The practice of digital badging is burgeoning by leaps and bounds. From Self-Awareness to Python Development, certifications are being provided for every smallest to biggest skill valued in the 21st century; and digital badges have emerged as the solution.
As education becomes quick (with eLearning platforms) and the idea of lifelong learning gains ground, the internet is becoming the go-to place for people to acquire in-demand critical skills. It has resulted in organizations who verify and authenticate these skills with digital badges, same as done by universities and schools with their degrees. It is done by digital badging, as they are an authentic and reliable way of certification.
At one spectrum, businesses are using digital badging to generate quality engagement around their product and services, on the other end, individuals are leveraging them to communicate their skills, interests, and achievements.
Though can serve a variety of purposes like their paper counterparts, the majority of the uses of digital badging for organizations and individuals can be broadly bucketed in five categories. Here is a guide to their many functions and how to use digital badges successfully.
1. Boost Participation
For organizations, digital badging can prove to be an effective way of boosting participation. For instance, TripAdvisor, an American travel and restaurant website which shows customer reviews, use digital badges to rubber-stamp their star contributors. This is an effective way to encourage contribution from both active and passive contributors, and also recognize individual participants.Similarly, many new age organizations use digital badging in their learning and development practices to boost participation in HR training programs.
2. Encourage A Variety Of Opinions
Digital badges can help organizations bring together variety of opinions. In the world of internet, only a minuscule of them is content generators. Digital badges can be used as rewards to encourage variety of voices and perspectives. For instance, OER (Open Educational Resources) Commons use digital badging to rally opinions from teachers, educators, curriculum developers and other stakeholders of the education community.3. Recognize Quality
Digital badging is also used to timestamp quality. For an organization, it establishes their affinity for maintaining quality; while for individuals, it acts as a validation of their skills and knowledge. From entry-level to senior professionals and people entering the job landscape after a long gap, they can string together digital badges to show various levels of mastery on a number of skills.4. Alternative Of Tradition Education
The popularity of Digital badging in higher education is rising exponentially. They are emerging as an alternative to traditional education. Many students are opting for digital badges instead of advanced degrees like masters. While going for higher education after undergrad is considered as a costly and time-taking affair, the process of digital badging is quicker, remains time-relevant and is valued in the job market. However, foregoing advanced degrees in favor of certifications varies from person to person and is still open to debate.5. Show Competency
People with advanced degrees or diplomas are topping their education with digital badges, to show their competency and validate their knowledge and skills, for certain job profiles. Badges can also show your degree of mastery across different skillsets.When opting for a digital badge, primarily look for three things—the badge fits in 21st skills needs, it holds value for the market (individuals and businesses) and it is accepted across multiple organizations.
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