be posted to LinkedIn. Recruiters have reached out already. They can see much in
depth what I have done in class.” This perception also overlapped to the second theme,
benefits to prospective employers. One student added, “There is growing interest with
employers, just like certifications.” According to another student, “Digital badges can
look good on resume to employers. If you put in the time, you get rewarded.” And one
other student stated, “Adding the badges to LinkedIn makes an impact.”
Students seemed to be unsure about how much they would be willing to spend
to obtain a digital badge. But the third emergent theme was money and how the
badges would need to bring in real world value and should be included in the price of
the course or the textbook. One student mentioned that technology is headed in this
direction and they expected to obtain more diverse knowledge.
Another ensuing theme was motivation and the participants felt that the digital
badges were motivating and valuable as a visual. Even though only the
Professionalism badge was required for students, 10/24 (41.7%) of the George
(Wilmington) campus students only decided to complete all of the badges in the PCS
program that were available. No other students completed the rest of the badges at the
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other campuses across the state. Importantly, some students mentioned that some of
the badges were easier to obtain than others and that some were repetitive. I will need
to take this into further consideration if assigning more than just the Professionalism
digital badge in the BUS275 course. Frequencies of the distribution of the codes are
shown in Figure 4-6.
Figure 4-6 Frequency of the Distribution of Codes from Student Interviews
The interview results based on these data show the number of occurrences for
each code. Digital badges, as a visual representation of skills achieved, were highly
motivating for students to complete and showcase on LinkedIn.
44
Discussion
Although the number of participants in the study was small, the data gathered
from the surveys and interviews indicates several important ideas about the
improvement effort goal at DTCC. Both quantitative and qualitative data suggested
that participants had generally positive perceptions of the digital badges. This local
finding based in grounded theory supports the continued use of digital badges for skill
achievement in higher education. The PCS digital badges awarded to DTCC students
in BUS275 were designed to recognize their participation in a soft skills learning
activity, their achievements following this participation, and ultimately their learning,
which supports the noted outcomes of badges highlighted in the scholarly literature
(Casilli & Hickey, 2016; Gibson et al., 2015; Hickey et al., 2014). However, there was
a noted lack of familiarity with digital badges and their features, as digital badging still
is in a nascent stage, and it is important to build employer and faculty buy-in.
The use of the survey method enabled me to gain feedback from students who
had just experienced what it was like to acquire a digital badge. Surveying faculty and
the advisory boards gave me the opportunity to build capacity. The interview method
allowed me to use open-ended questions (with the opportunity for further probing) to
gain more in-depth insight from a small number of students. I strove for objectivity
and tried to reduce bias by maintaining a neutral stance when conducting the
interviews. The two methods of data collection allowed for cross checking. The
student interview data triangulated survey results from the faculty and employers,
45
which increased the validity and consistency of results and yielded a better
understanding of the issues from the various stakeholders’ perspectives.
The acceptance of digital badges is challenging traditional views of validity in
terms of credentialing and assessment. This was evident from a faculty member who
commented, “I am not certain of the value of digital badges or the standards in their
development.” Many educators and employers feel that digital badges are not trusted
credentials and do not have validity evidence (Cassili & Hickey, 2016; Hickey, Willis,
& Quick, 2017; Gallagher & Maxwell, 2019). These authors point out that traditional
dimensions of generalization and validating evidence may be insufficient to support
claims made for digital badges. The same concern has also been identified by the
business advisory board members, where another comment was, “digital badges are
only a tool to incentivize students.” Moss (2019) expresses that by relying on digital
badges as a shortcut to predict a good person to hire may have negative consequences.
Another important perspective is taken by Casilli & Hickey (2016), who argue to look
beyond existing validity theories and to consider research about the credibility of
information on the Internet in general. A relevant example is behavioral researcher
Fogg’s classification of credibility (2003), which discusses perceived quality about the
information, made up of multiple dimensions, such as user variables and situational
factors. Digital badges will need to earn credibility with continued use in higher
education and will also reflect this concept. As a result, standardizing learning
outcomes could enhance credibility for digital badge systems but will need to be
researched further.
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Researcher Knight (2012) also considers some of the limited thinking that
surrounds badging discussions with faculty and suggests that digital badges offer a
significant contribution to an evolving ecosystem around credentialing, learning,
teaching, and assessment. Though, it may still be a challenge to get faculty buy-in
when faced with their required teaching workload, advisement, and other college
responsibilities.
Recommendations
The student soft skills gap from the employer point of view is not going away.
The Society for Human Resource Management (2019) found that education systems
have done little or nothing to address the soft skills shortage, and traditional higher
education curricula may not be sufficient for developing critical 21st century skills.
Increasingly, there has been disconnect between the curricular, co-curricular, and
experiential skills of DTCC students; and there is limited ability to engage students in
the career development process. The opportunity to earn digital badges can help to fill
in gaps and allow students to demonstrate the transferable soft skills learned. The
badges can also provide employers with additional criteria from which to measure
entry level skills.
The results of this study at DTCC indicated that all groups agree that digital
badges give students a competitive advantage in the hiring arena. The digital badge
learning experience is a beneficial formative component in the business capstone
course and should remain in the curriculum with a thoughtful plan for integration
collegewide. Six recommendations are offered.
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1) The first recommendation is to include incorporating professionalism
digital badges in all BUS275 sections, in all delivery modes, including face
to face, online and hybrid sections, for equity. The face to face sections still
use the textbook and faculty will need to be trained in using the Foliotek
platform. However, there is need to build continued institutional capacity
for scaling and sustaining more digital badge initiatives as valuable
components of all business programs in the curriculum. According to
Hickey, et al. (2017), eventually researchers are likely to begin using the
evidence in digital badges to improve entire learning ecosystems. Next, I
would like to be able to showcase these findings as part of a professional
development activity in order to continue to build interest and discussion.
2) Another recommendation is to offer digital badges to faculty for all types
of professional development activities at DTCC. The awarded badges
would display learning development and achievements and would serve as
a model for students and to build faculty capacity. Northern Virginia
Community College recognize faculty initiatives with digital credentials
that acknowledge their professional development accomplishments
(Downs, 2017).
3) The third recommendation would be to scale the digital strategy initiative
to include other programs so that the faculty can review if digital badging
would be an advantageous co-curricular addition to their discipline. Digital
badges can be weaved into student clubs, volunteer work, internships and
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other complimentary activities (Kounelaki, 2015). Soft skills are necessary
in all industries, but there are many more creative digital badge
applications that could be employed.
4) The fourth recommendation is to appeal to advisory board members so that
they interview students who have earned digital badges and continue to
work with them to identify where there may be gaps in course material
which align with local employers’ industry hiring needs. Current research
indicates that community colleges can help to increase the adoption of
integrating industry demanded credentials by working in close
collaboration with industry partners (Gallagher & Maxwell, 2019;
EDUCAUSE Horizon Report (2019).
5) The next recommendation is to explore designing and creating our own
brand of DTCC career-oriented badges, which will require work group
collaboration with academic departments, Information Technology, and the
Center for Creative and Instructional Technology. This project will be time
consuming and will require a task force to help steer the objectives. As an
example, The University of Maryland System has partnered with
Portfolium BadgeLink to support their B.E.S.T. career readiness initiative.
This student success platform which provides a portal for badge
management and houses reporting tools for institution wide assessment of a
digital badging initiative (University System of Maryland William E.
Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, 2018).
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6) The last recommendation is to continue to explore other digital badge best
practices and benchmark with other higher education institutions. The 2019
EDUCAUSE Horizon Report reports that models of education have
emerged that provide learners with education and training that transcend
traditional degrees, such as digital badges. DTCC continues to seek
innovative solutions that provide students with experiences that better
prepare them for the workforce and help to further advance a culture of
innovation. This study reports that only 2% of institutions have deployed
digital badges, but 29% are planning or expanding their use (p. 8).
In order for digital badging to be an effective learning tool, a challenge to
address will be to communicate to badge earners that sharing their achievements is up
to them. There will also need to be communication given as to where and when to
share that information. BUS275 students had to build a LinkedIn account and were
given specific instructions to post the Professionalism badge as a requirement for this
career-oriented course. This notion demonstrates how digital initiatives can have
potential for students to integrate and highlight their own learning, but it also will
require campuses to collaborate across disciplines and departments.
If an instructor is utilizing digital badges in a course, thought must be given
towards how these badges will be received or counted in other courses at the program
level. Curriculum mapping is a required activity for all programs which could help to
identify gaps where digital badges could bring in relevant value with their
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introduction, reinforcement, and mastery of material. It is important that the process of
badging is standardized in courses across the college. Faculty interested in using
digital badges within a course should review their core course competencies outlined
in the course syllabi and identify strategies or artifacts that would demonstrate that a
student had mastered the task. Abramovich (2016) posits that assessments must be
linked to the skills being assessed and communicated with students at the beginning of
the badging opportunity.
By implementing strategies to make the improvements noted above, the value
of digital badges will increase. By bringing soft skills to the forefront with this digital
badge credentialing initiative at DTCC, the critical gap in transforming the way higher
education prepares students for the changing workplace of today and tomorrow can be
addressed by helping to focus on valuable job market competencies.
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Chapter 5
REFLECTION ON IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS
While several aspects of the ELP worked well, other areas could have been
improved. In this chapter, a reflection on the artifacts used will be discussed, along
with methodology for data collection, challenges with analysis, and limitations to the
research. Finally, I provide a discussion of the importance of communicating results to
key administrators and how the results may lead to program enhancements and
considerations for future digital badging implementation at DTCC.
Reflection on Artifacts
The artifacts completed have given structural support to this study by giving
purpose and evidence. The research found in the literature review on the national
movement of digital badging in higher education has shown that digital badges are a
complementary means to assess student achievement. The data I collected through my
improvement actions offered several perspectives of digital badging at DTCC. By
using three separate surveys and interviews, along with preliminary discussions with
faculty and advisory board members, I was able to find patterns and felt more
confident in the triangulation of the findings.
Surveys
I now realize the amount of skill and planning that is required to develop a
decent and fair survey instrument and felt overwhelmed to figure out exactly what
questions that I should ask. This took me a very long time to create. I was able to view
and adapt other survey instruments to help create my own and have these documented
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in the survey alignment matrix, found in Appendix F, Artifact 5. I considered what
sort of information that I wanted to know about digital badges and that could inform
my improvement efforts. I tested the survey instruments with my colleagues and toiled
over the best way to revise them.
The timing of sending the surveys out was particularly tricky in order to get the
most responses to try to obtain a decent sample size for the study. Getting people to
complete surveys is challenging. I offered a drawing for one $25 Amazon gift card to
students and also listed the option in the course schedule to encourage participation as
it was voluntary for students to participate. But my downstate counterparts did not
include this communication. In addition, summer was not an ideal time to collect data
from faculty, as they are off contract for two months during this time. I surveyed
business faculty and advisory board members in September, but I did not get a strong
response from the advisory board. I used the student results from the summer BUS275
class, and then surveyed four sections of BUS275 in November at the end of the fall
semester.
The original plan was to survey all students who enrolled in three summer
sections of BUS275, Experiential Learning/E-Portfolio course at Delaware Tech
collegewide. Students were assigned the Professionalism digital badge to complete in
addition to the other requirements of this capstone course. Unfortunately, due to
unforeseen low enrollment in the summer, survey collection had to wait until the
following fall semester in order to obtain a larger sample. In addition to the delay, my
collegewide counterparts did not incorporate the digital badges over the summer
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session, which also prevented data collection. I ended up surveying my sole section of
the summer BUS275 students only, as a preliminary trial, to add to the data collected
in the fall semester of 2019. For the summer section, there were 7 students in the
course; 4 completed the survey and only 2 agreed to be interviewed.
I sent the survey electronically to four sections of BUS275 collegewide at the
end of October and early November, totaling 54 enrolled students. I had to get
approval and coordinate timing with collegewide faculty to send out the surveys to
their respective sections of BUS275 via the D2L learning management system and
email.
I surveyed all collegewide business faculty, including adjuncts, in September
2019. The response rate was over 50% and this population was more participatory
than the other two groups. I sent out the survey link to collegewide advisory board
members by email invitation in September through October 2019 four times and did
not get a good response. Our collegewide advisory board meeting was on October 30,
2019, so I printed paper copies I hopes of getting a few more participants. No one
filled out the survey at this time. When we sent out the meeting minutes to all
members, I sent out a final electronic effort to complete. I did end up getting a few
more responses, but the overall response rate remained disappointing. Getting
sufficient responses to surveys is not an easy task.
I discovered that survey design is like writing, in that the skill required for
sound design evolves over time. I should have numbered each survey more carefully
so that each population had the same questions and corresponding numbers. Although
54
each survey was slightly different and had a different response format, they were all
five point Likert scales. I ended up having to modify them numerically to have the
same responses and constructed the data set in order to simplify data analysis and
understand the results.
Interviews
All sixty-six students registered in the BUS275 course over five sections in the
summer and fall 2019 were asked to participate in an interview describing their digital
badge experience. The response rate for this convenience sample was 27.3%. There
were two students in the summer section of BUS275 who agreed to the interview, and
sixteen participated in the fall sections, totaling 18 interview participants. Before I
collected data, I had categorized the six interview questions that were derived from the
research questions: skill achievement; competitive advantage; motivation; and viable
course addition. I tried to organize the data to see exactly what students were
conveying about their digital badge experience. The data collection for the interview
was based on theoretically sound constructs which were supported by the Survey
Alignment Matrix found in Appendix F, Artifact 5. This helped to increase the
concentration of recurrent themes and increase insights. Grounded theory researchers
Strauss & Corbin (1990) identify that a qualitative study should have an inductive
approach to evidence and that concepts should be developed by the data.
I was surprised to learn how some students felt that some of the information to
obtain the digital badges was repetitive with other homework assigned on the Foliotek
platform. I also learned that some of the badges were easier to obtain than others. One
55
student mentioned that if she did not pass a module with an 80% or better, then she
was not awarded the badge and was frustrated. However, others thought that the
badges were a good refresher on professionalism before graduating from DTCC. It
was validating to see that most students thought that the digital badges would be more
valued if they were used more. A student indicated, “Technology is headed in this
direction. If you put in the work, you will get more diverse knowledge.” Another
student mentioned that the digital badges would help with hiring, as he was getting
ready to move out of state. He also indicated, “My friends from Penn State University
have seen my posted badges on social media and were excited to learn about what they
are and how they could get them.”
Presentation of Findings
The insight I gained from the study has informed my improvement actions and
includes recommendations for scaling digital badge initiatives to include all BUS275
sections, in all course delivery modes, including face to face, online, hybrid, web-
conferencing, and video conferencing. The result of this small-scale study sheds some
light on perception and value of digital badges at DTCC. The badges were generally
well received by students, faculty and advisory board members as a valuable co-
curricular addition to the BUS275 course. A sizeable minority had lukewarm or
negative impressions of digital badges. The results generally agree with the nationally
reported data. According to the Education Design Lab study (2019), some invaluable
lessons were learned in their own pilot study. Among them were sharing the facilitator
role, exposing employers to micro-credentials, embedding more digital badges in
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credit courses, understanding that micro-credentials need to be interactive and visual,
including the micro-credential details and icon on a resume, and making sure that
employers interview learners who have earned micro-credentials.
Therefore, it is my plan to further study how DTCC can incorporate more
digital badges in other courses. Since digital badges are still in their infancy, there is
still much to learn about best practices in the higher education environment and how
badges could apply to DTCC.
Impact on Programming
As a leader and change agent, I recognize the skills and patience that it takes to
bring about change. The implementation of digital badges has been a gradual process
and I have had to build capacity and momentum by taking small steps along the way.
First, I have developed a reputation for championing change in my department since I
took over the Department Chair’s position in 2016. The very next semester, I migrated
eighty courses to a new learning management system, Desire to Learn, and helped to
train and support faculty in its use.
A primary challenge of this study, which also began in the same year, was to
persuade my collegewide counterparts to consider implementing the digital badges to
see if this pilot would be advantageous to our students and for our advisory board
members in terms of potential for hiring. Interestingly, in November 2019, I
discovered that the Delaware Department of Education is now looking to implement a
badging system that is focused on teaching professionalism and soft skills to students
in the middle and high schools. I was able to be part of a focus group composed of
57
educators and administrators, which was an extremely worthwhile and validating
experience. The development will be useful in gaining more capacity for digital badge
programming at DTCC and in education within the state of Delaware. The progression
and outcomes of this badging initiative will be important to watch.
Limitations
Although there was a diverse set of perspectives in this study, the number of
participants in the study is small and is not necessarily generalizable to other higher
educational institutions in the state of Delaware. A reasonable course of action would
be to continue this study over time in order to collect more data in order to strengthen
the outcomes.
Although both quantitative and qualitative data suggested that participants had
generally positive perceptions of the digital badges, there were still many questions
about credibility and validity. More data needs to be collected in other courses in a
larger study. Nevertheless, the present study may be relevant for others considering
the use of digital badges in a similar context, with these results pointing to several
recommendations for practice.
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Chapter 6
REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
My interest in how technology changes the paradigm of business and my
fascination with educational technology has led me down this academic pathway.
Little did I know how it would also shape how I view education, teaching, and my
ensuing leadership capability. Since I did not have a theoretical background in
education and I was in a position to effect change in higher education, I felt that I
should learn much more in the realm of education. In the summer of 2014, I took a
class in Educational Technology topics on Mobile Web Design and this course
commenced my journey into the Educational Leadership doctoral program at the
University of Delaware. With each subsequent course taken in the program, I was able
to better understand my role as an educator and as a leader at DTCC. I was already
extremely interested in innovation and disruption with educational technology but was
also able to learn much more about how it can enhance student learning when it is
implemented in a thoughtful and well integrated manner. I was able to explore topics
such as responsive mobile web design, computational thinking, multimedia integration
and explore the foundations of educational technology to better understand and help
students learn. Even though I was warned that I needed to define a clear problem/topic
that I could use for each course, I began to focus on a problem that was untenable, and
it became an issue when it was time to develop and craft my ELP proposal.
When I began my journey in the Ed.D. program, I had written an admissions
essay about my interest in incorporating digital badges, but I became increasingly
59
distracted by the many faceted demands of my position as Instructional Director, and I
lost sight of the original topic interest while taking the courses in the program. My
advisor and committee chairperson, Dr. Fred Hofstetter, helped me to refocus, which
has been an extremely valuable experience. Researching digital badging reminded me
of the path that businesses take when not understanding the force of technological
change. The recent struggles of Sears, Radio Shack, and Kmart are clear evidence of
not embracing digital transformation. DTCC could likely be heading in the same
direction, if attention is not paid to the growing changes, advancements, and infusion
of digital technologies in education. I needed to make an irrevocable commitment to
studying how digital badges could add co-curricular depth and add to student success,
albeit on a small scale at first.
The delivery of digital badges directly addresses DTCC’s number one strategic
goal, “Academic programs prepare student with knowledge and skills needed for
employment in their career field of study and/or for transfer to a senior institution”
(DTCC, 2019a). Digital badges are being offered as resume boosters in some of the
nation’s top ranked universities, as students increasingly seek recognition for extra-
curricular contributions made during their studies. Some examples are Georgetown
University, George Mason University, and University of Maryland, among many
others (Rubin, 2018). The digital badges align directly to DTCC’s Strategic Directions
and address the value of “advancing the delivery of innovative instructional offerings,
such as pathways and stackable credentials, to meet competitive workforce needs and
increase educational and career opportunities for students” (DTCC, 2019b).
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The digital badge initiative directly relates to the coursework that I have
experienced in my journey through the Educational Leadership doctoral program.
First, I was able to identify that the time is right to implement this micro-credential
initiative at DTCC. The education policy course discussed Kingdon’s window of
opportunity model (1997), where problems, policy, and politics converge together, and
this made a large impact on how I perceived change management as a leader.
According to Fowler (2013), by engaging in change and considering the policy
process, effective leaders participate in an issue in several ways. First, attract attention
to the issue. In this case, I was able to introduce digital badging to stakeholders
throughout the ELP process, when presenting to my advisory board and faculty and
introduced them to students in BUS275 as a requirement.
Second, effective leaders leverage partnerships and allies to leverage change
(Fowler, 2013). I was able to employ my knowledge of digital badges and devised
how to implement them on a small scale in order to gain capacity from all
stakeholders. The overall political environment in the educational arena is ripe for
positive change where the opportunity exists to create a credentialing digital badge
system reflective of what it values while reflecting the needs of learners, practitioners,
and policymakers (Finkelstein, Knight, & Manning, 2013). In 2011, former U. S.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan originally launched a digital badging promotion
(MacArthur Foundation, 2011). A campaign ensued that would contribute to a climate
change in education and business, by brainstorming avenues to assess and demonstrate
student skills. In education, there has been generally an underlying assumption that
61
has traditionally focused on academics in the classroom and is an approach that is
outdated in preparing students for success in the twenty-first century.
Moreover, the window is open for opportunity to make a change in the way we
teach students at DTCC. A myriad of occurrences converged and helped to open the
door for exploring how digital badges can create value. Forces in education are
presently in a perfect storm of the increasingly demanding environment and
expectation of longstanding academic tradition, along with local employers’
expectations of what students should be graduating with, all while meeting dismal
college completion rates. The long-term trend outlook from EDUCAUSE Horizon
Report (2019) indicates models of education have emerged that provide individual
learners with options for education and training that transcend traditional pathways to
degrees and other credentials (p. 8).
Third, the theory behind education was increasingly important to understand.
The curriculum planning course was essential to understanding Wiggins and
McTighe’s Understanding by Design Framework UbD (2011). While digital badging
in education is still in its infancy and best practices continue to evolve, backward
design with badges has emerged as a common approach among badge experts (Grant,
2016; Raish & Rimland, 2016; Hickey, Willis, & Quick, 2017). I have integrated the
unique opportunities afforded by digital badges in the capstone BUS275 course. The
purpose of learning, according to the UbD concept, should serve as the impetus
throughout the design of the course and enables the relevancy to fill in some existing
gaps where there may be a demand for a better representation of learning. Digital
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badges can help to facilitate the process of helping to learn soft skills in BUS275.
Wiggins & McTighe (2011) assert that the true value of education lies in its
applications beyond the classroom and transferability. Furthermore, the UbD concept
has been extremely important for me in managing full and part time faculty, where
many do not have a background tied to education theory and pedagogy.
Next, I am grateful to have learned about Dr. John Dewey along the way in the
Educational Leadership doctoral program. Dewey was the original pragmatic
educational researcher celebrity, whose epistemological philosophies have spurred
continuous inquiry and reflection on education. Additionally, I was fortunate to be
able to learn about many other educational theorists along my pathway, such as
Vygotsky and his ideologies on social constructivism, as mentioned in the Literature
Review in Artifact 1: Appendix B, as well other important approaches that have made
contributions to how education has transformed to the present time. The various
theoretical foundations have helped me better understand how digital badging could fit
into the business curriculum.
The logic model found in Appendix C, Artifact 2 identifies theories of change
for the strategic implementation of digital badges at DTCC. This preliminary
evaluation identified that I would need to build awareness throughout the college, find
employer support, and pilot the digital badges in order to meet the early objectives of
increasing awareness of faculty, students, and employers. By identifying intermediate
objectives of using digital badges to become an accepted mechanism of documenting
students’ competencies and aligning employer needs, digital badges can be a good
63
display of the competencies that can lead to increased employment opportunities. As
stated by Weiss (1972, p. 59), if things go as expected, an evaluation can tell how the
program worked in achieving its goals and can explain the steps and processes that led
to desired results. As we learn from Skipper (2018), “Badges may not only benefit
learners as they enter the workforce but will also enhance the value of higher
education institutions that may be struggling to show value in a world of increasing
tuition and rising student debt.” Digital badges can be a valued alternative and
complimentary learning option.
All of the educational technology courses that I took in the EdD program have
helped me to understand the innovation mindset that is necessary to garner capacity
for new pedagogy and how people learn in education. My interest in educational
technology has contributed to the goal of incorporating digital badges at DTCC.
According to educational researcher Daniel Hickey (2017), digital badges have the
opportunity to disrupt traditional credentialing systems and could be a game changing
strategy in education. Technological disruption today is happening at a scale and speed
that is unprecedented in education, retail, media, logistics, services and many other
businesses. Leadership is critical for me to thrive in the choppy waters of rapid
technology and pedagogical change. When I originally sent my proposal in to the Vice
President for Academic Affairs in the Office of the President at DTCC, I was told that
digital badges were likely just a fad and I should not be wasting my time. I had to be
ready to articulate the clear vision about opportunities of digital badges and hold my
ground, knowing that there was no precisely defined roadmap in place. Being able to
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engage with students, faculty and our advisory members has ensured a constant
interchange of information, thus helping to build additional respect as a department
head and administrator.
Though there is still much to be learned about using digital badges, this ELP
project illuminates positive perceptions and usage of badges as a viable co-curricular
addition which may also provide some value for prospective employers. Technology
has transformed the workplace and now, how we recognize learning must also
transform. There is currently no other way to describe informal learning achievements
that can be captured with digital badging alongside those that come from more formal
learning environments. By being able to offer students new micro learning
mechanisms to profile student achievements, digital badges can produce macro
rewards with employers. A learning approach which infuses digital badges has the
potential to aid in transforming education into a modern credentialing system that
more accurately describes students’ learning accomplishments in order to better match
skills needed in the workplace.
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REFERENCES
Abramovich, S. (2016). Understanding digital badges in higher education through
assessment. On the Horizon, 24, 1, 126-131.
American Association of Community Colleges (2014). Empowering Community
Colleges to Build the Nation’s Future: An implementation Guide. Washington,
DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.aacc21stcenturycenter.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/04/EmpoweringCommunityColleges_final.pdf
Blumenstyk, G. (2018). With Employers in the Mix, Can Badges Become More Than a
Fad? The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from
https://www.chronicle.com/article/With-Employers-in-the-Mix-Can/244322
Brooks-Jeffiers, P. & Tracy, R. (2015) Using digital badges for competency-based
recognition. The Evolllution. Retrieved from
https://evolllution.com/programming/credentials/using-digital-badges-for-
competency-based-recognition/
Casilli, C., & Hickey, D. (2016). Transcending Conventional Credentialing and
Assessment Paradigms With Information-rich Digital Badges. The Information
Society, 32(2), 117-129.
Colorado Department of Education (2017). Digital Badges and CPASS, Answers to
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APPENDICES
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Appendix A
ELP PROPOSAL
Abstract
Digital badges have the potential to capture and communicate authentic
learning experiences and achievements as micro credentials to faculty and potential
employers. Digital badges may help students to develop career-ready skills and better
communicate what students know and are able to do once in the world of work (Carey
2012; Erikson, 2015; Raish & Rimland, 2016). Digital badges signify
accomplishments, such as the completion of a project or mastery of a skill. Badges
include online access to viewable artifacts that provide evidence of learning to
employers and other key audiences. Being digital and openly accessible means these
badges can be shared through electronic portfolios, social and professional networks
such as Facebook and LinkedIn. In response to the demands of the 21st century
workplace, Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC) has identified that it
would like to incorporate innovative programming such as digital badges and this has
been explicitly stated in the 2017-2021 College Strategic Directions (Delaware
Technical Community College Strategic Directions, 2019). However, DTCC has not
been responsive to prepare for these differentiated learning opportunities. Research
shows the promise of digital badges, but there is too little being done at to DTCC to
explore and develop these online competencies, where there are internal and external
obstacles to the adoption and implementation of digital badges. The intention of this
Education Leadership Portfolio (ELP) is to employ digital badges in a second-year
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capstone Business course and evaluate how badges work so as to bridge the gap
between student accomplishments and workplace readiness. The study findings will
inform DTCC whether digital badges will be worth implementing more widely,
following recommendations that will be based on the findings.
Introduction to Digital Badging
Today’s definition of student success while in college has evolved. College
graduates need to be able to draw from the skills developed in multiple arenas, yet the
skills students learn in one space are rarely acknowledged or valued in others. In
visualizing student accomplishments through digital badging, educators and employers
can better see their full range of potential. Digital badges have the potential to be
effective tools to help guide, recognize, assess and spur learning (Fontichiaro &
Elkordy, 2015). These snippets of digital information can capture and recognize skills
not evidenced by traditional testing, such as critical thinking, teamwork and effective
communication. Devedžić & Jovanović (2015) identify that digital badges can offer
new ways of motivating learners and scaffolding the learning process. Students may
have a competitive advantage in telling their story to prospective employers with
badges. In addition, digital badges have the capacity to transform the way students
share their academic accomplishments.
Today, employers are looking for ways to identify individuals who have the
specific skills that go beyond traditional coursework, such as teamwork, soft skills and
problem solving, which digital badging evidence can provide. Fong, Janzow, & Peck
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(2016) indicate that alternative credentialing can play a critical role in revenue
planning for future success in academic institutions. However, badging credentialing
may not be widely valued by the DTCC faculty, staff and students due to lack of
knowledge of what badges are and communication of their importance to the College
strategy. It will be necessary to find out the perception of these key stakeholders to see
if the development, implementation and use of badges will be accepted as an
important evolving opportunity and strategy for the future. Hickey (2017) states that if
post-secondary institutions disregard electronic credentialing now it will be like
“retailers who dismissed e-commerce twenty years ago” (p. 1). This ELP project aims
to thoroughly examine the perceived value, benefits, concerns, and challenges related
to digital badging from the perspectives of DTCC stakeholders including faculty,
advisory board members, local employers and students.
Organizational Context
Mission and Vision. Delaware Technical Community College was created by
the Delaware General Assembly in 1966 and is the only community college in
Delaware (Delaware Technical Community College, n.d). There are four different
campus locations throughout the state of Delaware in all three counties, Kent, Sussex
and New Castle. The Orlando J. George campus, located in the heart of downtown
Wilmington serves New Castle County, where more than half of Delaware’s
population lives. DTCC is an open-access institution that is accredited by the Middle
States Association of Colleges and Schools. According to the website, “the campus
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encourages and supports diversity by providing educational opportunities that
facilitate growth and promote educational advancement.” Its original slogan was “a
job for every graduate, a graduate for every job” (Delaware Technical Community
College, 2019). The mission of the DTCC is listed on the website as follows:
Delaware Technical Community College is a statewide multi-campus

