- Sep 2017
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www.ala.org www.ala.orgBadging1
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Badging may be seen as an alternative to traditional forms of educational assessment and recognition. Traditional systems for recognizing learning – letter grades, transcripts, or even diplomas– may not be able to fully demonstrate students’ actual learning or achievements. Digital badging would allow metadata to be attached to each badge, bringing together valuable information about the criteria for earning the badge, the institution or instructor behind the badge, the date the badge was earned, descriptions or copies of assessment tools, or even examples of actual work submitted to receive the badge. [4] Additionally, as a form of micro-credentialing, badging would help document specific learning achievement along a larger path towards general achievement.
This is a good idea for large, multi-site libraries. Staff have trouble leaving the branch for training, and have no incentive to increase their skills. Badges would be a tangible result, which (ideally) would accrue over time to illustrate an upward trend in skill development. An extrinsic motivator, true, but also a record of effort and time expended.
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These lonely deaths are called kodokushi.
Almost 25% of Japanese men and 10% Japanese women over age 60 say there is not a single person they could rely on in difficult times. The American crisis may not be so dissimilar from the Japanese one.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported there were 3,700 “unaccompanied deaths” in Japan in 2013, but some researchers estimate that because of significant under-counting, the true figure is closer to 30,000. In any case, the frequency of kodokushi has been on the rise since they emerged in the 1980s.
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