An introduction to digital badges and a brief history
Simply put, a digital badge is an indicator of accomplishment or skill that can be displayed, accessed, and verified online. These badges can be earned in a wide variety of environments, an increasing number of which are online.
The anatomy of digital badges
In addition to the image-based design we think of as a digital badge, badges have meta-data to communicate details of the badge to anyone wishing to verify it, or learn more about the context of the achievement it signifies.
The many functions of digital badges
Just like their real-world counterparts, digital badges serve a wide variety of purposes depending on the issuing body and the individual. For the most part, badges’ functions can be bucketed into one of five categories.
Badges are issued by individual organizations who set criteria for what constitutes earning a badge. They’re most often issued through an online credential or badging platform.
Criticism of digital badges
There are various arguments to be made against the implementation of digital badges, including the common issuance of seemingly “meaningless” badges.
The future of digital badges
With the rise of online education and the increasing availability of high quality massive open online courses, there will be an increasing need for verifiable digital badges and digital credentials.
Gary Hunter. copyright. movies, public performance rights, youtube videos. up
the compliance of the terms of service of the web site. Contract law. copyright law. system procedure – copyright clearance, clearing the copyright means using it without violating the copyright law.
clearing copyright:
determine if materials are or are not protected
use your own original materials
perform fair use analysis with fair use checklist to usitify use
use in compliance with sections 110 (1) & (2) of copyright act
use materials avaialble through an open or CC license
get permission (letter, email, subscription, license, etc.)
fair use >> . transformation: 1. add / subtract from original 2. use for different purpose; >> parody songs – using enough of music and words to recognize the song, but not enough to it to be copyright infrigement. memes.
students’ use of copyrighted works. students may: use the entire copyrighted work but not publish openly
copyright act #110 (1) applies to F2F teaching.
copyright act #110 (2) applies to Hybrid/Online teaching. exception one digital copy can made and uploaded on D2L. reasonable and limited portions of dramatic musical or audiovisual works
if people identifiable ask them to sign a media release form
plagiarism v copyright infringement.
Creative Commons (CC). search engine for content available through cc licenses. https://creativecommons.org/ CC BY – attribution needed; CC BY-SA may remix, tweak CC BY-ND can redistribute, but not alter CC BY-NC for non profit. CC BY-NC-SA
copyright questions
book chapters: one is a rule of thumb
PDF versions of the eassays textbook acceptable, if the students purchased it
music performance licenses: usually cover – educational activities on campus; ed activities at off-campus locations that are outreach
Ercegovac, Z., & Richardson, J. J. (2004). Academic Dishonesty, Plagiarism Included, in the Digital Age: A Literature Review. College & Research Libraries, 65(4), 301-318.
what constitutes plagiarism, how prevalent plagiarism is in our schools, colleges, and society, what is done to prevent and reduce plagiarism, the attitudes of faculty toward academic dishonesty in general, and individual differences as predictors of academic dishonesty
the interdisciplinary nature of the topic and the ethical challenges of accessing and using information technology, especially in the age of the Internet. Writings have been reported in the literatures of education, psychology, and library and information studies, each looking at academic dishonesty from different perspectives. The literature has been aimed at instructors and scholars in education and developmental psychology, as well as college librarians and school media specialists.
Although the literature appears to be scattered across many fields, standard dictionaries and encyclopedias agree on the meaning of plagiarism.
According to Webster’s, plagiarism is equated with kidnapping and defined as “the unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own.”(FN10) The Oxford English Dictionary defines plagiarism as the “wrongful appropriation or purloining, and publication as one’s own, of the ideas, or the expression of the ideas (literary, artistic, musical, mechanical, etc.).”(
plagiarism is an elusive concept and has been treated differently in different contexts.
different types of plagiarism: direct plagiarism; truncation (where strings are deleted in the beginning or ending); excision (strings are deleted from the middle of sentences); insertions; inversions; substitutions; change of tense, person, number, or voice; undocumented factual information; inappropriate use of quotation marks; or paraphrasing.
defined plagiarism as a deliberate use of “someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source.”(FN30) This definition is extended to printed and digital materials, manuscripts, and other works. Plagiarism is interrelated to intellectual property, copyright, and authorship, and is discussed from the perspective of multiculturalism.(FN31)
Jeffrey Klausman made three distinctions among direct plagiarism, paraphrase plagiarism, and patchwork plagiarism
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Cosgrove, J., Norelli, B., & Putnam, E. (2005). Setting the Record Straight: How Online Database Providers Are Handling Plagiarism and Fabrication Issues. College & Research Libraries, 66(2), 136-148.
None of the database providers used links for corrections. Although it is true that the structure of a particular database (LexisNexis, for instance) may make static links more difficult to create than appending corrections, it is a shame that the most elemental characteristic of online resources–the ability to link–is so underutilized within the databases themselves.
Finding reliable materials using online databases is difficult enough for students, especially undergraduates, without having to navigate easily fixed pitfalls. The articles in this study are those most obviously in need of a correction or a link to a correction–articles identified by the publications themselves as being flawed by error, plagiarism, or fabrication. Academic librarians instruct students to carefully evaluate the literature in their campuses’ database resources. Unfortunately, it is not practical to expect undergraduate students to routinely search at the level necessary to uncover corrections and retractions nor do librarians commonly have the time to teach those skills.
augmented reality takeover. It’s played out at Snapchat and Facebook, at Google and Apple. Companies are using AR to design cars, sell furniture, make little digital sharks swim around your breakfast table. What if Prezi could apply that same technology to make better presentations?
the product isn’t ready for a public launch yet. Prezi has enlisted a select group of influencers to try out the AR tools and offer feedback before the company releases a beta version.