community college committed to providing affordable, open admission,
postsecondary education that is relevant and responsive to labor market and
community needs. The College offers comprehensive educational opportunities
that contribute to the economic vitality of the State, including career, general,
developmental, and transfer education; workforce development; and lifelong
learning. The College respects its students as individuals and as members of
diverse groups and is committed to fostering student success in higher
education as a means to economic and personal advancement (Delaware
Technical Community College, 2019).
The 2016-2020 vision statement for DTCC is made up of seven parts, which
state that DTCC will be dedicated to providing innovative instructional practices, fuel
the economic success of the state of Delaware, create innovative pathways to advance
career and education of students, cultivate industry, government, and donor
partnerships, harness media to elevate its reputation, be driven by a culture of inquiry,
and support flexibility and responsiveness (Delaware Technical Community College,
n.d.). DTCC serves a very diverse population of students throughout the state of
Delaware.
Demographics. According to the 2017-2018 DTCC Common Data Set, the
College’s total enrollment was divided into 9 distinct demographic populations, and
reported 52.4 percent of the student population identifying as white, 24.6 percent
African American, and 11.5 percent Hispanic (DTCC website, 2019). In addition, the
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student body is reported as 62.8 percent female and 37.2 percent male and student
enrollment status is 67 percent part-time and 33 percent full-time.
DTCC has a business administration department that grants Associate of
Applied Science degrees in areas such as accounting, management, marketing,
hospitality management, logistics, supply chain and operations management,
entrepreneurship, as well as two general business programs. The number of graduates
in these business concentrations has averaged over 225 students collegewide in the
past four years. The largest business program is housed at the George campus in
Wilmington, with the number of graduates all of these programs averaging 103
students annually for the years 2016 through 2018. In destination surveys completed
by DTCC’s graduates each year, approximately 50% of business graduates at the
George campus indicate their intention to continue their education at four-year
institutions, with the remainder seeking part or full-time employment immediately
after graduation.
Strategic Directions. As a director in the Instructional Division at DTCC, I
am charged with identifying goals in the business department and strategically
collaborating with my collegewide counterparts to identify trends and institute
relevant programming. During my tenure, I have had opportunities to serve on various
collegewide and campus committees. I have been part of the Campus Planning
Council since 2014. In 2016, I was chosen to be part of the Strategic Directions
Development Task Force, along with other faculty, staff and administrators
collegewide. We were tasked with researching and justifying what the most
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compelling educational trends were, along with opportunities and threats, and to
communicate these to the college at large. The Strategic Directions document was
compiled and written from our research and five overarching trends were identified in
order to further the accomplishment of the College’s mission and vision. The
document serves as the foundation for developing strategic goals in the College and
Campus Plans. The committee found the following recurrent themes:
 Funding/Affordability/Cost
 Increasing Regulations
 Workforce Needs
 Changing Demographics
 Data-driven Society
 Technology Advancements/Cybersecurity
For the duration of the five-year period 2017-2021, the document is published
on the college website, based on the mission and goals of the College, where the
number one directive is the following:
Advance the delivery of innovative instructional offerings, such as pathways and

