Students’ perceptions about the use of digital badges in an online English terminology course: a three-year study

Jun Iwata,John Clayton,Shudong Wang

doi:10.14705/rpnet.2019.38.1009

Abstract

In e-learning environments, ‘digital badges’, often referred to as ‘micro-credentials’, are expected to function not only as valid indicators of learner’s accomplishments but also as useful tools for motivational and reward purposes (Clayton, 2012). In this study, we investigated students’ perceptions about the use of digital badges in an online terminology course we had developed (Iwata et al., 2017). We hypothesized that the badges which students earned for the course would not only function as an indicator of their achievement but also help enhance their learner autonomy. Through a three-year survey on students’ perceptions of their course of study in this course, we found that a large majority of students (88.3%) were satisfied with their study through this course and that most of the students (69.7%) found the use of badges helpful in confirming their course achievements. The results also showed that two-thirds of them (64.3%) found that earning badges helped motivate them toward further autonomous study. These findings indicate that the use of digital badges can provide students with opportunities to enhance their learner autonomy.

Highlights

In today’s e-learning environments, more and more learning tools and activities are available for learners
Clayton (2012) and Clayton et al (2016) suggested that digital badges or micro-credentials function as valid indicators of accomplishment and they function as a motivator by demonstrating their learning achievements through the display of endorsed digital badge collections
We investigated students’ perceptions about the use of digital badges in a 1,000 Basic Medical English Terminology course we had developed by using the badge function of Moodle, one of the most popular learning management systems in our previous study (Iwata et al, 2017)

Summary

Introduction

In today’s e-learning environments, more and more learning tools and activities are available for learners They have more choices for the time, like when they choose to learn and the place where they choose to learn. In these increasingly learner-centered, personalized learning environments, learners are expected to be more responsible for their learning outcomes. This means there is an increasing need for them to collect learning experiences or outcomes that matter to them (Aşık, 2010). We hypothesized the use of digital badges would firstly help learners confirm their achievements and secondly help them engage with the courses available and participate autonomously in learning activities. Through a three-year study (2016-2018) on students’ perceptions of implementation of digital badges in the course, we evaluated the effects of using them in the course

Structure

Course evaluation

Results

Discussion

Conclusions