Information Literacy Librarians are constantly on the lookout for ways to incentivize information literacy (IL) activities and exercises, in an effort to encourage participation and the retention of IL skills and concepts. This session will highlight one technique being piloted at the American University of Sharjah, using the University’s course management system (i.e. Blackboard) and the open source software Mozilla Open Badges. In addition, we will explore how the use of this software has enabled the AUS Library to provide students with recognition for the completion of a specific IL activity.

The Mozilla Open Badges software provides librarians with a new method for incentivizing information literacy (IL) activities and exercises and recognizing student achievements. This poster session will provide a basic overview of the Mozilla Open Badges software, designed to provide students with a visual representations in the form of a digital badge, of an achievement, knowledge, or skills they have gained. At the American University of Sharjah (AUS), with the use of the Mozilla Open Badges software and the course management system Blackboard, the AUS Library was able to pilot a project to incentivize a newly developed activity/assessment component for the library’s course integrated IL program. In this presentation, we will discuss how the library effectively launched this pilot project and highlight the various challenges librarians faced, in developing a pertinent activity/assessment component that could be used for courses with numerous sections and large numbers of students. Additionally, the presentation will discuss how badges provide a great opportunity for librarians to better track and assess student achievement, and why digital badges can be an attractive incentive for students looking to communicate the skills and knowledge they have gained.