stackable credentials, to meet competitive workforce needs and increase
educational and career opportunities for students. (Delaware Technical
Community College Strategic Directions, 2019, p. 7)
Drilling down further, one of the key areas listed within the Strategic Directions
document was the Community and Industry Partnerships Overarching Trend which
states: “Changing employer demands, limited resources, and evolving industry
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credentials will require colleges to expand and sustain meaningful partnerships with
individuals, business and industry, educational institutions, and government to ensure
value is maintained and stakeholder needs are met” (p. 8). This document further
describes that “stackable and innovative credentials, such as digital badges, provide
students with more opportunities and career pathways by demonstrating valued
competencies and skills to employers” (p. 9). The College’s stance has identified that
digital badges, are a directive that will need to be carefully considered. Piloting the
digital badging initiative, along with the accompanying recommendations will help to
inform the College whether these are a valued addition to the business curriculum and
may be a bellwether by consideration for other departments.
Problem Statement
Although the DTCC Strategic Directions document was launched in late 2016
with the intent of increasing administrative awareness and capacity within the College,
there have not been any digital badges implemented within the Instructional Division.
Research shows the promise of digital badges, but there is too little being done at to
DTCC to explore and develop them. Additionally, there is a critical issue that
employers perceive graduates lack in career ready skills needed for workplace success
(University System of Maryland William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation,
2018). There are internal and external obstacles to the adoption and implementation of
digital badges which will be discussed in this ELP. By conducting a digital badging
pilot in the BUS275 capstone course in the Business department, I will be able to see
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if the results parallel results reported nationally in the research literature. The study
findings will inform whether digital badge credentials are valued and will help to
gauge whether DTCC should consider implementing digital badges on a broader scale.
Arguments Surrounding Digital Badges
Student Opportunities. Badges are worthy of review for several reasons.
Students are already engaged in opportunities for badging in their daily lives when
gaming (Abramovich, 2016). The Pew Research Center has documented the
continuing rise of gaming and mobile apps that incorporate digital badges as awards
that can be shared with others (Horrigan, 2016). In addition, digital badges are
currently being employed in courses as authentic tools to motivate students (Devedžić
& Jovanović, 2015; Finkelstein, Knight, & Manning, 2015). Digital badges can be
used as formative and summative assessments that specify precise knowledge and
skills that were mastered by students. Digital badges present a more granular level of
student learning recognition rather than just a grade, where traditional assessments and
grades are not the only way to determine evidence of achievement.
Digital badging implementation may have a positive impact on future course
and curriculum design, but is not well known. According to Abramovich (2016),
badges can be important supplements and add another dimension to the learning
process. Much like a start-up organization trying to enter into a new market, new ideas
such as open badges, require brand awareness by consumers in order to gain
acceptance. Farmer & West (2016) indicate that many key decision makers in business
and education are not fully aware of digital badging potential. Digital badges achieved
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by students can portray descriptive data, are easily searchable, and could help with
matching prospective employers. By piloting digital badging, there will be an
opportunity to build faculty and employer awareness and buy-in.
Faculty Challenges. Traditional academic culture at DTCC may not support
addressing and assessing learning achievements through digital badging and will be an
obstacle to change. There are numerous challenges faced by faculty, including
increased workload, the inevitability of continual change and the constant struggle of
inertia. Lehrich (2018) states that those postsecondary institutions that value tradition
at the expense of academic innovation face the risk of obsolescence. Without much
research and information that points to the academic value of digital badging, many
faculty may be unwilling to devote large amounts of time to the exploration of this
topic. However, as Archbald (2014) discusses, improvement in the short run can only
take place by changes in the organizational condition. Finding new and better ways to
provide students with value is essential in an increasingly competitive and complex
environment of higher education and is a critical element of my leadership role as a
department head.
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Advisory Board Communication and Input
Our business department advisory board and local employers are other
important stakeholders that will need to consider how digital badging is perceived.
According to the American Council on Higher Education (2016), students have
difficulty articulating their knowledge, skills and abilities on résumés and online
profiles. Raish & Rimland (2016) identify that employers would like to have more
detailed representations of student skills. It will be important for me to inform our
local prospective employer network about these digital opportunities and to gauge
whether digital badging would be supported as accepted credentials. Employer
acceptance is viewed as a driving force for development and long-term success of
digital badges (Ericson, 2015; Hickey, Willis & Quick, 2017). Technology is ever
changing in education and digital badges as an emerging form of non-traditional
credentialing may be the tipping point for recognition.
According to Fong, et al. (2016), a study conducted by the University
Professional Continuing Association reported that one in five colleges have issued
digital badges and badges are gaining traction. The need for an approach to help
prepare students to be ready for the workforce is warranted. However, research has
revealed that employers have concerns that graduates lack career-ready skills such as
teamwork and problem solving. For example, Hart Research Associates (2016)
reported findings from surveys on behalf of the National Association of Colleges and
Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2018 and identified sizeable gaps between
employers’ ratings of skills that are essential to new hires and their ratings of recent
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graduates with proficiency in those skills. Results of the study showed that employers
also were receptive to see an electronic portfolio of work that included digital badges,
which helped to summarize and demonstrate student accomplishments. The barriers
and opportunities of digital badges are summarized in Table A-1.
Table A-1 Challenges and opportunities associated with digital badges
Faculty issues Advisory Board issues Student opportunities

