Innovative use of digital badges to motivate students at higher education: current insights and avenues for further research

Abstract

Digital badging has emerged as an innovative tool to encourage, scaffold, capture and recognise both informal and formal learning within the education community. Based on accessible exploratory and empirical studies, this paper discusses current insights of badging as a driver and motivation for students at higher education, which can be synthesised into four main discussions, specifically in: 1) motivating learning and supporting continued engagement; 2) encouraging peer-review and peer-based learning; 3) motivating class preparation and improving retention; 4) badges as a motivational tool for assessments. This paper contributes to existing literature by reviewing and identifying practical insights into the various ways digital badging could motivate and enhance overall students learning experience in higher education. The review undertaken includes the influence of badging on students across multiple levels as individuals, peers, and large classrooms. Lastly, potentially fruitful avenues for further research were also highlighted on each discussion.