2018 Badge Summit Preview | Interview with Sarah Thomas
Ahead of the 2018 Badge Summit, I was excited to catch up with Sarah Thomas for a quick preview of this year’s gathering.
Sarah is a Regional Technology Coordinator in Prince Georges County, MD, an ISTE and ASCD award winner, and an edupreneur. She is one of the best and most authentically connected educators you’ll find, keeping up a blistering social media pace of collaboration across the Twitter, Facebook, Voxer and other mediums, as well as face-to-face conferences and EdCamps.
She is a friend and collaborator to many and we’re lucky to have her as both in the world of Digital Badge Credentials.
You’ve been playing in the Badges sandbox for several years now. You helped to launch the weekly #BadgeChat twitter chat, have facilitated #EduMatch panels on Badging and been a part of tons of online and face-to-face discussions about Badges. What kind of evolution have you seen in the conversations about Badges from where we were a few years ago to now?
Over the years, I have seen an evolution in the conversations that we have been having surrounding badging. Initially, conversations centered around what badges were, how to create and distribute them, and when to award them. Lately, I’ve been hearing amazing discussions surrounding micro-credentialing, community partnerships, and large-scale implications.
As a district and national leader, how do you respond when someone asks, “Why should I care about Badges?”
“…a way to make learning visible and spark inspiration among peers.”
Badging is not only an extrinsic reward for completing a task, as some skeptics seem to believe. Badges can be simply described as indicators of mastery; however, unlike traditional means such as grades, their function does not end there. Particularly with open badges, they can be a way to make learning visible and spark inspiration among peers.
Having attended every Badge Summit and even led breakout sessions, how do you describe Badge Summit to people who have never been?
Badge Summit is amazing! This is a place for educators and edtech companies to learn, share, and create together, driving the future of badging in education forward.
The 2018 Badge Summit is June 23rd in Chicago, IL. Check out the preview announcement here on Medium and learn more, including registration details at bit.ly/badgesummit.
To learn more about Sarah, check out her website and connect with her on Twitter.