Buy-in for evidence of Graduates lack soft skills Game elements may
learning increase student
engagement
Increased workload Difficult to measure Co-curricular competency
badges credibility and attainment
authenticity
Changing assessments Can help with personal
branding
Standards for rigor
Improvement Goal
It will be my role to lead faculty to learn about ways to increase digital badging
readiness in the classroom and to foster acceptance. It is also important for me to be
able to communicate to all our key stakeholders how this digital badging initiative can
effect positive change in assessing and documenting student learning that can connect
to hiring needs and employability. Our department can be the model for the rest of the
institution to build adoption through identifying a clear value proposition. Digital
badges can supplement our existing academic systems with alternative credentials that
increase the return on investment for business students, by improving the economic
impact of those who graduate, and by providing some degree of value to those who do
not.
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An improvement goal of this ELP project is to communicate the potential of
digital badging and to understand the perception of the collegewide Business faculty,
administration, advisory boards and local employers. This formative evaluation of the
perception of digital badging at DTCC will allow for iteration and improvement of
business programming. As a leader at DTCC who wants to see the college fulfill its
mission, I would like for students to be able to better communicate their value in the
workforce; this ELP will ascertain whether integrating digital badges will help
increase positive stakeholder perception. Currently, it is not clear whether DTCC
faculty are aware of what digital badging is and it will be important to assess their
views. I will administer a short online survey to collegewide Business faculty to assess
their perception of digital badges to contribute to recommendations for DTCC based
on the findings.
Consultation with our campus and collegewide advisory board members will
be necessary to better inform them of the potential value of digital badges and to make
sure that the skills needed to earn a badge also matter in the workplace. I conducted a
preliminary interactive presentation at a collegewide Advisory Board meeting in
October 2018 to communicate what digital badges are and how badges can signal
unacknowledged achievements. Most of the feedback was positive; however, the
largest concern was how to manage digital badges to make sure that badges are
credible and the proper information is being showcased for proper valuation. From this
initial conversation, most members wanted to learn more about badges and this shows
the need for increasing awareness about digital badging. According to Friedman
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(2016), hiring managers want to see skill sets and endorsements, and also want to see
the complete profile of that candidate, which includes badges as micro credentials. In
addition to the faculty, I will administer another short survey to our Advisory Board
and other local employers. Survey results will help to quantify whether these
stakeholders view digital badges as valuable for hiring and level of trust and
acceptance of digital badges as verifiable symbols of skills and competencies.
Digital badges can help provide a cohesive path from learning in school to the
workplace. Today’s learners wish to present themselves digitally, and digital badging
is an effective means in which to do so. With the increasing availability and
assortment of online education, more people are choosing to learn new skills outside
of the traditional college format (Accredible.com, 2018). Along with faculty and
advisory members, I will also be implementing a short survey to students to find out
their perception about digital badges. At the end of the pilot, I will also interview
students to see the perception of digital badges as mechanisms of recognition and
achievement for prospective employers and transfer institutions. By coding their
responses, I can discover themes according to the students’ experiences after receiving
the badges. Comparing students’ self-reported experiences to faculty perceptions will
help to triangulate data in this study.
Ideally, this digital badging pilot could lead to joint ventures with employers,
as well as more consistent job opportunities for students with these companies.
Students would be able to gain a better narrative about their skills to use in job
interview settings. By incorporating real life scenarios captured in a documented
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badge, the badge will help students to have a stronger drive, appreciate their learning,
and have understanding beyond just the letter grade (Brooks-Jeffiers & Tracy, 2015).
This local digital badging pilot will help to show whether we need to expand our
academic offerings at DTCC. Eventually developing our own in house badges with
DTCC branding may be something to consider after gaining wider acceptance.
However, there are considerable barriers to create our own badges at DTCC, where
there is quite a long vetting process through the Curriculum Committee, along with
additional scrutiny in guidance from the Center for Creative Instructional Technology
(CCIT) and the entire Instructional Technology division, and methodical alignment at
each campus collegewide.
Digital Badge Best Practices
Key best practices at other nationwide higher education institutions show
support for digital badging initiatives. The existing literature primarily discusses the
potential of badges as a complement to traditional academic credentials, especially in
terms of competency-based learning. Badges are also recognized as a motivator for
students to pursue opportunities that will help them to become career ready
(University of Maryland, 2016; Feldstein, 2016). There is a notable lack of discussion
addressing instructional design considerations to promote digital badging in higher
education (Gibson et al. 2015; Hickey et al. 2014). According to Fain (2016), most
institutions have initiated an outside company to get this form of alternative
credentialing to gain acceptance. Examining existing examples is a good way to
inform and inspire stakeholders of the potential for digital badges in terms of
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providing a pathway to employability. Some recent examples of Business school
initiatives follow:
 Graduates of Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business can
show potential employers a digital badge earned for Event Leadership or
Mobile Programming and share this on social media, LinkedIn profiles and
personal websites (Rubin, 2018).
 The University of Maryland has begun piloting digital badges to help students
to communicate their career ready skills as part of a broad academic
transformation (Kelly, 2018). The William E. Kirwan Center for Academic
Innovation has developed the Badging Essential Skills for Transitions
(B.E.S.T.) initiative to enhance the career-readiness of students across the
University System of Maryland.
 Colorado Community College System has a badging program that has been
developed with area employers and the students have been actively recruited
by companies looking for entry level employees with those skills (Feldstein,
2016).
These examples show that the introduction of badging is gaining momentum in
higher education. Developing a similar digital badging model would be a long term
goal for the DTCC Business department.
As noted by the American Association of Community Colleges (2014), student
experiences need to be redesigned to incorporate more work-based, hands-on, and
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technology enriched learning. These recommendations state that digital badges would
support the documentation of students’ acquired competencies and promote
achievement of national, state, and individual goals for increased educational
attainment and sustained economic competitiveness (p. 43). The National Association
of Colleges and Employers (NACE) identified eight competencies underpinning career
readiness for college graduates in their 2014 Career Readiness Initiative (NACE, n.d.).
These competencies include Critical Thinking/Problem Solving, Oral/Written
Communications, Teamwork/Collaboration, Information Technology Application,
Leadership, Professionalism/Work Ethic, Career Management, and Global
Intercultural Fluency. These standards will be important to use as a framework for a
badging initiative and are shown in Table A-2.
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Table A-2 NACE Career Readiness Competencies
NACE Career Readiness Description of Competencies

Competencies
Critical Thinking/Problem Exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make
Solving decisions, and overcome problems. The individual is able
to obtain, interpret, and use knowledge, facts, and data in
this process, and may demonstrate originality and
inventiveness.
Oral/Written Articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in
Communications written and oral forms to persons inside and outside of the
organization. The individual has public speaking skills; is
able to express ideas to others; and can write/edit memos,
letters, and complex technical reports clearly and
effectively.
Teamwork/Collaboration Build collaborative relationships with colleagues and
customers representing diverse cultures, races, ages,
genders, religions, lifestyles, and viewpoints. The
individual is able to work within a team structure, and can
negotiate and manage conflict.
Information Technology Leverage existing digital technologies ethically and
Application efficiently to solve problems, complete tasks, and
accomplish goals. The individual demonstrates effective
adaptability to new and emerging technologies.
Leadership Leverage the strengths of others to achieve common
goals, and use interpersonal skills to coach and develop
others. The individual is able to assess and manage his/her
emotions and those of others; use empathetic skills to
guide and motivate; and organize, prioritize, and delegate
work.
Professionalism/Work Demonstrate personal accountability and effective work
Ethic habits, e.g., punctuality, working productively with
others, and time workload management, and understand
the impact of non-verbal communication on professional
work image. The individual demonstrates integrity and
ethical behavior, acts responsibly with the interests of the
larger community in mind, and is able to learn from
his/her mistakes.
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NACE Career Readiness Description of Competencies
Competencies
Career Management Identify and articulate one's skills, strengths, knowledge,
and experiences relevant to the position desired and career
goals, and identify areas necessary for professional
growth. The individual is able to navigate and explore job
options, understands and can take the steps necessary to
pursue opportunities, and understands how to self-
advocate for opportunities in the workplace.
Global Intercultural Value, respect, and learn from diverse cultures, races,
Fluency ages, genders, sexual orientations, and religions. The
individual demonstrates, openness, inclusiveness,
sensitivity, and the ability to interact respectfully with all
people and understand individuals’ differences.
Retrieved from https://www.naceweb.org/career-readiness/competencies/career-
readiness-defined/
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NACE indicates in this study that the candidates who can demonstrate their
career readiness will have a competitive advantage in landing a job upon graduation
(n.d).
Longer term planning will need to take place to build overall awareness and
sustained acceptance to the institutional culture at DTCC. To be effective, changes
will need to have the appropriate resources with administrative support. In addition,
these may have to be formalized through policy and curriculum changes. Solutions
would involve creating professional development and strengthened incentives for
faculty to collaborate and create digital badges. We will need to carefully consider
how to include faculty in each aspect of development, implementation and evaluation
in order to capitalize on opportunities to increase faculty buy-in. These strategies are
showcased in the Digital Badging Logic Model shown in Artifact 2.

Purpose of Study
Small scale implementation of digital badging in the Business department
could provide a model for support and adoption in other departments. I plan to
integrate badges by piloting the Pearson Career Success (PCS) EPortfolio Foliotek
program in BUS275, Portfolio/Experiential Learning, which is an integrative capstone
course for all business students at DTCC. This course is designed to prepare students
with the workplace skills necessary for professional job placement and increase
transferability and career success. The addition of these online competencies would
help business students communicate their career-ready skills and could be the first of
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many to follow. The focus on academic work alone is not enough and career support
will help our students to be ready for the workforce or next steps for transfer to
another institution.
The digital badges that students will earn will translate into a portable and
useful credentialing tool that will be showcased in the professional e-portfolio that the
students have to create in the BUS275 capstone course. Digital badges with
accompanying metadata can be a transparent mechanism for showcasing artifacts of
the activity represented (Gibson, Ostashewshi, Flintoff, Grant, & Knight, 2013; Strunk
& Willis, 2017). The badges can also be displayed on social networks, such as
LinkedIn, which are viewable by prospective employers. People are increasingly
curating their personal and professional identity and digital badges are a transferrable
professional credential that will serve prospective employers with important
information. The badges can help students to communicate a better narrative about
their skills to use in job interviews.
Badges are touted as symbols of learning achievement and pioneer digital
badge researcher Daniel Hickey (2017) reported that badges should have a common
framework of evidence of what the badges signify, how the badge should be
interpreted and how the badge can be used in higher education. There are several
criteria for selecting a digital badge system that would accommodate our needs at
DTCC. First, the system should be compliant with Mozilla’s Open Badge
Infrastructure standards. These standards identify the technical specifications which
define the requirements for what a badge must represent. Each Open Badge is
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associated with an image and information about the badge, the issuer and the earner
and is what enables students to share and display their accomplishments on social
networks. (Open Badges, 2019). Second, a badging implementation has to be
something that the college can realistically support and maintain. Third, badges needs
to have rigorous formative and summative assessment built in, as purported by Hickey
(2017). Finally, the digital badges needs to integrate with the College’s new learning
management system, Desire to Learn (D2L). This is, in part, due to the considerable
time that our instructors already spend on D2L, so faculty are reasonably familiar with
it. D2L is a viable repository for holding and presenting the badge content.
Pearson Career Success Foliotek EPortfolio Program
Because of the reality of time constraints, the affordances of technology, and
the institutional approval challenges, I will use a vendor delivered badging system
through Pearson Higher Education in this ELP study. After considering many options,
I chose to incorporate the Pearson Career Success (PCS) EPortfolio Foliotek program.
The digital badge competencies that are found in the PCS program are crucial to the
workplace. The PCS program currently offers the following digital badges within the
Personal and Social Capabilities framework shown in Figure A-1 (Pearson, 2018).
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Pearson Personal and Social Capabilities Framework
Figure A-1 Pearson Personal and Social Capabilities Framework
Retrieved from https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-
com/us/en/files/CAREM6764-12033-CareerSuccess-BOM-WebOverhaul-Flyer-
alpha.pdf
All of these characteristics fall under the umbrella of soft skills, which are
often some of the most difficult competencies for people to understand and can be a
differentiating factor in hiring, along with success on the job. Students will be able to
showcase verifiable digital credentials to potential employers. One of the measurable
learning objectives in the BUS275 course includes students must be able to exhibit
professional behaviors. The PCS badges also parallel the competencies found in the
NACE Career Readiness Initiative framework (National Association of Colleges and
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Employers (n.d.). Figures A-2 and A-3 exhibit what skills are learned by students in
the first module.
Figure A-2 Personal and Social Capabilities Digital Credentials Collaboration and
Teamwork
Retrieved from https://www.youracclaim.com/org/pearson-
readiness/badge/collaboration-and-teamwork-knowledge-level-1
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Figure A-3 Collaboration and Teamwork Knowledge Level One
Retrieved from https://www.youracclaim.com/org/pearson-
readiness/badge/collaboration-and-teamwork-knowledge-level-1
The Collaboration and Teamwork badge image shows an example of the
metadata associated with a particular badge and viewers can access relevant
information about the badge. Once a student has attained the badge, it will show the
title, criteria to earn it, issuer details, along with an issue and expiration date. A
computer mouse can hover over the entire badge for a more in depth description of
what the student has accomplished to obtain the badge. Pearson has partnered with
Acclaim, based on Mozilla’s Open Badge standard and this platform was acquired by
Credly in 2018 (Craig, 2018). Credly has issued millions of digital credentials and the
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demand is growing rapidly amongst employers. Credly hosts the majority of
credentials most commonly found in job postings and many of the top certifications
found on LinkedIn.
Our DTCC Business Technologies Advisory Board has communicated that
demonstrable skills, such as soft skills and teamwork, are particularly important when
hiring students and are relevant to the workplace. Goodyear & Nathan-Roberts (2017)
reported that students are motivated to develop soft skills to help with their own
personal branding or a job in the future. Therefore, being able to have proof of these
skills as badges will help students become encouraged to have a valid and visual
representation of work completed.
Organizational Role
I began working at DTCC in 2007 as a full-time Hospitality Management
instructor in the Business Technologies Department. I became more involved with the
leadership and decisions of the Business Technologies Department after moving into
an Instructional Coordinator role in 2012. In 2016, I was appointed as the Acting
Instructional Director and Department Chair and became permanent effective in 2018.
Employees designated as Instructional Directors have expanded Department
Chairperson administrative duties and responsibilities through leadership of multiple
programs that are large and complex. I am responsible for leadership in developing the
department's academic programs within the mission of the College. Additionally, I am
accountable for informing the department of the perspectives and actions of the Dean
of Instruction and other administrators that might affect the department.
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The Instructional Director position warrants me to oversee and direct eight
academic majors and one certificate program with an enrollment of approximately 700
students. I supervise nine full time faculty and staff, approximately twenty-five
adjunct instructors, and a staffed student success tutoring lab (the Business
Center/Accounting Lab). Some additional responsibilities include coordinating
programming collegewide, managing instructional quality, documenting Student
Learning Outcomes Assessment, collaborating with the Student Affairs Division to
host career-oriented events, maintaining the student Business Club and
communicating with an active Business Advisory Board, but these are not an
exhaustive list. While the position is mostly administrative, student advisement and
teaching is a primary focus. My teaching load includes three to six credits each
semester, where I teach at least one face-to-face course per semester and have
committed to teaching at least one online course each term. I have been fortunate to
have the opportunity to develop curriculum and to teach eighteen different Business
courses over the years.
My role as the Instructional Director is integrally connected with student
success through graduation and beyond. I believe that students should be able to get
transparent and readily verifiable credentials for each stage of their educational
journey. DTCC has been able to incorporate stackable certifications in many other
courses, including some business courses. Individual courses have their own inherent
educational value, not just a stepping stone to complete a degree. Perhaps digital
badging micro credentials can help our stakeholders recognize that intrinsic value. The
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delivery of digital badging through the PCS program may help tip the scale in favor of
hiring a business student who otherwise shares the same GPA and degree credentials
as other prospective applicants. Moving forward, it will be crucial to ensure that any
badges that we develop or incorporate have rigor and evidence.
Taking on the implementation of digital badging will contribute to my
professional growth in numerous ways. First, incorporating digital badging will
strengthen my ability to innovatively update curriculum and initiate change in my
department. In addition, I will get to practice using primary data to inform my decision
making. I want to be able to more clearly determine whether digital badging will be a
value add to the curriculum and to our stakeholders. This ELP project will enable me
to gain more insights leading to more improvement in facilitating learning.
In sum, post-secondary education is a dynamic space constantly ebbing and
flowing with new trends and it has been increasingly hard to justify the value of
degrees and credentials. Digital badges are becoming more prevalent in higher
education and can give a transparent picture of a student’s experience and
qualifications (Hickey, 2017). Student employability is a priority; however, Wright
(2016) suggests that may take years to figure out how to measure how badges will
contribute to helping to get a job. Though Fain (2016) optimistically writes, digital
badges have the potential to be earned by people long after graduation and will
become more useful as the knowledge economy matures. He asserts, “People should
own the evidence of their own achievements – skills that have been verified by a third
party should be a very valuable currency” (p. 1). As an educational leader, I have been
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charged with incorporating sustainable innovative instructional practices, while
providing valuable applied training experiences for our students. Digital badging
seems to be a chicken-and-egg problem where it will be challenging to implement
without faculty and employer support and badges will not be supported until it is
implemented. By investigating digital badging through this pilot in the business
department at DTCC, I can better determine whether badges will be considered a
sustainable educational innovation that can be useful in other departments.
Description of Planned Artifacts
The artifacts shown in Table A-3 help to understand the problem of digital
badging at DTCC by investigating the perception of faculty, students and advisory
board members; address the problem by implementing a digital badge pilot; assess the
effectiveness of the results by analyzing the data and comparing it to national results;
and communicating recommendations based on the ELP findings.
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Artifact Table
Table A-3 List of Supporting Artifacts for the ELP
# Artifact Type Audience Description Action Plans Timeline Status

