Hi all,

Everything is now in place for you to start building your credentials and putting them into action in your selected classes this term/year. As discussed previously, my recommendation is that you build your credentials as you go, using them as a means of bringing to the surface what is important in each of your sequences of learning.

The badge site is achieve.mtaspiring.edutronic.net– you’re strongly encouraged to head there and complete the ‘follow’ option in the bottom right of the page. This will keep you up to date with all developments as they come live. You can subscribe to our companion podcast too, if you like.

Build a Scheme

As you build your badges, this is the bullet-list of the frameworks they should fit:

1. They should clearly fit one of the 5 Types: Know, Do, Reason, Act/Create, Be. Definitions of these typologies are now available on the achieve website. The structure of your badge should match other badges of this Type.
2. Try to offer badges in your course that span the 5 Types.
3. They should be true ‘micro’ credentials: They are samples of the students’ capacities that will often occur within a larger rich context
4. They must fit the over-all scheme of your programme of learning: Opportunities to unlock these credentials should arise naturally from the learning in the classroom, but of course these opportunities don’t have to be limited to the classroom setting.

Lock the badge on to the National Curriculum

1. Every badge describes a standard, and as such should either lock on to a specific curriculum level or key competency.

Going Live

I am free to check your draft badges at any time – just share with me your working documents and I’ll give input and advice. You need to have:

1. Identified to me which class you’ll be working with initially
2. Written the criteria for unlocking the achievement
3. Decided on what kind of icon you’d like to represent the badge
4. Decided how many times the badge may be awarded
5. Determined the curriculum level or SOAR level (1-4) the badge locks to

Once you’re ready to take your badge live you have two paths:

1. Learn to build badges on the website and award these yourself, as an when they are unlocked
2. Provide the badge details to a badge-builder (currently me) who will do this for you.

All badges awarded will also be recorded on a central spreadsheet. You’ll be provided with access to this when your first badge goes live. It will provide real-time information about your students’ curriculum progress.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch at any time if you need support to get your assessment scheme off the ground – and remember, the best way is to work one or two at a time.

Righto!

Chris