A college degree is important, but it provides an incomplete picture of a graduate’s knowledge, skills, and experiences. Microcredentialing (awarding recognition for small, granular achievements) may help! By collecting and displaying digital badges online, students can combine evidence from all of their learning activities (including classroom, co-curricular, and outside learning) to promote themselves more effectively. In this session, which was presented at the 2015 SLATE Conference, we discussed what badges are and how to create and award them to your students.

1. Microcredentialing:
Recognizing Student Learning
with Digital Badges

2. Presenters
Cameron Wills
Research Associate
cwills@niu.edu
@MetaWills
Stephanie Richter
Assistant Director
srichter@niu.edu
@slrichter

3. Slides available at
facdev.niu.edu/slate15badges

4. The landscape of learning is
changing…

5. Why Microcredentialing?

6. What are Badges?
Visual representations of achievements, learning,
skills, interests, & competencies

7. Digital Badge
an online record of achievement, tracking the
recipient’s communities of interaction that issued
the badge and the work completed to get it
(The Mozilla Foundation & Peer 2 Peer University, 2012)

8. Digital Badges – Examples

9. Digital Badges – Examples

10. Badge Alliance

13. Microcredential
Awarded on the acquisition of specific knowledge
or demonstrated competency of an identified skill
and validated by recognized professional bodies or
educational institutions
(Elliott et al., 2014)

14. Badge vs. Microcredential
• Some debate on the difference
• Formative vs. summative assessment
• Incremental vs. Comprehensive

15. Common terminology
Lifecycle
Creating > Issuing > Displaying
Stacking
“Upgrading” badges to higher level achievements
Ecosystem
Overall badging architecture, including badges,
platforms, and paths for earning

16. Challenges to Adoption
Value
Do badges/microcredentials mean anything? Do
employers value them?
Trust
Are issuers valid? Does the recipient deserve the badge?
Equivalency
How do badges compare to certificates or degrees?

17. Mozilla Open Badge Backpack
• Repository for saving badges
• Framework for displaying badges
• Learn more at openbadges.org

18. Step 1: Create a Mozilla Persona Account
• Go to backpack.openbadges.org/
• Click Log In or Sign Up
• Enter your information
TIP: Choose an email address you can check during
this session

19. Step 2: Give us your email address
• Go to facdev.niu.edu/slate15claimbadge
• Enter your name and the email address you
used for your Mozilla account
Note: Personal information will only be used to
distribute the badges

20. Using Microcredentials in Teaching

21. Why Use Badges?
Recognition Motivation

22. ETR 531 – Educational Program Evaluation
12-week Graduate level course
Students working toward M.S. Ed in
Instructional Technology
Badges rewarded students for mastering
evaluation concepts

23. Badges for ETR 531

24. Evaluation Measures Mastery

25. Discussion
How would you use microcredentials
or badges in your teaching?

26. Creating and Issuing Badges

27. Formula for Making Badges
Image + metadata = badge

28. Image
No secret – it’s just an image
Usually square

29. Metadata
• Proves that the badges was earned
• Validates the issuer, the criteria, the evidence
Metadata is what creates trust in badges

30. Metadata
{
"uid": "f2c20",
"recipient": {
"type": "email",
"hashed": true,
"salt": "deadsea",
"identity": "sha256$c7ef86405ba71b85acd8e2e95166c4b111448089f2e1599f42fe1bba46e865c5"
},
"image": "https://example.org/beths-robot-badge.png",
"evidence": "https://example.org/beths-robot-work.html",
"issuedOn": 1359217910,
"badge": "https://example.org/robotics-badge.json",
"verify": {
"type": "hosted",
"url": "https://example.org/beths-robotics-badge.json"
}
}
Learn More About Badge MetaData
wiki.mozilla.org/Badges/Onboarding-Issuer

31. Badge Images

32. Made with PowerPoint
Program Evaluation
ETR 531
PROSPECTUS
Program Evaluation
ETR 531
LOGIC MODEL
Program Evaluation
ETR 531
EVALUATION
DESIGN
GREAT
CONTRIBUTOR
ETR 531
Program Evaluation
Program Evaluation
ETR 531
MEASURES
Program Evaluation
ETR 531
EVALUATION
MANAGEMENT
Program Evaluation
ETR 531
EVALUATION
PLAN
Program Evaluation
ETR 531
EVALUATION
PRESENTATION

33. Other Tools for Making Badge Graphics
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• Inkscape (free)
• OpenBadges.me

34. Issuing Badges

35. Tools for Creating Metadata
• BadgeKit
• Purdue Passport
• Credly
• Blackboard Achievements

36. Create a Badge with Credly
1. Go to credly.com
2. Click the Customize This button
3. Create a Credly account if you want to save or
issue your badge

37. Accepting a Badge

38. Learn more
Mozilla Open Badges
www.openbadges.org/
Badge Alliance
www.badgealliance.org/
7 Things You Should Know About Badges
www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-
know-about-badges
7 Things You Should Read About Badges
www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-
read-about-badges

39. Questions?
Cameron Wills
Research Associate
cwills@niu.edu
@MetaWills
Stephanie Richter
Assistant Director
srichter@niu.edu
@slrichter
Slides available at facdev.niu.edu/slate15badges