Steps For
IRB
1 Nationwide Research Committee This paper is Completed Summer
literature paper a discussion prior to 18 Complete
review adapted from of history, ELP
EDUC 828 current and
coursework best
practices.
2 Logic Model Actionable Committee Visual Spring 19 Spring 19 Complete
plan adapted Communic-
from ation of
EDUC863 goals,
coursework activities and
outcomes
3 Presentation Leadership Committee Presentations Fall 18 and 1) Fall 18 1)
Documents to documents to build Spring 19 Complete Complete
collegewide employing awareness d
(1) and communic- and capacity
Campus ations for our 2) 2) In
Advisory regarding Advisory Meeting progress
Boards (2) perception Board scheduled
and the members for
proposed 4/12/19
digital
badging
initiative
4 Digital Badge Curriculum Committee A Spring 19 Spring 19 Complete
Dimensions of documents description
the Pearson of the badge
Career names,
Success (PCS) description,
EPortfolio and the
Foliotek learning
program outcomes
5 Survey Comparison Committee This Spring 19 Spring 19 Complete

Alignment of local document
Matrix results vs. will list
nationwide survey
results questions,
sources and
then list a
comparison
of local vs.
national
results using
similar
questions
104
# Artifact Type Audience Description Action Plans Timeline Status
Steps For
IRB
6 Digital Badge Data analysis Business The Deploy for Yes Spring In process
perception to present Instructors, presentation Summer 2019
Survey data DTCC of the data 19. Need
collected as Faculty, collected IRB
bellwether students, with provide approval
for College Advisory information for use and
academic Board surrounding interview
department members, implementati data from
usage based local on of digital DTCC and
on employers badging and approval of
recommend- will assess the VP of
ations readiness Academic
and will help Affairs
to provide
recommend-
ations on
moving
forward.
7 Student Structured Committee After the Complete Yes Fall 19 In process
interview questions for pilot is in Fall 19
qualitative implemented after
analysis – an conducting
interview pilot. Need
will provide IRB
a more approval
robust for use and
picture of interview
who our data from
students are DTCC and
and discuss approval of
their the VP of
experience Academic
and Affairs
perceptions.
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Appendix B
ARTIFACT 1: LITERATURE REVIEW OF DIGITAL BADGES
Introduction
This literature review explores some of the relevant aspects of employing
digital badges in higher education. The literature reviewed focuses on the history,
standards, opportunities and challenges, contextual usage in higher education, and the
nation’s perspective with the use of best practices, along with the theoretical
framework that surrounds digital badging implementation.
There has been intense competition for a college degree and commoditization
has driven higher educational institutions to innovate. Retrofitting community college
with alternative digital educational opportunities that focus on in-demand and
contemporary skills requires adapting to new models and technology solutions for
competency based learning. There have been many transformations in education, such
as digital badges, stackable certifications, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
and the evolution of industry "boot camps", or short term skills based options that can
challenge or supplement a college degree. Many educators and administrators are
cognizant of efforts to extend traditional education with innovations such as digital
badges and e-portfolios (Mangan, 2015; Hickey, 2017). Digital badging has been a
major educational disruption because of the ability to quickly showcase what students
were learning and what the student can do as a result of their time in college (Ellis,
Nunn & Avela, 2016; Arnett, 2017). Digital badges are seen as a catalyst for change
because badges contain criteria based evidence of learning, badges are web-enabled,
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and this metadata are easily shared over social networks (Diaz, 2013; Hickey, 2017).
The value proposition of digital badging is that badges identify new competencies that
can help to develop a personal brand and can be a signal for future employers and
prospective institutions. Badges are different than grades, certificates and transcripts,
but badges continue to have contentious consideration in higher education.
According to The Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and
Collaboratory, known as HASTAC (2018), digital badges are a validated visual
representation of achievements, learning, skills and competencies that can be learned
in many learning environments. Today’s learning is no longer just an individual
concept, it extends across multiple contexts and experiences and digital badges are
rapidly evolving as objects of use in teaching and learning (Gibson, Ostashewshi,
Flintoff, Grant & Knight, 2013). Digital badges garner meaningful learning
opportunities but are plagued with much debate.
The Context of Digital Badging
Traditional learning institutions use grades, degrees, diplomas, licenses and
certificates to identify progress and proficiency. Twenty-first century skills are not a
new concept, despite the fact that students’ success in the classroom and in the
workforce requires that their educational experiences both reflect the digital world and
equip them to engage with it. Digital technologies have made it possible for students
to learn anywhere, anytime, from anyone, and on any device (Thomas & Brown,
2011). It is arguable whether digital badges would have gained the traction badges
have were it not for economic and policy conditions that make the window of
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opportunity ripe for an innovative system of alternative credentials. In 2011, Secretary
Arne Duncan of the U.S. Department of Education announced that badges can more
accurately measure competency, (U.S. Department of Education, 2011, n.p.).
The web has enabled increasing access to information to each other, and it also
provides a platform for many new ways to learn. University at Buffalo education
professor Sam Abramovich expounds, “Learning is often so valuable to success in life,
and it’s often ignored by formal educational processes. The power of the digital badge
is that it provides assessment for what normally goes ignored,” (Anzalone, 2015, para
14). There have been implementation of badges designed to reflect online learning in
websites such as codeacademy.com or khanacademy.com; however, badges are still
not mainstream in traditional classrooms (Goodyear & Roberts, 2017). In addition to
providing a convenient and valid way of showcasing a student’s skill set, the literature
has also reported that badges and badge systems have shown to promote motivation,
self-regulated learning, teamwork and can be used as a flexible assessment model
(Fontichiaro & Elkordy, 2015; Brooks-Jeffiers & Tracy, 2016; Goodyear & Roberts,
2017). Fain (2106) discuss that the badges serve as a form of verified “three
dimensional transcript” which can augment a traditional degree (para. 3.) While digital
badges offer promise, there are many concerns about value, scope and assessment
practices and many institutions are not ready to implement this emerging practice.
Theoretical Framework
In a review of the empirical literature concerning digital badges, there are
touchpoints which focus on different perspectives, including pedagogy, motivation
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and social practices. Wills & Xie (2016) identify the theoretical framework which
underpins digital badging and addresses the design and application of digital badges.
These researchers suggest that badging is entrenched in behaviorism. As stated by
Bransford, Brown, & Cocking (2000) in How People Learn, behaviorists consider that
learning is based on observable behavior that is based on environmental conditions
and a process of forming connections between stimuli and responses. Numerous
studies have considered the motivational context in which badges are discussed in
education (Anh, Pelicon, & Butler, 2014). There seems to be a divide on consensus of
rewards, where some that worry that students will focus on accumulating the badges,
rather than the transfer of learning. In the case of digital badges, recognition is not
necessarily a reward, but specifically marks a competency that is meaningful and
specific and specifies goal completion (Wills & Xie, 2016, p. 266). The motivating
element in badging is derived in part, from gamification and has the potential to keep
students significantly more engaged in academic achievement (Goodyear & Nathan-
Roberts, 2017).
Pedagogical practices that are designed to enhance the student learning process
is an educational imperative. Lowyck (2014) supports that the motivational aspect of
badging is consistent with cognitivist theories, which state that learning occurs when
new knowledge is connected to prior knowledge in a meaningful way. Many digital
badge systems provide learners with ways to progressively build on prior
competencies. The badges can be a reward mechanism that offers feedback to the
learners. This view represents Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal
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Development (ZPD), where the learner can reflect on their accomplishments and
adjust their goals accordingly (Wills & Xie, 2016). Feedback in terms of extrinsically
motivating rewards as a way of recognition and promotes self-regulated learning
(Lowyck, 2014). Learner centered approaches can change the teaching experience.
Anh, et al. (2014) discuss badges can be used as a digital tool to visualize the
learning path of content and activities and these can be used as a symbol of what
knowledge and skills are valued. These authors also denote that the process of learning
also requires human interaction, such as mentors, actively guiding or scaffolding the
process (p. 4). Vgotsky and the ZPD highlights the importance of internalizing ideas
and learning through interactions with others guided by peer or adults (Nyikos &
Hashimoto, 1997, p. 506). He believed that social interaction with others, along with
context and culture, contributes to learning and development. There are other
important theories behind digital badges that may be integral to the mainstream
adoption of digital badging, such as the theory of game based learning, the diffusion of
innovation theory and the technology acceptance model.
Opportunities and Challenges of Open Digital Badging
Researchers Jovanović & Devedžić (2014) discuss many factors leading to the
emergence of open badges, such as the increasing dissatisfaction of standardized
testing, the rising need for proper assessment and recognition of subject specific
competencies, as well as generic ones, demand for changing requirements of the
workplace, and a growing open education movement. A growing number of post-
secondary institutions are using digital badges to help display skills and
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accomplishments that transcripts fail to capture. At a time when evidence of
competencies sought after, there is a quest for something more meaningful than the
old school version of a typical student transcript, which have the potential to capture
more of what students are learning both inside and outside the classroom. Mangan
(2015) indicates that students could highlight the specific learning outcomes gained in
the courses. Badges can be an important supplement to more established educational
assessments and add another nontraditional dimension to the learning process
(Anzalone, 2013; Abramovich, 2016; Fain, 2016). These authors suggest that badges
may provide more authentic learning opportunities. A 2015 article on ISTE.com
states, “Digital badges can recognize the soft skills not captured by standardized tests,
such as critical or innovative thinking, teamwork or effective communication,”
(Fontichiaro & Elkordy, 2015, para. 9).
Hickey, Willis & Quick (2015) discuss that digital badges began emerging and
transforming the way learning and accomplishment are recognized around 2011 (p.1).
Digital badge initiatives at colleges are challenging assumptions about learning and
assessment. Badges are different from conventional credentials because badges can
contain claims, evidence and badges can circulate in a digital network (Hickey, et al.,
2015). However, practices for increasing their value and broad recognition have been
most difficult. The value of a credential depends on the contents of the claim it makes
about skills or what was learned, as well as the reputation of the issuing institution
(Chow & Otto, 2014). In addition, students may not understand how to leverage them
to unlock new opportunities. More challenges include different badges could have
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varying degrees of weight and credibility, along with varying degrees of difficulty to
obtain.
In order for digital badges to be recognized as meaningful indicators of
learning, badges must be linked with evidence of activities, experiences, and artifacts
(Gibson, et al., 2013). West & Randall (2016) conjecture that one of the largest
challenges is a perceived lack of rigor in the quality of badging systems. These authors
further assert that the metadata contained in badges could better communicate deeper
insights into students’ abilities with links to the badge requirements the student had to
meet and evidence of the work completed. However, some badge providers do not
provide this essential information. Because of this, there needs to be defensible criteria
for how a student receives a badge and that the assessment practices are valid and
reliable (p. 16). In addition, support for badges from administrators has not been
consistent (Raths, 2013). Anh, et al. (2014) discusses the need for future research to be
done in order to understand the complex social and technological practices and how
stakeholders will shape, interpret and implement the conceptualization of open badges.
History and Standards of Digital Badging
Open digital badges emerged from a new culture of learning made possible by
the connected and pervasive digital systems of the 21st century. These digital
credentials allow students to verify skills and achievements through credible
organizations and attaches that information to a badge image file with hard codes the
metadata for future access and review (Badgealliance.org. n.d.). Digital badging has
its roots in various symbols that go back a long way in history. The evolution of
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badging can be traced back to the nineteenth century with souvenirs and ribbons,
according to Badge.wiki (2018). Ellis, Nunn & Avella, (2016) purport that badges are
used in business and industry, sports, education, entertainment, and group programs,
such as Boy and Girl Scouts. These authors identify that there are contextually defined
experiences which separate digital badges from old-style symbols and make digital
badging a leap forward in learning and communicating potential (p.11). The idea of
micro credentials as an educational supplement essentially began with the MacArthur
Foundation in 2011 (SchoolTechnology.org, 2017). According to Goodyear and
Nathan-Roberts (2017), digital badges are often synonymous to gamification. As
students accumulate badges, badges become more invested in the learning process
(Portfolium, 2018). Khan Academy has implemented a digital badge system which
scaffolds user progress with their Knowledge Map (Portfolium.com, 2018). While
digital badges can be an effective way to gamify the user’s experience, badges can
lack transferability, trust and verifiability (Open Badges 101, 2018). Digital badging
has many applications other than education and has muddied the waters of
verifiability.
One of the largest challenges to the spread of digital badges in higher
education has been the lack of consistency in credentialing. The idea of digital
badging standards was hatched by Mozilla, best known for the Firefox web browser,
with funding from the MacArthur Foundation in 2011 (IMS Learning Consortium.org,
n.d). The Mozilla Foundation developed Mozilla Open Badges and the Open Badge
Infrastructure, which now provides a common system for the creation, issuance, and
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verification of digital badges across a variety of platforms (Bowen, 2104). It now
overseen by the IMS Learning Consortium and is committed to the sustainability by
furthering the adoption, integration, and transferability (IMS Learning
Consortium.org, n.d). Any organization can use the Mozilla’s platform and open
technical standard to create and issue a badge. The anatomy of this type of badge, not
the badge itself, makes Mozilla’s approach unique and is represented in Figure B-1.
Figure B-1 Anatomy of a Digital Badge
Retrieved from https://badge.wiki/wiki/FAQ
Digital badges are an assessment and credentialing mechanism that is stored
and are managed online. Digital badging systems host the information for a badge. It
is important to understand the difference between a digital badge and an Open Badge.
A digital badge in an online representation of a skill that has been earned. Open
Badges are a unique type of digital badge with additional features, which allow the
credential to be integrated into a compatible learning system (Farmer & West, 2016).
114
The Open Badges standard describes a method for packaging information into a digital
badge and allows the user to verify skills, interests and achievements through a
credible organization. The information gets attached to an image file and hard-codes
the metadata and hosts for online display – the data is all inside (Open Badges 101,
2018). This makes it easy for the viewer to see exactly what the learner has
accomplished.
Badge.wiki (n.d.) discusses the Open Badges Infrastructure (OBI). The Mozilla
Backpack allows storage of the Open Badges that can be shared on resumes, websites
and social networks. Gibson, et al. (2013) postulate that there are private and open
source developers that are aware of the need for portability of credentials and that
there are many custom solutions emerging. Hickey (2017) speculates that this will
support further refinement of badge systems and streamline their integration with other
technologies. Open digital badges contain standard technical specifications, and these
open standards (not to be confused with academic standards) help foster a digital
medium of exchange for credentials that previously did not exist, allowing learners to
collect, keep, and share the reputation learners have built across different platforms
(Grant, S. 2016). The following is the chronological progression of digital badge
standards, where the Open Badges specification is the most widely used:
115
Table B-1 Chronological Progression of Digital Badge Standards
2011 Mozilla Foundation developed Open Badges established by Mozilla with

