Dr. Bernard Bull recently wrapped up his cMOOC "Learning Beyond Letter Grades" wherein he asked students to delve into the pluses and minuses of letter grades and to consider alternative forms of assessment.
During our call, he shared his thinking associated with his course design, the badge system design, the tools he selected and how he viewed learning design and badge system design to be all of a piece. Along with some of his colleagues he developed a series of badges related to the course's 9 different modules.
Dr. Bull used some humorous and apt metaphors to distinguish between formative assessment (getting a checkup at the doctor) vs. summative assessment (getting an autopsy).
Recording: https://archive.org/details/RSDNov27
jam-packed with intelligent thinking about badges + courses
Badge Design Canvas