Badges for Professional Development

I attended the Texas Computer Education Association’s (TCEA) conference on February 6th through the 8th.  There were thousands of educators sharing and learning from other educators about how they use technology in their classroom and schools.  I was most interested in learning more about how other schools offered professional development to their instructors.  One of the sessions I went to was on using badges to foster a competitive spirit when it comes to attending professional development, and using what they have learned within their classrooms.  The use of badges is a hot topic in education with students.  Students like to be able to show what they have accomplished with others, instructors are the same way.  Adding badges to professional development goals allows recognition for these accomplishments.  The badges can be either tangible, digital, or both.  Offering badges also allows for others to find qualified individuals who have this experience to assist them.  There were several questions asked about how effective this system was to the presenters campus.  They said that the feedback was positive and instructors were excited to learn more and use it to enhance the learning environment for their students.