funding from the MacArthur Foundation, along with the Badge Alliance
2012 Open Badges 1.0 was launched
2014 Open Badges 1.1 specification
2016 Open Badges 2.0 – enhancements ensuring readability across search
engines
2017 IMS Global Learning Consortium – a membership organization to
establish standards for learning tools interoperability (LTI).
There are many organizations currently issuing Open Badges. A range of Open
Badges tools are found on Badge Alliance.org (2017). Fain (2016) states that the
platforms vary in many ways. He also indicates that many colleges have hired vendors
such as Pearson’s Acclaim, Portfolium and Credly. Table B-2 represents a short list of
badging resources within the Badge Ecosystem, along with some of the compatible
learning management systems and other resources for design:
116
Table B-2 Digital Badges and Badge Systems
___________________________________________________
Tools for Creating and Issuing open Digital Badges
Credly
Open Badges
Acclaim
Badge List
Achievery
______________________________________________________
Badges in Learning Management Systems in Higher Education
Blackboard Learn
Canvas
Moodle
Desire to Learn (D2L)
___________________________________________________________
Badges System Design
Open Badges Community
Design Principles Documentation Project
MOOC Badging and the Learning Arc
Badge Alliance
____________________________________________________________
The Nation’s Perspective and Best Practices
Digital badging in higher education is gaining acceptance and more higher
education institutions are issuing digital badges to help students to display their skills
to prospective employers and transfer institutions. Fain (2017) suggests that a growing
number of colleges are also working with vendors to use digital badges to display
information that transcripts do not. Fong, Janzow & Peck (2016) purport that
“unbundling” college education is a “perfect storm” of forces that is changing the
landscape of teaching and learning (p. 14). These authors suggest the following
factors: 1) higher education costs are increasing; 2) the general population is looking
for modularity and “buying songs rather than albums;” 3) new technologies are being
117
fueled by an increased in investment in the Educational Technology industry; and 4)
increased levels of dissatisfaction with the traditional educational product (p. 15).
Arnett (2017) suggests that institutions that offer digital badging will begin to see a
competitive advantage over those that do not.
According to Fong, et al., (2016), the U.S. has been experiencing major
demographic shifts, such as changes in education standards and practices, changes in
the workforce and the entrance of millennials, as the baby boomers are retiring. The
National Postsecondary Education Cooperative reveals a complex and changing
picture of the certificate landscape and there has been a greater emphasis placed on the
role of industry-recognized certifications in recent years (Soldner, 2017). According to
the National Educational Postsecondary Cooperative, The Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS) purpose has expanded to include credential-bearing
education including non-traditional micro-credentials and digital badges, (2017).
Soldner (2017) also indicates that the most recent iterations of the Beginning
Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) have asked respondents about
whether they held industry recognized certifications. This author states that the results
have yet to capture more detailed data about the specific certifications and the issuers
and finding a better way to classify short term programming.
Even though enrollments have been declining, the number of undergraduate
degrees have been rising, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research
Center (Sedmak, 2019). This is due, in part, because of rising completion rates, but
also due to degree stacking and students that can now earn more multiple degrees and
118
certificates. Figure B-2 shows the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
(IPEDS) data which illustrates a steady increase higher education degrees and
certificates for associate’s degree awarding institutions in Delaware, which supports
the same trend on a local level.
Figure B-2 Number of Degrees/Certificates Awarded at Postsecondary Institution in
Delaware
The world is in the midst of a growing digitally networked phenomenon. There
is much learning that can take place outside of traditional settings. During this time of
change in higher education, colleges are being challenged to justify the value of their
degrees and certificates, and to produce evidence on return on investment amid budget
constraints. At the same time, forces changing education include the pressure to
continue to attract and retain students as a source of income and reputation (Ellis, et al.
2016).
Ferdig, Pytash, Nickerson & Smith (2017) assert since the rise of gaming and
mobile apps, students are already engaged in daily opportunities for badges. These
119
authors also indicate that educators and administrators should use digital badges to
rethink assessment and use them to shape learning through inquiry-based and project-
based learning opportunities. Ellis, et al. (2016) discuss that badging enables mobility
and as technology evolves and needs change, new opportunities to use digital badges
may emerge. Hickey, et al., (2015) discussed six conclusions yielded from The Open
Badges Design Principles Documentation Project about digital badges and are
important to consider for possible implementation:
 Badges work better in some places than others.
 Badges work better where content and technology already exist
 Badges work better as informal credentials
 Badges work better when internally valued
 Badges work better when offering unique claims and evidence
 Badges work better where the learning is social and networked, (p. 4-11).
Ellis, et al. (2016) indicates that some areas of concern involve deciding what
information the badges will contain and how to track them. Other areas may involve
who will handle the infrastructure to keep and display the badges. Moreover, the
acceptance of legitimate learning outside of the traditional education system take some
time to accept. Fain (2016) specifies that more post-secondary institutions are issuing
digital badges and that the institutions are utilizing vendor platforms to create
verifiability. Other considerations can include what function the digital badge is
120
designed to perform, including pre-learning, meta-learning, cognitive learning, and
assessments, (Ellis, et al., 2016).
According to Hickey (2017), the most important development has been the
release of the Open Badge 2.0 specifications, which means that badges can now carry
a logo and endorsement of a third party. Fain (2016) indicates that one in five colleges
have issued digital badges and many have partnered with an outside company to get
started. The attention that has been garnered by digital badges is increasing due to
other successful programs in higher education. An example of this is Coastal
Carolina’s writing program, which has been designed as a model template for future
badge programs in higher education. This institution’s writing center can approve
badges issued by instructors, as well as ask an associated professional organization or
professional group to endorse the writing badges (Reid & Paster, 2016). Illinois State
University has been cited as an early adopter and the university’s honors programs has
been experimenting with these as add-ons to the transcript (Fain, 2016). The
University of Maryland piloted digital badges in 2018 to communicate students’ career
readiness, which align with competencies developed by the National Association of
Colleges and Employers (NACE) (Kelly, 2018).
Conclusion
Post-secondary education is undergoing significant changes and is becoming
more open and dynamic. Electronic micro-credentials like digital badges, are gaining
interest and acceptance, as they contain specific competencies which can be curated,
annotated, and distributed over digital networks by the earner (Hickey, 2017). For
121
community colleges, student employability is a priority. Horn (2014) proclaims that
through the disruption and unbundling of higher education, students will have the
ability to personalize and customize their education through a variety of components.
Presently, digital badging seems to suffer from perceived and real limitations, and
perception will play a role in how educator, employers and institutions will continue to
adopt them. Over the past decade, this electronic educational innovation has garnered
interest across many sectors and have the potential to digitally connect career
pathways to the workplace. Further research is necessary to show the benefits of
digital badging as sustained valuable credentials held in high esteem by employers and
postsecondary institutions.
122
Appendix C
ARTIFACT 2: DIGITAL BADGING LOGIC MODEL
123
Appendix D
ARTIFACT 3: PRESENTATION DOCUMENTS TO ADVISORY BOARD
Presentation Document 1 to collegewide Advisory Board 10-4-19
124
125
126
127
Presentation Document 2 to George Campus Advisory Board 4-12-19
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
Presentation Document 3 to collegewide Advisory Board 10-30-19
136
137
138
139
140
141
Appendix E
ARTIFACT 4: BADGE DIMENSIONS OF THE PEARSON CAREER
SUCCESS (PCS) FOLIOTEK EPORTFOLIO PROGRAM
Digital badges Description Demonstrated Earning Criteria

that can be Skills
awarded in
PCS
Collaboration An understanding of Collaboration, Complete the

and Teamwork how listening is a key Conflict Collaboration and
part of collaboration; Resolution, Teamwork module
how groups and teams Delegation, (overview,
compare and develop; Flexibility, practices, and case
how to form and Forming Teams, studies).
participate on teams; Generating Achieve a mastery
how to work Results, Goal score of 80% or
collaboratively to set Setting, Listening, better on the post-
common goals, Negotiation, badge assessment
promote open Shared Leadership, in the
communication, and Teamwork Collaboration and
generate strong Teamwork
results; and how to module.
handle common types
of team conflict
142
that can be Skills
awarded in
PCS
Communication The badge earner has Active Listening, Complete the

demonstrated basic Conflict Communication
knowledge of and Management, modules (practice
competency in Constructive lessons and case
interpersonal, oral, Feedback, studies).
and written workplace Influence, Achieve a mastery
communication. The Nonverbal, Online, score of 80% or
earner can analyze Professional & better on each of
how to adjust the Oral Workplace the post-topic
message, tone, and Communication, assessments in the
medium for a given Personal Impact, Communication
audience; apply Persuasiveness, modules.
interpersonal skills, Presence &
such as listening and Gravitas,
conflict management; Presentation Skills,
and apply nonverbal,
verbal, and written
workplace
communication skills
used in different
contexts, such as
phone,
videoconference, or
face-to-face meetings;
email or texts; and
presentations.
143
that can be Skills
awarded in
PCS
Critical and The badge earner has Analysis, Complete the

