Merit badges have gone digital — Photo by Bryce Carithers: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-boy-scout-wearing-his-uniform-8913130/

New year, new you, right?

It’s the dawn of 2023, a great time to finally pick up that new hobby or skill you swore you would for the past six consecutive years. (Guilty.) There are tons of resources out there that can help you achieve that goal at long last. Skillshare is just one of many platforms offering classes in everything from baking to Blender. This year, Skillshare has decided to try something new, too.

Before being unlocked, possible badges are a collection of squiggles.

This week Skillshare announced Skillshare Badges, “a brand new way to track and celebrate your creative wins.” Badges will be displayed on members’ achievements dashboards, where certifications for class completions are also displayed. As of this posting, there are 13 neon stickers up for grabs in three categories: lifetime, milestone, and community. These are all very basic, very achievable badges.

Complete a class? You get a badge.

Save a class? You get a badge.

Follow a teacher? You get a badge.

By far, the most challenging badge attainable at the moment is the elusive “Submit 10 Projects” badge. It would take a bit of grinding, depending on the classes in question, to work toward this particular achievement. But it’s not impossible! The beauty of achievements is that no matter how obscure, strange, or difficult they may be, they are ultimately still possible to achieve. In games — or classes — achievements are meant to show what’s possible, give people a goal to aim for, and motivate them to continue.

Theoretically.

Do badges actually motivate users?

Obviously, there are achievement hunting gamers out there determined to unlock every achievement, trophy, and easter egg possible. Aiming for high scores has been a core part of gaming since the days of Ye Olde Arcade. What can compare to the sudden rush of dopamine when a rare, diamond achievement is unlocked?

Way more satisfying than entering my initials into Donkey Kong’s leaderboard.

Industries outside of gaming want to get in on that, which has led to a trend toward gamification in UX. Duolingo has leaderboards, Headspace has streaks, and now Skillshare has badges. Merit badges, trophies, and achievements are positive feedback. They’re proof that you have achieved a goal–fantastic, good job! They provide validation, motivation, and social status.

Again, in theory. What proof do we have that badges will actually make me want to stick to my Skillshare resolutions?

In a 2015 Finnish study titled, “The Effect of Achievement Badges on Students’ Behavior: An Empirical Study in a University-Level Computer Science Course” Lasse Hakulinen, Tapio Auvinen, and Ari Korhonen explored how a simple collection of meme-y graphics could effect how computer science students approached their homework. There were eight possible achievements in three categories, none of which had an impact on the students’ final grade, and were thus entirely optional. That said, the group that was exposed to the badges scored significantly higher where it was hardest to do so.

Each assignment in the study allowed for students to earn all these achievements.

The difficult (and rage comic inspired) “Y U No Make Mistakes?” badge was earned markedly more by the treatment group, as well as the “Recap paceR” achievement that asked students to redo exercises. Was this because of the badges?

This study sought to answer two questions:

1. What kinds of effects do achievement badges have on students’ behavior?

2. What were students’ attitudes towards the use of badges?

According to Hakulinen et al, “Students who had the badges spent more time per exercise, suggesting that they thought about the solutions more thoroughly before submitting them.” The difference in grades between the treatment and control groups were marginal. It can’t be said that the existence of the badges inherently raised their grades. The badges did, however, effect the way that students approached assignments–they managed their time better, reviewed the work, and tried to get full points without retrying over and over again.

These students had generally positive things to say about the badges. 74% agreed with the statement that the badges were motivating and 79% thought that they should be used in future classes. Not everyone loved them, one student remarking, “The badges alone do not encourage much to do the exercises, because this is not primary school.”

Sometimes a gold star is better than nothing.

No gold star for them, I guess.

Thanks to this study, and the work of previous studies, we know that gold stars, stickers, achievements, trophies, and the like can have a positive effect on the behavior of users. Hakulinen et al conclude that badges can encourage healthy study habits, but warn that there is a caveat in these findings, “However, the applied methods should be carefully chosen in order to fully benefit from the engaging elements and to avoid gamification from being just unnecessary eye candy.”

Unnecessary eye candy?

Are Skillshare’s badges a new method for motivation or just unnecessary eye candy? As they are right now, the badges available feel like tutorial achievements. In many video games, players are rewarded with achievements for milestones that would be attained no matter what. For example, Minecraft hands out achievements for figuring out the basic mechanics of the game–the first time players punch a tree to death, they are awarded the achievement, “Getting Wood.” (Yes, haha, we get it.) Narrative games award trophies for completing story beats. Skillshare gives badges for hitting a follow button.

Yay! I followed a teacher!

And there’s nothing wrong with that. For now.

It is likely that in the future the number of possible badges will expand beyond these basic, tutorial-esque functions. Achievements are meant to be fun goals to aim for, trophies to show off in the community. As it stands right now, I don’t feel like showing off my “Like a Project” badge, but I might feel a warm glow of pride upon receiving the “Complete 10 Projects” badge.

Perhaps in the future, Skillshare can create more unique badges (with unique names) to motivate users. Here’s a few ideas, and please–let me know yours in the comments!

• “Hiked the Path” — earned upon finishing one of Skillshare’s many learning path programs
• “Sew Cool” — earned upon finishing a sewing class
• “Celebrity Chef” — earned upon finishing a cooking class
• “Illustrious Illustrator” — earned upon finishing an illustration class
• “Oh Snap!” — earned upon finishing a photography class

The teachers that create these classes in the first place could, and perhaps should, have a hand in creating these badges. Thus, the badges could become even more bespoke and unique to the discipline that learners are diving into. If I admire a particular creator, I might be all the more motivated to earn their badge of approval.

TL;DR Not all gold stars glitter

It is important that badges, achievements, and gold stars are meaningful. Earning the aforementioned “Complete 10 Projects” badge means that I have put in serious time and effort into Skillshare. There’s a certain prestige to holding that digital trophy. Hitting like or follow isn’t all that meaningful, and it’s definitely not something I want to tell my friends about. If future Skillshare badges aren’t meaningful, or if these are all the badges that Skillshare will ever offer, then they fall into the trap of being collected for the sake of collecting.

Okay, earning this felt pretty nice.

Studies have shown that the existence of badges or achievements will change users’ behavior. They’re a motivating reward that can make gamers, or Skillshare students, spend more time on task. But they have to be beyond “tutorial achievements.” They need to be meaningful to have a real impact. Badges should bolster intrinsic motivation, rather than just serving as an external award. (Read: participation trophy.)

Skillshare has set itself up for considerable success if they take the badge concept and run with it. It’s understandable to sit on the 13 that they have now, let users discover them and explore their options, but it’s my hope that there will be more–with better names! — in the near future.

Will Skillshare’s new badges motivate you to learn a new skill? What would you like to see in the Achievements dashboard?