Student perceptions of digital badges in a drug information and literature evaluation course.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to describe student perceptions of implementation of digital badges in a drug information and literature evaluation course. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Two digital badges were developed as voluntary learning opportunities. Student perceptions were obtained through pre- and post-survey instruments consisting of selected questions from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. FINDINGS: The response rate was 69% (106/153). At baseline, 53% of respondents agreed that digital badges could help them better understand course material. More students agreed they would share earned digital badges on LinkedIn (68%) than Facebook (19%). Most students who earned digital badges agreed that badges helped increase their confidence in course material (73%), focus on specific learning objectives (55%), look deeper into course competencies (64%), and were a useful adjunct to the traditional teaching method (82%). DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY: Digital badges were perceived by students as a positive adjunct to learning and may provide a novel mechanism for development of an electronic skills-based portfolio.

An analysis of motivation factors for students' pursuit of leadership positions.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors that influence student involvement and leadership within organizations and to assess the impact of involvement in organizations on professional skill development. METHODS: A printed survey was administered to fourth-year pharmacy students at one college of pharmacy (N=202). RESULTS: Most students (82%) indicated they were involved in at least one organization during pharmacy school and 58% reported holding a leadership position at some point. Factors with the largest impact on involvement in organizations were desire to present a well-rounded image to employers, ability to network, and interest in the activities sponsored by the organization. Involvement in professional organizations had a strong influence on their leadership, teamwork, confidence, and time-management skills. CONCLUSION: That presenting a well-rounded image to employers and having the ability to network with mentors and peers drove student involvement in professional organizations may be reflective of increasing competition for residencies and jobs.

Cystatin C rescues degenerating neurons in a cystatin B-knockout mouse model of progressive myoclonus epilepsy.

In vitro studies have shown that cystatin C (CysC) is neuroprotective. Here we demonstrate that CysC is neuroprotective in vivo, in a mouse model of the inherited neurodegenerative disorder, progressive myoclonic epilepsy type 1 (EPM1). Loss-of-function mutations in the cystatin B (CysB) gene, an intracellular cysteine protease inhibitor, lead to this human disease. A CysB-knockout (CysBKO) mouse model develops symptoms that mimic EPM1. CysB deficiency in these mice results in enhanced cathepsin B and D activities, indicating lysosomal dysfunction. We show that expression of CysC is enhanced in the brains of CysBKO mice. Crossbreeding of CysBKO mice with either CysC-overexpressing transgenic mice or CysC-knockout mice demonstrates that clinical symptoms and neuropathologies, including motor coordination disorder, cerebellar atrophy, neuronal loss in the cerebellum and cerebral cortex, and gliosis caused by CysB deficiency, are rescued by CysC overexpression and exacerbated by CysC deficiency. Thus, CysC effectively rescues the CysB loss-of-function mutations, facilitating the reversal of pathophysiological changes and suggesting a novel therapeutic intervention for patients with EPM1 and other neurodegenerative disorders.