Hacker spaces and DIY make the news (again)

Here's an article from NPR regarding the increasing popularity of hacker spaces in out of school learning for kids.

They also showcase DIY.org, a space where makers can earn badges for skill acquisition.

Badge creation and reporting

Here are some resources to explore when considering badge creation and reporting. Some are free sites and other require a fee (worth exploring for the future). 

Learn about badges at:
Mozilla Open Badges

Try your hand a creating a badge with one of these free online tools: 
Badg.us  is powered by Open Source and allows users to create and award badges. From what I can see, it's a free service that is very user friendly. I signed in and created a simple badge in no time.

Class Badges is a free online tool for teachers (and librarians, I imagine). I requested an invite and it's really easy to use. h

The Noun Project has icons you can use in badge design/creation

Earn a badge at:

P2PU is an alternative to traditional institutional education which allows users to earn achievements. Users can organize a course or participate in an existing one. At P2PU you can earn a badge and familiarize yourself with the concept.

Badgestack is a user friendly, comprehensive space for information on the badges learning system. Badgestack will consult with organizations (for a fee) and help them develop a comprehensive badge system.

Code Academy: If you want to learn html coding in a peer learning environment.

Learning to code with Code Academy

Do you want to learn to code or know someone who does? Head over to Code Academy and give html a try and earn a badge at the same time!

Game-based learning at the library from The Hive

Visit The Hive for more information on "When Minecraft Met The Hunger Games."

December YA Services meeting notes

For your reading pleasure. Wonderfully comprehensive meeting notes from the December meeting. Thank you, Rene (l'accent aigu). 

Introducing P2PU (Peer to Peer University) and the Open Education movement

Introducing Open Badges

Introducing Class Badges

Jonathan Finkelstein: Badges for Learning from Jonathan Finkelstein on Vimeo.