#edtech #edbadges #iste2016 I just added a badges resources page to my blog. I list everything from who i use to design my badges to what apps my students use to earn them. If you see anything that I am missing just drop me a note. 

#edbadges #edtech For this spotlight, I would like to tell you about the Hand-drawn Animation badge. The student use the iPad app Do-Ink for their first animation project.  For the tutorials they learn how to animate a bouncing ball, a lighthouse and finally "wiggle text."

Once they have completed their tutorials, students are then free to do their badge earning project. Here is what a student recently turned in...

#edtech #edbadges Today my students in the iBand did their concert "Singing for Kiva" where they raised $200 for Kiva.org They played 5 songs from the 80's on their iPads to earn their Music level 4 tech badges. The audience was made up of 3rd and 4th grade students from our school. In the upcoming weeks, they will perform in front of their classmates (5th graders) and adults.

#edbadges #edtech I am very pleased to announce that ISTE will be publishing my book on badges this summer and will release it at the ISTE conference in Denver. You can pre-order it here.

From the back cover:

As an elementary technology teacher, author Brad Flickinger observed that his students had little motivation to use the devices surrounding them for anything other than gameplay and entertainment. His solution was to rethink his teaching, adding elements of gamification, challenge-based learning, design thinking and other approaches to learning. With this, the badge system was born. By incorporating badges, students are motivated by using the familiar challenges of gameplay as they earn visual indicators of progress and complete challenges. At the same time, they are mastering skills and progressing academically.


In this book, teachers of all subjects and grade levels will learn why badges work and the secrets to designing challenges that enable students to fully engage with and take control of their own learning. Complete with step-by-step planning advice, tips on implementation and technology, and support from examples and success stories, this book will get you thinking differently about motivation and achievement and will prepare you to embark on your own badging initiative.