Webmaker/Hive/Hive Community Member Badges

Who Are These Badges For?

A Hive, whether it’s a network, a community or a learning event, generally consists of member organizations: museums, educational non-profits, government agencies, for-profits, foundations, community based organizations, schools, etc.

However, the individual staff members of these organizations are the people who breathe life into the Hive. Their professional commitment and peer-to-peer learning is what translates into amazing opportunities and experiences for young people.

Hive badges recognize individual professional contributions to Hive peer-professional communities by Hive Network Members around the world.

Why Do We Need Badges?

What is the value of a badge system for Hive members? In February, a dozen representatives from Hive Networks across North America met at the 2014 Summit to Reconnect Learning and had a rich discussion about badge systme value, which resulted in the following top-level takeaways:

Hive badges will help us to…

• Define a Hive culture and identity;
• Facilitate peer recognition;
• Illuminate new contexts to sharpen our skills;
• Demonstrate that we are achieving our mission;
• Facilitate more equitable access, exposure and opportunity;
• Provide clarity around expectations and requirements;
• Help members demonstrate the value of Hive externally;
• Make visible activity deserving recognition;
• Earn community status for contributions to shaping the Hive;

How Does Connected Learning Fit?

If we expect high quality Connected Learning experiences for young people to emerge from the Hive, then Connected Learning has to be the way that we work in the Hive. By using and modeling these attributes in our peer-professional communities, as part of our peer-professional activity, we can expect that those same attributes will naturally emerge in the learning experiences we design.

We've been working on identifying those connected learning attributes that are already the most clearly Hive-y. Some popular ones are Openly Networked, Shared Purpose and Social Connection. Those attributes are not surprising if you’ve ever spent time in a Hive. The established networks have all grown through a process of member mission/vision alignment and relationship building.

Hive members from networks across the world engage with the principles of Connected Learning in both their educational program design and in their professional practice to transform the learning landscape for young people in the 21st century. Through openly-networked collaboration that includes Peer Observation, Resource Sharing, and Process Documentation, educational designers and leaders create and scale innovations in learning. The Hive Community Member badge recognizes this professional activity.