Open Badges can represent any achievement from simple participation to evidence-backed, competency-based learning.
By adopting the Open Badges standard, you are joining thousands of organizations across the world who support a global standard for verifiable and interoperable digital credentials, enabling people to capture and share the rich picture of who they are.
Who's Issuing Open Badges?
A diverse range of thousands of organizations and communities are awarding Open Badges to recognize learning, skills, and other achievements. These organizations include:
- Schools and universities
- Employers
- Community and non-profit organizations
- Government agencies
- Libraries and museums
- Event organizers and science fairs
- Companies and groups focused on professional development
They can be used to recognize any kind of achievement in any setting across the different stages of an individual’s life.
They have already been adopted widely across a range of sectors and are being used to recognize both accredited and non-accredited learning in formal, informal, and non-formal settings.
They can be used to build pathways to support individuals to work towards learning goals, provide routes into employment, and nurture & grow talent within organizations.
They are based on the Open Badges standard which enables badges to be issued and transferred across the web and other digital exchanges, across different learning providers, and across borders.
They provide a new way to identify talent based on competency and attitude, helping employers and educators better match individuals with non-traditional experiences to relevant opportunities.
They provide an alternative way for learners to get validation for their skills and achievements and share them with employers.
Designing Open Badges
The process of designing an Open Badge typically involves three tasks:
Offering a learning challenge, opportunity, or other experience (often with an associated assessment)
Creating a badge to represent that experience conformant to the Open Badges technical standard
Awarding the badge on successful completion of badge criteria
Assessing Open Badges at Scale
The Role (and Impact) of Automated Assessment
As your badge program grows and scales, there is a temptation to automate the assessment process. Many issuing bodies collapse at this point in the process because they lack the team members and time to rigorously assess criteria and evidence.
While automation seems like a viable time management solution, consider the impact it may have on:
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Earner engagement
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Rigor
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Perception of programs
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Impact
If you integrate automation into your badging program, make sure to mindfully consider when, how, and for what reason you elect to automate the assessment and issuing processes.