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Are badges passe?

 The larger question is about gamifying learning. And at one point, everyone was gamifying everything. That was a prescient 9 years ago, but even today that ideas lives on. 

Gamifying as a decorative piece is passe. Please do not do it. It demeans both your audience and your learning intent (and content). Do not strap on gamification to your learning just for the sake of it. 

If your learning intent - the reason you want people to get into the learning - is strong - there is no need to gamify it. 

If your leadership believes it and supports it - there is no need to gamify it. 

If you want to gamify to complete some artificial target set by your boss and your think your audience is not gullible enough to see through it - still do not do it. 

So when should you gamify? 

When you have a multi-dimensional score.

When the badges have application in real life (like stackoverflow) or salesforce trailhead. 

Or the badges have benefit in real life (no, not your R&R where they get a voucher). 

Else, do not.  

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