Digital Badge

Digital badges (also known as "e-badges") are visual representations of achievements, skills, or knowledge that can be earned and displayed online. They can be awarded upon the achievement of micro-credentials, and allow individuals to showcase their competencies and achievements. 

Adapted from Open Badge Backpack by Kevin Hodgson CC BY-SA 2.0

Digital badges are often used in educational and professional settings to validate learning outcomes and track progress, but they can also be used in other contexts, such as gaming, social media, and online communities. The concept emerged in the early 2010s as a way to recognise, incentivise, motivate, track and sometimes prove, informal learning.

Prior to digital badges, credentials were typically limited to traditional degrees and certifications, which often required significant investments of time and money. Digital badges, on the other hand, can be earned through a variety of activities, such as completing online courses, attending workshops, volunteering, or participating in hackathons.

They are analogous to physical badges such as those awarded to members of various Guiding and Scouting movements where their achievement usually requires certain activities or tasks to be completed, with verification provided a test or simply being observed by a trusted individual or group. Digital badges are visually similar to their physical counterparts, typically designed as small graphical images, but being digital images they can be displayed on social media profiles, CVs, or personal websites rather than being sewn onto a uniform.

Another difference compared to physical badges is that they may be accompanied by metadata (sometimes embedded within the image file itself) that describes the badge, including the issuer, criteria, evidence, expiration date, and even cryptographic data that allows someone to confirm its authenticity. If developed properly, this metadata can make some digital badges more trustworthy and informative than traditional paper-based credentials, which are often difficult to verify and lack detail.

Open Badges is one example of a digital badge ecosystem that promotes and enables the provision of digital badges that are not just visual representations of an achievement, but are also offer a useful and reliable way to verify authenticity as well as providing access to more information about the personal skills and achievements developed in earning them. This initiative also provides centralised storage for an individual's badges, which can be used to collect and display them elsewhere online.

Digital badges can be issued by a wide range of organisations, including educational institutions, professional associations and charities. Each badge issuer determines the criteria for earning the badge, which may include passing an exam, completing a project, or demonstrating mastery of a specific skill. Some badge issuers also offer badge pathways, which allow individuals to earn a series of badges that build upon each other and lead to a more comprehensive credential.

Digital badges are used in the gaming industry as a way to reward players for achieving specific goals or milestones. For example, the popular game World of Warcraft offers digital badges for completing quests, defeating bosses, and participating in events. These badges can be displayed on players' profiles and serve as a way to demonstrate their skills and accomplishments to other players.

In other online communities digital badges can be used to recognise contributions and encourage participation. Some forums, such as Stack Exchange offer badges for asking and answering questions, editing posts, and voting. These badges not only recognise individual contributions but also foster a sense of community and collaboration among members.

Some other examples of where digital badges can be earned include:

• Khan Academy, a free, online academy that provides personalised learning for anyone on a variety of subjects. Badges can be earned for completing various tasks or making achievements across the site.
• OpenLearn, a repository of online courses offered for free by the Open University (often as a taster for their full courses). Some courses offer a simple digital badge recognising their completion.
• LinkedIn, a social media site focused on professional interactions and finding new jobs, etc, offer a limited selection of digital badges that can be awarded for passing a quick multiple-choice quiz based on various skills that users can add to their profiles.
• IBM, a large technology company, offer some digital badges to recognise completion of some of their short professional and technical courses.

The final two bullet points are examples supporting the idea that in the professional world, digital badges are an increasingly popular way to showcase skills and competencies to potential employers.

Digital badges offer many benefits, but are not without their challenges. One concern is "badge inflation" where badges lose their value and significance if they are too easy to earn, so everybody has one. Another challenge is in the lack of a universal standard for digital badges which means that badge issuers may vary widely in their award criteria and rigor.

Next Steps:

• Explore some of the links in this article and compare and contrast the different types of digital badge available and what they are awarded for. See if you can work out why each organisation offers them in the first place.
• Find a course that you think sounds interesting or useful (either at one of the examples above, or elsewhere online), take it, and see if you can earn a digital badge for completing it.
• Find out more in Wikipedia's article on Digital Badges.