Creative demonstrated basic Creativity, Critical Critical and
Thinking competency in Thinking, Decision Creative Thinking
identifying credible Making, module (overview,
claims and evidence, Evaluation, practices, and case
separating fact from Identifying studies).
opinion, analyzing Problems, Achieve a mastery
arguments, evaluating Innovation, score of 80% or
information, systems Interpretation, better on the post-
thinking, considering Logic, Making badge assessment
different perspectives Inferences, in the Critical and
with an open mind, Objectivity, Creative Thinking
identifying problems, Observing, Open- module.
brainstorming, and mindedness,
generating and Perspective
evaluating possible Taking, Problem
solutions. Formulation,
Problem Solving,
Reasoning,
Research, Strategic
Thinking,
Synthesis
Social Learners earn this Accountability, Complete the
Responsibility Social Responsibility Civility, practice lessons
badge by Cooperation, and case studies in
demonstrating a basic Cultural the two Social
understanding of Competency, Responsibility
culture and other Diversity, Ethical modules.
differences that affect Decision Making, Achieve a mastery
interactions in school Etiquette, score of 80% or
and at work, civility, Managing better on each of
key ethical issues in Conflict, Social the post-topic
educational and Responsibility, assessments in the
workplace settings, Workplace Culture Social
and the recognition of Responsibility
how one’s personal modules.
actions can affect
others.
144
that can be Skills
awarded in
PCS
Basic The badge earner has Customer Service, Complete the

Professionalism demonstrated basic Goal Setting, Oral Basic
competency in five Communication, Professionalism
key areas of Professionalism, course (video and
professionalism: Self-Management, practice activities),
workplace etiquette, Social which reviews
workplace Responsibility, basic terminology
communication, Teamwork, Time and skills of
teamwork, customer Management, Customer Service,
service, and self- Workplace Self-Management
management skills. Communication, Skills at Work,
Earners have the Workplace Teamwork,
knowledge and skills Etiquette, Written Workplace
to behave properly in Communication Communication,
different workplace and Workplace
environments, use Etiquette.
effective verbal and Achieve a mastery
written score of 80% or
communication, better on the post-
maintain work-life topic assessments
balance, build for each module in
relationships with the Basic
customers, and Professionalism
prioritize tasks. course.
145
that can be Skills
awarded in
PCS
Leadership The badge earner Accountability, Complete the

develops an Collaboration, Leadership module
understanding of Decision-Making, (overview,
leadership skills and Delegating, practices, and case
styles. The learner Empowerment, studies).
assesses their Leadership, Achieve a mastery
leadership skills, Motivating and score of 80% or
evaluates skills and Inspiriting Others better on the post-
styles of various badge assessment
leaders, and examines in the Leadership
how to lead in module.
different situations:
meetings, small
groups, and large
groups. The learner
demonstrates basic
competency in
identifying and
making choices about
how best to
implement key
leadership skills, such
as empowering and
inspiring followers,
ensuring
accountability,
delegating, and
fostering
collaboration.
146
that can be Skills
awarded in
PCS
Self- Learners earn this Conscientiousness, Complete the Self-

Management badge by Detail-Oriented, Management
demonstrating basic Goal Setting, module (overview,
knowledge of the Growth Mindset, practices, and case
definition of self- Initiative, studies).
management and its Organizing, Achieve a mastery
related sub-skills. Persistence, score of 80% or
Through scenarios Planning, better on the post-
and other applied Precision, Progress badge assessment
activities, badge Monitoring, Self- in the Self-
earners examine the Control, Self- Management
skills of planning Management, Self- module.
(including goal setting Regulation, Time
and time Management
management),
organizing, progress
monitoring,
persistence, self-
control, and attending
to detail. Learners also
complete a self-
assessment to
determine how strong
their self-management
skills are and analyze
strategies to build
each sub-skill further.
147
Appendix F
ARTIFACT 5: SURVEY ALIGNMENT MATRIX
Survey Alignment Matrix
Employer Survey Question Source Original Question or Quote

Questions from the Literature
Which of the General Demographics “Which of the following
following Questionnaire. Retrieved from categories best describes
categories best https://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/us the industry you primarily
describes the er_surveys/survey-1998- work in (regardless of your
industry that you 10/questions/general.html actual position)?”
work in?
Which of the General Demographics “Which of the following best
following best Questionnaire. Retrieved from describes your role in
describes your job https://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/us industry?”
function? er_surveys/survey-1998-
10/questions/general.html
Prior to this survey, Schwarz, S. J. (2016). Digital “Prior to this survey, were
were you aware of badge adoption: earner's you aware of digital badges?”
digital badges? perceived educational value. Iowa
State University Digital
Repository. Retrieved from
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewc
ontent.cgi?article=6083&context=
etd
After reading the Schwarz, S. J. (2016). Digital “After reading the definition
definition of a badge adoption: earner's of a digital badge initially
digital badge perceived educational value. Iowa provided, what would be your
initially provided, State University Digital level of interest in earning a
as a potential Repository. Retrieved from digital badge for a course or
employer what https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewc courses taken?”
would be your ontent.cgi?article=6083&context=
perceived value etd
about DTCC
students earning a
digital badge for a
course or courses
taken?
148
Would you be Schwarz, S. J. (2016). Digital “What type of digital badges
interested in using badge adoption: earner's would you be interested in
badging to help perceived educational value. Iowa earning if available to you as
determine State University Digital an adult learner?”
qualifications of a Repository. Retrieved from
potential candidate https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewc
for hire? ontent.cgi?article=6083&context=
etd
In your opinion, Schinkten, O. (2017). 10 Skills “What are the skills that our
what are the most All Students Need to Be students need to be
critical skill for Successful. LinkedIn Learning successful?”
students to graduate Blog.
with? Retrieved from
https://learning.linkedin.com/blog
/education/10-skills-all-students-
need-to-be-successful
Do you believe that Corbeil, M., Corbeil, J. & “Digital badges could give
digital badges can Rodriguez, I. (2015). Digital me a competitive advantage in
give students a Badges in Higher Education: A my current job or when
competitive Three Phase Study On The applying for a new job.”
advantage in the Implementation of Digital Badges
workplace? In An Online Undergraduate
Program. Issues in Information
Systems. Retrieved from
http://www.iacis.org/iis/2015/4_ii
s_2015_1-9.pdf
Do you think that Corbeil, M., Corbeil, J. & “The opportunity to earn a
digital badges Rodriguez, I. (2015). Digital digital badge motivated me to
would motivate Badges in Higher Education: A work harder in my classes.”
students to excel in Three Phase Study On The
their work? Implementation of Digital Badges
In An Online Undergraduate
s_2015_1-9.pdf
149
Do you think that Corbeil, M., Corbeil, J. & “Would you continue to earn
digital badges Rodriguez, I. (2015). Digital digital badges through other
should be added to Badges in Higher Education: A learning opportunities?”
all courses? Three Phase Study On The
Implementation of Digital Badges
s_2015_1-9.pdf
Do you believe that Carey, K. (2012). A Future Full “Some form of badge will
digital badge of Badges. The Chronicle of become the norm in the
systems will Higher Education. Retrieved from future.”
become more https://www.chronicle.com/article
popular in the /A-Future-Full-of-Badges/131455
future?
What are the Coleman, J. (2017). Engaging “Many students recognized
biggest drawbacks Undergraduate Students in a Co- that there would be many
to digital badges? curricular Digital Badging challenges to overcome with
Platform Education and the badging system.”
Information Technology.
Retrieved from https://link-
springer-
com.udel.idm.oclc.org/content/pd
f/10.1007%2Fs10639-017-9595-
0.pdf
How could the Carey, K. (2012). A Future Full “At first I felt the badges
perception of of Badges. The Chronicle of were learning in isolation with
digital badges be Higher Education. Retrieved from no real world connections.
increased over https://www.chronicle.com/article However, as the system has
time? /A-Future-Full-of-Badges/131455 become more embedded in
my syllabus, I now tailor
badge assignments to work
with current writing
assignments.”
150
Faculty Survey Question Source Original Question or Quote
what would be your Repository. Retrieved from digital badge for a course or
level of interest in https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewc courses taken?”
offering digital ontent.cgi?article=6083&context=
badges in any of the etd
courses that you
teach?
What is your Schwarz, S. J. (2016). Digital “What is your perceived value
perceived value of badge adoption: earner's of a course where you earn a
digital badges in perceived educational value. Iowa digital badge?”
academic settings? State University Digital
etd
Do you think that Fishman, B., Teasley, S., & “Can micro-credentials serve
by adding these Cederquist. S. (2017) Micro- as valid and reliable evidence
micro credentials to Credentials as Evidence for of prior learning and future
academic courses College Readiness. University of potential?”
can enable our Michigan School of Information.
institution to better Report of an NSF Workshop.
quantify the Retrieved from
knowledge, skills https://www.si.umich.edu/system/
and achievements files/content/downloads/Micro-
of Delaware Tech Credentials%20In%20Admission
students? s%20Report.pdf
Do you believe that Corbeil, M., Corbeil, J. & “Digital badges could give me
digital badges can Rodriguez, I. (2015). Digital a competitive advantage in
s_2015_1-9.pdf
151
Faculty Survey Question Source Original Question or Quote
Do you think that Higashi, R. (2018). The Effect of “Do badges predict student
digital badges Perceived Relevance of Digital engagement in program
would increase Badges on Student Engagement. activities at an individual
student Retrieved from http://d- level, across a diverse array of
engagement? scholarship.pitt.edu/35121/1/8.22 learning settings?”
%20HigashiRoss_EDT-
rev_gifttutoring.pdf
Do you think that Rubin, C. (2018). Colleges Offer “Some schools are now
digital badges Resume-Boosting Digital Badges. aiming to map undergraduate
should be added to USNews.com. Retrieved from courses directly to third-party
all courses? https://www.usnews.com/educati badges.”
on/best-colleges/articles/2018-01-
11/colleges-offer-resume-
boosting-digital-badges
Do you think that it Acclaim.com (2015). What to “Sharing your badges to
would be Expect When You Share Your LinkedIn, Facebook and
advantageous for Badge. [web log comment] Twitter is an easy way to gain
students who earn a Retrieved from instant recognition from your
digital badge to https://blog.youracclaim.com/ho professional network, friends
showcase their me/category/badge-earners/2 and family for the
accomplishments achievements you've worked
earned on hard to earn.”
LinkedIn, Twitter
or other social
networking
account?
Rank your potential Farmer, T., & West, R. (2016). “While badges are becoming
concerns with Opportunities and Challenges increasingly common,
offering digital with Digital Open proponents of widespread
badges in order Badges. Educational adoption of badges face
from highest to Technology, 56(5), 45-48. difficult challenges in creating
lowest. Retrieved from common norms around the
http://www.jstor.org.udel.idm.ocl scope for badges and the
c.org/stable/44430549 learning represented, how to
successfully build badge
awareness and credibility that
extends beyond institutional
boundaries, and how to
effectively navigate to more
competency-based styles of
assessment.”
152
Student Survey Question Source Original Question or Quote
what would be your Repository. Retrieved from digital badge for a course or
level of interest in https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewc courses taken?”
earning a digital ontent.cgi?article=6083&context=
badge for a course etd
or courses taken?
perceived value of badge adoption: earner's of a course where you earn a
having a digital perceived educational value. Iowa digital badge?”
badge to display? State University Digital
etd
perceived value of a badge adoption: earner's of a course where you earn a
course where you perceived educational value. Iowa digital badge?”
earn a digital State University Digital
badge? Repository. Retrieved from
etd
Do you think that Fishman, B., Teasley, S., & “Can micro-credentials serve
adding these micro Cederquist. S. (2017) Micro- as valid and reliable evidence
credentials to Credentials as Evidence for of prior learning and future
academic courses College Readiness. University of potential?”
can better quantify Michigan School of Information.
the knowledge, Report of an NSF Workshop.
skills and Retrieved from
achievements of https://www.si.umich.edu/system/
Delaware Tech files/content/downloads/Micro-
students? Credentials%20In%20Admission
s%20Report.pdf
153
Student Survey Question Source Original Question or Quote
Do you believe that Corbeil, M., Corbeil, J. & “Digital badges could give me
digital badges can Rodriguez, I. (2015). Digital a competitive advantage in
s_2015_1-9.pdf
Do you think that Corbeil, M., Corbeil, J. & “The opportunity to earn a
digital badges Rodriguez, I. (2015). Digital digital badge motivated me to
would motivate Badges in Higher Education: A work harder in my classes.”
students to excel in Three Phase Study On The
their work? Implementation of Digital Badges
s_2015_1-9.pdf
Do you think that Rubin, C. (2018). Colleges Offer “Some schools are now
digital badges Resume-Boosting Digital Badges. aiming to map undergraduate
should be added to USNews.com. Retrieved from courses directly to third-party
all courses? https://www.usnews.com/educati badges.”
on/best-colleges/articles/2018-01-
11/colleges-offer-resume-
boosting-digital-badges
How likely is it that Acclaim.com (2015). What to “Sharing your badges to
if you received a Expect When You Share Your LinkedIn, Facebook and
digital badge Badge. [web log comment] Twitter is an easy way to gain
showcasing your Retrieved from instant recognition from your
accomplishments, https://blog.youracclaim.com/ho professional network, friends
that you would me/category/badge-earners/2 and family for the
display a digital achievements you've worked
badge earned on hard to earn.”
LinkedIn, Twitter
or other social
networking
account?
154
Appendix G
ARTIFACT 6: DIGITAL BADGE PERCEPTION INSTRUMENTS
The Promise and Problem of Digital Badges at Delaware Technical Community

College Faculty Survey
Q16
Faculty Survey
This survey is to evaluate interest levels in and perceived value for digital badges.
Thank you for participating as your feedback is important.
Digital Badge Definition/Overview