This 90 minute webinar will bring participants up to speed on the current state of altmetrics, and focus in on changes across the scholarly ecosystem. Through sharing of use cases, tips, and open discussion, this session will help participants to develop a nuanced, strategic framework for incorporating and promoting wider adoption of altmetrics throughout the research lifecycle at their institution and beyond.
Definition by National Information Standards Organization NISO (http://www.niso.org/home/): Altmetrics is a broad term that encapsulates the digital collection, creation, and use of multiple forms of assessment that are derived from activity and engagement among diverse stakeholders and scholarly outputs in the research ecosystem.”
Altmetrics are data that help us understand how often and by whom research objects are discussed, shared, and used on the social Web.”
digital resource sets available through MnPALS Plus
Two sets of open access, free digital resources that may be of interest to students and faculty have been added to SCSU’s online catalog (MnPALS Plus).
Open Textbook Library (a project of the University of Minnesota)
(appears in Collection drop-down menu as “Univ of Mn Open Textbook Library”)
“Open textbooks are textbooks that have been funded, published, and licensed to be freely used, adapted, and distributed. These books have been reviewed by faculty from a variety of colleges and universities to assess their quality. These books can be downloaded for no cost, or printed at low cost. All textbooks are either used at multiple higher education institutions; or affiliated with an institution, scholarly society, or professional organization.”
For more information, see https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/
Ebooks Minnesota
“Ebooks Minnesota is an online ebook collection for all Minnesotans. The collection covers a wide variety of subjects for readers of all ages, and features content from our state’s independent publishers, including some of our best literature and nonfiction.”
For more information, see https://mndigital.org/projects/ebooks-minnesota
These resources are included in any search done in the online catalog. To view or search one of these collections specifically, go the the Advanced Search in MnPALS Plus and select the desired collection from the Collection dropdown. Users can add search terms, or just click “Find” without entering any search terms to see the entire collection.
Ms. Joanne Lipman
October 20, 2017
Editor-in-Chief of USA Today
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22108
Dear Ms. Lipman,
In our roles as the Board of Directors of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), we are writing to express our profound disappointment with the USA Today career advice feature on October 13, 2017 entitled “Careers: 8 jobs that won’t exist in 2030,” which declared that “librarian” is the number one career among the eight jobs that inaccurate statement on two fronts: first, that the profession is declining, and second, that this alleged will disappear in 2030. This is a false and decline is a result of libraries as warehouses of printed books.
The author of this article may not realize that a professional librarian position in the U.S. and many other countries requires a Master’s degree. According to a recent article in Library Journal, 86% of recent graduates from American Library Association (ALA) accredited schools have found jobs. Another recent report (released on September 28, 2017) by Pearson, Nesta, and Oxford University predicts growth in the information professions, including librarians, curators, and archivists. They are among the top ten jobs likely to experience increased demand in 2030. The report is summarized by Library Journal in its article entitled “The Job Outlook: In 2030, Librarians Will Be in Demand.” Furthermore, your own job posting section for librarian positions does not show the decline of our profession. A close reading of the job titles should have indicated to the author that librarians do more than simply check out books.
This article demonstrates a lack of understanding of librarians’ work as information professionals. My note: but so do lack understanding a lot of librarians, paraprofessionals and administrators in libraries. They are the one, who leave the impressions reflected in the article of US Today. Information professionals IS the keyword and, as during the hype around year 2000 with Barnes & Nobles, a great number of people working in libraries continue to behave as it is the Middle Ages and care of paper-based materials the one and only responsibility a “librarian” may have. The lack of understanding regarding the wide scope of “information professionals” is profound.
Libraries provide access to print and special collections of media, and subscription-based or free electronic resources. All of these must be curated, cataloged, or organized by professional librarians to make them accessible to their users. My note: beating your own drum is good, but when failing to recognize the existence of folksonomy and its impact, do not get upset when US Today reflects the impact
College and university librarians carry out research consultations and instruct student and faculty in finding, evaluating, and using information. My note: when faculty let them do it. And administration recognizes it. It is a shaky position, which does not exclude the 2030 scenario.
Public librarians connect patrons to community resources, lead programming for children and adults, and engage in community outreach and advocacy. Special librarians work for corporations, federal and state institutions, focusing on gathering competitive intelligence and making sure their organizations have access to the information they need to make sound business or strategic decisions.
The article also inaccurately presents libraries as dedicated solely to books:
More and more people are clearing out those paperbacks and downloading e-books on their Tablets and Kindles instead. The same goes for borrowing — as books fall out of favor, libraries are not as popular as they once were. That means you’ll have a tough time finding a job if you decide to become a librarian. Many schools and universities are already moving their libraries off the shelves and onto the Internet.
In addition to providing access to books, journals, newspapers, and other media, both electronically and in print, libraries provide access to technology, from computers, laptops, and iPads to 3D printers, My note: are we? are we doing this at our library? Are the reference librarians allowing such blasphemous thoughts penetrate this library? And if they do, do they allow other professionals to collaborate with them, or “keep it for themselves?”
multimedia software, and recording studios. My note: whaaat?
Many libraries have expanded their non-print collections and are circulating a wide variety of objects including tools, musical instruments, toys, wifi hotspots, and artwork. Libraries are highly valued as community centers and safe spaces that allow people to connect with information and with each other. Research shows that libraries are one of the most trusted and valued public institutions in the country.
The article further argues that librarians and libraries are not needed because printed books are falling out of favor. However, there is considerable counter-evidence that printed books are still in demand, including the articles cited below.
Cain, S. (2017, March 14). Ebook sales continue to fall as younger generations drive appetite for print. The Guardian. Retrieved from:
Milliot, J. (2017, January 20). The Bad News About E-books: Nielsen reports units fell 16% in 2016 compared to 2015. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from:
We respectfully request an open response from you or from the author of the article. Sincerely,
