Samuel Abramovich

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Samuel J. Abramovich, PhD is an American professor at the University at Buffalo in New York. He has published various articles, studies, and reports on the topics of digital badges, makerspaces, and Open Educational Resources (OER) in education.

Abramovich holds a PhD in Learning Science and Policy from the University of Pittsburg (2013); a Masters of Teaching in Social Studies Education from the University of Virginia (2003); and B.A. in Politics from Brandeis University (1998). From 2013-2019, he served as an Assistant Professor before becoming an Associate Professor of Learning and Instruction, and Information Science in 2019 for the University at Buffalo.

Research

The focus of Abramovich's work has been on digital badges, online ratings systems, makerspaces, and Open Educational Resources (OER). Arguments known to be associated with his research are as follows:

• Badges can be a form of alternative assessment and have been shown to increase motivation in learners.
• The use of digital badges can assist with the development of personalized learning pathways for learners, documenting their progression.
• Digital badges may be most effective when used as rewards for lower-level rather than higher-level skill acquisition.
• Instructional designers should consider both the motivation and the ability of learners when designing badges and including them as stakeholders in digital badging conversations.
• The value of digital badges may best be viewed through the lens of achievement goal theory.
• Digital badges may be successfully used to credential specific skills and competencies.
• Learners generally deem digital badges awarded for participation as less meanigful than badges awarded based on skills.
• Digital badges should be linked to assessments, and the assessments to objectives and goals for learning.

Publications

Journal Articles

• Cun, A., Abramovich, S. & Smith, J. (2019). An assessment matrix for library makerspaces. Library & Information Science Research, 41(1), 39-47.
• Kruger, J. S., & Abramovich, S. (2019). Open Educational Resources: The New Frontier. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 5(2), 155-158.
• Abramovich, S., & McBride, M. (2018). Open Educational Resources and Perceptions of Financial Value. The Internet and Higher Education, 39, 33-38.
• Abramovich, S. (2017) Are There Jewish Digital Badges?: A Study of Religious Middle- and High-School Girls’ Perception of an Emerging Educational Technology-Based Assessment. Journal of Jewish Education, 83(2), 151-167.
• Abramovich, S. (2016) Understanding Digital Badges in Higher Education through Assessment. On the Horizon, 24(1), 126-131. https://doi.org/10.1108/OTH-08-2015-0044.
• Reid, A. J., Paster, D., & Abramovich, S. (2015). Digital badges in undergraduate composition courses: effects on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Computers in Education, 2(4), 377-398.
• Wardrip, P.S., Abramovich, S., Bathgate, M. & Kim, Y.J. (2014). Taking badges to school: A school-based badge system and its impact on participating teachers. Computers & Education, 95, 239-253.
• Abramovich, S., Schunn, C.D., & Correnti, R. J. (2013). The Role of Evaluative Metadata in an Online Teacher Resource Exchange. Educational Technology Research and Development, 61(6), 863-883.
• Abramovich, S., Schunn, C., & Higashi, R. (2013). Are badges useful in education? It depends upon the type of badge and expertise of learner. Educational Technology Research and Development, 61(2), 217–232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-013-9289-2.
• Abramovich, S., & Wardrip, P.S. (In Press). Can digital badges strengthen religious ethnic-cultural identity in a religious education setting?. British Journal of Religious Education.

Book Chapters

• Wardrip, P. S., & Abramovich, S. (2017). Ask Not What You Can Do for Badges; Ask What Badges Can Do for You. In M. F. Young & S. T. Slota (Eds.), Exploding the Castle: Rethinking How Video Games & Game Mechanics Can Shape the Future of Education. Information Age Publishing.
• Abramovich, S., & Wardrip, P. S. (2016). The Impact of Badges on Motivation to Learn. In L. Y. Muilenburg & Z. L. Berge (Eds.), Digital badges in education: Trends, issues, and cases. Routledge.

References

This article "Samuel Abramovich" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Samuel Abramovich. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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