Jay R Fajiculay1, Bhavini T Parikh2, Casey V Wright3, Amy Heck Sheehan4. 1. US Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States. Electronic address: jay.fajiculay@gmail.com. 2. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, 1800 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19803, United States. Electronic address: bhavini.parikh@astrazeneca.com. 3. Informatics, Teaching, and Learning Technologies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States. Electronic address: caseyw@purdue.edu. 4. Purdue University, College of Pharmacy, Fifth Third Bank Building, 640 Eskenazi Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States. Electronic address: hecka@purdue.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to describe student perceptions of implementation of digital badges in a drug information and literature evaluation course. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Two digital badges were developed as voluntary learning opportunities. Student perceptions were obtained through pre- and post-survey instruments consisting of selected questions from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. FINDINGS: The response rate was 69% (106/153). At baseline, 53% of respondents agreed that digital badges could help them better understand course material. More students agreed they would share earned digital badges on LinkedIn (68%) than Facebook (19%). Most students who earned digital badges agreed that badges helped increase their confidence in course material (73%), focus on specific learning objectives (55%), look deeper into course competencies (64%), and were a useful adjunct to the traditional teaching method (82%). DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY: Digital badges were perceived by students as a positive adjunct to learning and may provide a novel mechanism for development of an electronic skills-based portfolio.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to describe student perceptions of implementation of digital badges in a drug information and literature evaluation course. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Two digital badges were developed as voluntary learning opportunities. Student perceptions were obtained through pre- and post-survey instruments consisting of selected questions from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. FINDINGS: The response rate was 69% (106/153). At baseline, 53% of respondents agreed that digital badges could help them better understand course material. More students agreed they would share earned digital badges on LinkedIn (68%) than Facebook (19%). Most students who earned digital badges agreed that badges helped increase their confidence in course material (73%), focus on specific learning objectives (55%), look deeper into course competencies (64%), and were a useful adjunct to the traditional teaching method (82%). DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY: Digital badges were perceived by students as a positive adjunct to learning and may provide a novel mechanism for development of an electronic skills-based portfolio.