We are interested in your perceptions of digital badges. Digital badges are a clickable
credential representing an accomplishment or skill representing achievements that
communicate success in many contexts. Badges contain detailed metadata about
achievements such as who earned the badge, who issued it, the criteria required, and in
many cases even the evidence and demonstrations of the relevant skills. The data is all
inside!
In addition to providing a visual record of achievement, digital badges can be shared

through social media and professional networking sites and badges can be added to a
digital portfolio. Because badges contain information about what was accomplished in
order to receive the badge, badges provide more detailed information at a more
granular level about what the recipient learned than is captured by courses or degrees.
155
Q1 What is your gender?
 Male (1)
 Female (2)
 Gender non‐conforming (3)
 Other (4)
 Prefer Not to Say (5)

Q2 What is your age?
 18‐30 (1)
 31‐40 (2)
 41‐50 (3)
 50+ (4)
Q3 In which department do you teach?
Q4 Pick the top three (3) critical skills that graduates must have once they graduate
from Delaware Tech with an Associate’s degree in Business:
 Able to effectively communicate orally (1)
 Critical thinking (2)
 Ethical judgement (3)
 Able to work effectively in teams (4)
 Able to work independently (5)
 Self‐motivated (6)
 Able to effectively communicate in writing (7)
Q5 Prior to this survey, what level of knowledge did you have regarding digital
badges? (select one)
 No knowledge at all (1)
 A little knowledge (2)
 Fairly knowledgeable (3)
 Very knowledgeable (4)
Q6 After reading the definition of a digital badge initially provided, what would be
your level of interest in offering digital badges in any of the courses that you teach?
(select one)
 Very valuable (1)
 Somewhat valuable (2)
 Not very valuable (3)
 Not at all valuable (4)
156
Q7 What is the reason for the rating given in the above answer? (the content box
requires a response)
Q8 What is your perceived value of digital badges in academic settings? (select one)
Q9 Do you think that adding these micro credentials to academic courses can enable
our institution to quantify the knowledge, skills and achievements of Delaware Tech
students? (select one)
 Strongly agree (1)
 Somewhat agree (2)
 Neither agree nor disagree (3)
 Somewhat disagree (4)
 Strongly disagree (5)

Q10 Do you believe that digital badges will position our students in the workplace in
the workplace relative to those without having achieved digital badges? (select one)
 Strongly advantage (1)
 Some advantage (2)
 Neutral (3)
 Some disadvantage (4)
 Strongly disadvantage (5)
Q11 Do you think that digital badges will affect student engagement? (select one)
 Strongly increase (1)
 Somewhat increase (2)
 Neutral (3)
 Somewhat decrease (4)
 Strongly decrease (5)
157
Q12 Do you think that digital badges should be added to all courses? (select one)
Q13 Do you think that it would be advantageous for students who earn a digital badge
to showcase their accomplishments earned on LinkedIn, Twitter or other social
networking account? (select one)
________________________________________________________________
Q15 Choose the top three (3) potential concerns with offering digital badges from the
following:
 Not enough time to develop (1)
 Do not see the value for employers (2)
 Not sure about standards (3)
 Do not see the utility in accruing badges at the college level (4)
 Implementing badges can standardize instruction (5)
 Badge rigor (6)
 Sustainability (7)
 Technical challenges (8)
 Interpretation, validity and transferability (9)
 Other: please specify (10) ________________________________________________
158
College Student Survey
Student Survey

inside!

 Male (1)
 Female (2)
 Other (4)
 18‐30 (1)
 31‐40 (2)
 41‐50 (3)
 50+ (4)
159
Q4 After reading the definition of a digital badge initially provided, what would be
your level of interest in earning a digital badge for a course or courses taken? (select
one)
 Neutral (3)
________________________________________________________________
Q6 What is your perceived value of having a digital badge to display on social

networks? (select one)
 Neutral (3)

Q7 What is your perceived value of a course where you earn a digital badge? (select
one)
 Neutral (3)
160
________________________________________________________________

Q9 Do you think that by adding these micro credentials to an academic course, this
could better reflect your accomplishments in a class? (select one)
Q10 Do you believe that digital badges could give students a competitive advantage in
the workplace? (select one)
 Neutral (3)
Q11 Do you think that offering digital badges in a course would motivate students to
work harder? (select one)
 Neutral (3)
Q12 Would you be inclined to pay more for a course that offered digital badging?
(select one)
161
________________________________________________________________
Q15 How likely is it that if you received a digital badge, that you would display a
digital badge earned on LinkedIn, Twitter or other social networking account? (select
one)
 Very Likely (1)
 Somewhat Likely (2)
 Neutral (3)
 Not Very Likely (4)
 Not at all Likely (5)
Q16 What is your biggest concern or curiosity about digital badges? (the content box
________________________________________________________________
162
College Employer Survey

Employer Survey

inside!

 Male (1)
 Female (2)
 Other (4)
 18‐30 (1)
 31‐40 (2)
 41‐50 (3)
 50+ (4)
163
Q3 Which of the following categories best describes the industry where you work?
 Banking and Finance (1)
 Marketing (2)
 Education (3)
 Logistics and Supply Chain or Manufacturing (4)
 Government or Public Administration (5)
 Retail (6)
 Information Technology (7)
 Scientific (8)
 Other: please specify (9) ________________________________________________
Q4 Which of the following best describes your job function?
 Upper Management (1)
 Middle Management (2)
 Junior Management (3)
 Administrative (4)
 Support staff (5)
 Consultant (6)
 Self employed (7)
 Military (8)
Q5 In your opinion, what are the top three (3) most critical skills for Business students
to graduate with?
 Critical thinking (1)
 Work ethic (2)
 Interpersonal skills (3)
 Problem solving (4)
 Ability to work in teams (5)
 Leadership (6)
 Ethical judgement (7)
 Other: please specify (8) ________________________________________________

164
Q7 After reading the definition of a digital badge initially provided, as a potential
employer what would be your perceived value about DTCC students earning a digital
badge for a course or courses taken? (select one)
 Neutral (3)
Q8 Would you be interested in using digital badging to help determine qualifications

of a potential candidate for hire? (select one)
 Very Likely (1)
 Neutral (3)
 Not Very Likely (5)
Q9 Do you believe that digital badges can give students a competitive advantage in the
workplace? (select one)
Q10 Do you think that digital badges could motivate students to excel in their work?
(select one)
 Neutral (3)
 Neutral (3)
165
Q12 Do you believe that digital badge systems may become more popular in the
future? (select one)
Q13 What do you feel are the top three (3) concerns with digital badges?
 Not a good way to measure effectiveness (1)
 Not widely recognized (2)
 Not taken seriously (3)
 Inconsistent meaning to the badges (4)
 Difficult to implement (5)
 Don’t see any value (6)
 There are no drawbacks (7)
Q14 What do you feel are the top three (3) benefits of digital badges?
 They house learner data used to identify skills and achievements learned (1)
 They can improve prospective hiring skills matching (2)
 Learners have a means to present themselves digitally (3)
 Credential transparency and quality assurance (4)
 Digital badges highlight specific competencies that employers expect (5)
Q15 Pick the top three (3) reasons how the perception of digital badges could be
increased over time?
 Better industry and market recognition and acceptance of specific badges (1)
 Standardized criteria for requirements for similar achievements (2)
 More selection of types of digital badges (3)
 More communication of companies who are looking at digital badges (4)
 More communication of universities who are using digital badges (5)
 Increased matching of job requirements against applicant skills and abilities (6)
166
Appendix H
ARTIFACT 7: STUDENT INTERVIEW PROTOCOL
Interview Solicitation
Greetings:
I am writing ask if you would agree to be interviewed over Zoom video

conference software for a research project entitled “The Promise and Problem of
Digital Badges at Delaware Tech”? The intention of this study is to employ digital
badges in a second-year capstone Business course at Delaware Technical Community
College and evaluate the perception of their value. This will provide DTCC with a
model for implementing digital badges more widely, following recommendations that
will be based on these findings. I am enrolled in a graduate-level course focused on
education so I am helping collect this information for the university as part of my
coursework. I hope you will be willing to help with this study.
If you agree to participate, I will interview you via Zoom video conference
software for about ten minutes. During the interview, I will ask questions about how
you perceive benefits and concerns of digital badges. I will send you a link to ask if I
may schedule a time to interview you. At the end of this email is a further explanation
of your rights as a subject of research conducted through The University of Delaware.
Please read the material carefully. By agreeing to participate in the study, it is implied
that you have read and understand your rights. In the meantime, if you have any
questions, feel free to call or email me.
Sincerely,
Celeste Mozeik
Business Technologies Instructional Director/ Department Chair

Delaware Technical Community College George Campus
300 N. Orange St. #335 East
Wilmington, DE 19801

167
Interview
Introduction
Thank you very much for agreeing to this interview! I am <INTERVIEWER

NAME> and I will be conducting this interview.
This interview should only take five or ten minutes and consists of five
questions. To facilitate note-taking, I would like to record our conversations today.
Only I will have access to this recording and I will delete the recording once it is
transcribed. Is that okay with you?
<Wait for answer. If yes, start recording. If no, thank them for their time and
end the interview.>
You have been selected to speak with us today because you have recently
completed a BUS275 course or you are enrolled in one right now. As part of a
University of Delaware research study, the researcher is interested in learning more
about students' experiences with digital badging. I am enrolled in a doctoral program
focused on education.
You can stop this interview at any time. Thank you in advance helping with
this study.
Interview questions
1. Do you believe the digital badge awarded in this project clearly reflect your
skills?
If yes: Could you share an example of how this was accomplished?
2. Do you think that digital badges as credentials have specific benefits?
If yes: Could you share an example?
3. Do you think that digital badges as credentials have specific concerns?
If yes: Could you share an example?
168
4. Do you think that digital badges have application to other courses?
If yes: Please give at least one example.
5. How much money would you be willing to spend to obtain a digital badge?
6. Overall, do you think that digital badges will be valued by your future
employers?
If yes: Why do you say that?
Closing
Thank you very much for helping me understand some of your experiences
with digital badging in your BUS275 course! If you have any questions, please let me
know by replying to one of the e-mail messages such as the reminder for this interview
or contact Celeste Mozeik at cmozeik@udel.edu.
169
Appendix I
IRB
FACT 8: IRB APPROVAL
170

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THE PROMISE AND PROBLEM OF DIGITAL BADGING

AT DELAWARE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Celeste Kirkland Mozeik

An education leadership portfolio submitted to the Faculty of the University of

© 2020 Celeste Kirkland Mozeik

All rights reserved

INFORMATION TO ALL USERS

All Rights Reserved.

AT DELAWARE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Celeste Kirkland Mozeik

I would like to thank my committee chairperson, Dr. Fred Hofstetter, for

excellence as a researcher, mentor and instructor. He was extremely patient and a

pleasure to work with.

I would like to express my appreciation to my committee members, Dr. Ford,

In addition, I would like to sincerely thank my husband, Bradley, for his

unwavering support and encouragement to complete this degree. My heartfelt

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ v

2 PROBLEM ADDRESSED .............................................................................. 5

Organizational Context .................................................................................... 5

3 IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES ................................................................. 14

Informing the Problem .................................................................................. 15

4 IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES RESULTS .............................................. 22

Research Design ............................................................................................ 23

5 REFLECTION ON IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS ....................................... 52

Reflection on Artifacts .................................................................................. 52

A ELP PROPOSAL........................................................................................... 76

Table 2-1 Cost Differential between Traditional Textbook and Electronic

Table 3-1 NACE Career Readiness Competencies and Corresponding

Table 4-1 Respondents by Target Population ....................................................... 25

Table 4-2 Are Digital Badges Perceived as Valuable in Giving a Competitive

Table 4-4 Should Digital Badges be Added to All Courses?................................ 29

Table 4-5 Business Advisory Board Industry Representation .............................. 34

Table 4-7 Descriptive Comparison of Perception of Digital Badges ................... 38

Table 4-8 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Showing Differences Between

Table A-1 Challenges and opportunities associated with digital badges............... 86

Table A-2 NACE Career Readiness Competencies ............................................... 92

Table B-1 Chronological Progression of Digital Badge Standards ..................... 116

Table B-2 Digital Badges and Badge Systems .................................................... 117

Figure 4-1 Gender of Respondents 26

Figure 4-2 Perceived Value of DTCC Students Earning a Digital Badge in an

Figure 4-5 Digital Badge Interview Codebook 42

Figure 4-6 Frequency of the Distribution of Codes from Student Interviews 44

Table A-1 Challenges and opportunities associated with digital badges 86

Table A-2 NACE Career Readiness Competencies 92

Table A-3 List of Supporting Artifacts for the ELP 104

Table B-1 Chronological Progression of Digital Badge Standards 116

Table B-2 Digital Badges and Badge Systems 117

This Educational Leadership Portfolio (ELP) examines the implementation of

digital badges in a business capstone course (BUS275) offered statewide at Delaware

Technical Community College (DTCC). In an effort to assist business students with

competencies were implemented and piloted in a business capstone course in summer

and communicate a student’s authentic and diverse learning experiences. These

achievements can be communicated to college faculty, potential employers, and

prospective transfer institutions through electronic portfolios, as well as social and

professional networks such as LinkedIn. A review of the national literature

electronic badge competencies.

of the value of career focused digital badges in response to continuous employer

readiness competencies and other higher education best practices.

A mixed methods research approach was employed and included related

communication of students’ soft skills. Yet there is a need to build continued

Recommendations moving forward include using digital badges for professional

development at DTCC so that educators can display their accomplishments as a model

addition, results warrant exploring the creation of a DTCC brand of co-curricular