This document provides an overview of open badges and their promise and practices in higher education. It begins with introductions and then discusses the concept of open badges, including their definition as digital credentials that represent skills. Various organizations that issue badges are presented, such as Khan Academy, LinkedIn, and Codecademy. Mozilla's open badge infrastructure is explained. The document then discusses how badges are used in various educational contexts, including cities of learning programs, universities, and continuing professional development. Various badge system designs are presented. The workshop activities involve designing badges, their visual elements, and badge systems. Organizational readiness for badges is also discussed.