Hints and tips for creating a successful Digital Leadership programme


Tips for creating a digital leadership team
  • Build up suspense - Present the idea of Digital Leaders, put up posters – create a buzz to kick start campaign!
  • Invite students to apply (Letter / Video – Be creative) Ask students to write an application or create short 1 min video on what makes them a Digital Leader.  
  • Draw up shortlist – Interview candidates (even better if student led). Interview process makes students feel they have earned role.


Typical roles
  • Leader
  • Networker
  • Reporter
  • Creator
  • Educator
  • Presenter
  • Technician
  • Reviewer
  • Safeguarder

Alternatively, invite students to choose their own roles – hands over ownership of the programme to the students.

Chris Sharples (@gr8ict), Head of ICT at Lady Lumley's School has also created a Digital Leader framework consisting of 18, level 1 – 3, roles and responsibilities.  To find out more, visit Chris Sharple’s official Digital Leaders blog: http://www.gr8ict.com


Recognising and rewarding achievements

As part of our Digital Leaders programme, we are starting to explore the use of Open Badges to recognise / reward students' achievements.

What are Open Badges?

Open Badges is a new digital reward system which allows students to verify their skills, interests and achievements and store them all in one place.  The badges are awarded by completing a series of tasks or meeting a set of criteria for which students must supply evidence.

What makes these different to other online reward systems is that all the evidence such as, criteria, name of issuer, date of issue, student’s evidence and standards for each achievement are stored or ’baked‘ inside each badge in the form of metadata. To find out more about Open Badges, visit my blog post: Give recognition for your student's achievement - Award them Open Badges

Making waves with Digital Leaders and Open Badges

One model which we have started to use and demonstrates how Open Badges can successfully be used to recognise and reward student achievement is Makewaves. Makewaves (www.makewav.es) is a safe social learning platform for 5-19 year olds (ideal for students and teachers). Makewaves fully integrates with Open Badges allowing teachers to make and award badges to their students. Students under the age of 13 can earn badges through Makewaves and convert them to Open Badges when they are old enough. Badges are currently available from a number of organisations including Computing At School, Rising Stars, Comic Relief and the National Literacy Trust.

Chris Sharples, Head of ICT at Lady Lumley's School has created a set of badges especially for Digital Leaders called DLOpenBadges. Chris has also kindly created a network to allow Digital Leaders from different schools to share best practice and celebrate their achievements. To find out more, visit the Makewaves dedicated Digital Leaders network: https://www.makewav.es/digitalleaders

As well as badges and stickers, Digital Leaders can also be rewarded by giving them their own device (tablet, laptop etc.) or by sending them on educational visits such as BETT, Big Bang Fair and the Education Show.


Maintaining momentum

One of the questions that pops up regularly with regards to Digital Leaders is how to keep up momentum and how keep students engaged. Ways to maintain momentum include:

  • Keeping students interested by providing different challenges / responsibilities
  • Planning for each half term – different focus / project
  • Using badges / levels – Students aim to become experts in chosen field (Encourages ownership)
  • Ensuring weekly scheduled meetings / appointments
  • Entering competitions / participating in digital initiatives (e.g. BBC School Report, BAFTA Young Game Designer)

Credits:

Special thanks to the following Digital Leader evangelists for helping to compile this list: