More About Badges
Below you will find the answers to the more common questions about digital badges and their use at academic institutions.
What are digital badges?
Digital badges are a new way to demonstrate learning outside of the classroom. Digital badges provide a visual marker for skills and knowledge you have gained outside of your academic program. A digital badge is also an encrypted image file with embedded text that verifies the level of knowledge gained and its authenticity. Earned badges can be linked and displayed on sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.
What does a digital badge say about the owner?
Digital badges contain information embedded in them about what you did to earn the badge. When you display a digital badge, anyone who views it can see criteria and requirements for receiving the badge. Digital badges can be shared easily and do not have an expiration date. Badges can be included on various pages or linked to from resumes, professional profiles, or just about anyplace else.
Why do we need digital badges?
Learning today is not just taking place in the classroom, but through a myriad of venues, experiences, and interactions. Digital badges provide a way to record the lifelong learning that is more social, informal, participatory, and ubiquitous. Badges provide a way to record how a student had developed rather than just what classes they have taken.