Credentials are essential in the form of digital badges. In a digitally connected society, professionals publish almost everything online publicly in searchable and viewable ways. Therefore, they must be able to demonstrate their validated advanced skills and experience online in ways other than simply adding a few extra letters to their names or presenting an outdated paper certificate.
Professional associations and training organizations must devise creative ways to reach a wider audience while involving all their stakeholders by offering them more value to remain competitive and expand their audience or participant pools.
Here come digital badges!
Latest Facts About Digital Badges
- Market Growth: The digital badges market is projected to grow from $0.52 billion in 2023 to $0.65 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.3%.
- E-Learning Impact: The rapid expansion of e-learning platforms has led to a notable increase in the demand for digital badges, with the market size expected to reach $213.8 million in 2023.
- Employee Development Focus: A significant emphasis on lifelong learning and employee development is propelling the demand for digital badges to validate skills in both educational and corporate settings.
- Corporate Training Adoption: The increasing trend towards corporate training and alternative credentialing is driving the digital badges market, valued at approximately $196.3 billion in 2022 and expected to grow significantly by 2030.
What are Digital Badges?
A digital badge can be obtained in various learning environments and as a loyalty reward. It is a digital credential that acts as a verified indicator of achievement, competence, quality, or interest. Digital badges usually reflect more specific accomplishments or competencies than conventional digital credentials like diplomas or certificates.
Every badge has unique metadata incorporated in it; frequently added information includes:
- Expiration date
- Date issued
- Badge image
- Skill tags or keywords
- Evidence of work completed
- Badge name
- Alignment with professional standards
- Badge description
- Recipient name and surname
- Issuing organization
- Link to issuers website and sign-up pages
Because they are safe and verifiable, digital badges are becoming increasingly popular in credentialing. They safeguard the virtual certificate’s integrity and are easily shared via email, email signatures, social networks, websites, and digital resumes. They also provide certificate holders with a significant boost in value.
Depending on the provider, earners can additionally manage and keep one or more of their earned badges in a customized digital badge portfolio.
Digital badge earners can share their achievements on social media platforms like LinkedIn and digital portfolios. It enhances their credibility and boosts visibility, too. Also, digital badges offer a reason for continuing professional development and showcasing their evolving skills.
In short, continuous development and knowledge acquisition are two major reasons to answer the question of what digital badges are.
What is The Mechanism of Digital Badges?
Generally, the issuing organization creates and assigns a digital badge for a particular course completion or achievement. The badge carries the information and a relevant image related to the achievement. When the task or course is completed, the organization issues digital badges to earners using software.
Badge earners receive an email or message from any internal communication platform stating they have the badge. They can then download the badge and showcase it on their digital platforms.
What Value Does a Digital Badge Earner Get?
A Chance to Stand Out
Digital badges help earners stand out among job seekers who are working hard to make their profiles and digital presences outstanding. They also help individuals uniquely showcase their validated skills.
Verified Expertise and Skills
Thanks to digital badges, employers, coworkers, and licensing authorities can easily confirm an earner’s credentials with a single click. Additionally, they communicate all of the prerequisites for obtaining the badge.
Convenience
Digitally recording, storing, and sharing their certifications and experiences online is easy using digital badges.
Why You Should Consider Sharing Digital Badges
Digital badges offer various benefits that encourage badge earners to thrive for more. Here are some of the concrete reasons why you should share digital badges:
Why Organizations Should Issue Digital Badges
Brand visibility: Organizations can attract eyeballs by issuing digital badges that showcase their brand name. This will help them boost their brand name visibility, as earners will display digital badges on professional networks and social media.
Increased engagement: Digital badges significantly increase participation in educational programs or professional development courses by providing participants with a clear and visible learning path. They give students a path to follow by providing measurable objectives and rewards at different points in the learning process.
Efficient credentials: Digital badges cost much less than physical credentials than traditional paper-based certificates and awards. This helps ensure smooth distribution at lower costs and improved efficiency.
Data analysis: Organizations can track the progress of how the earners are responding and sharing their digital badges. The data regarding distribution will help issuers track or gauge the efficacy and engagement of digital badge sharing.
Standardization of achievements: Digital badges ensure your organization offers consistent and standard recognition across geographies.
Benefits of Digital Badges For Badge Earners
- Portable Proof of Skills: Digital badges are a portable and verifiable testament to an individual’s abilities and accomplishments because they are simple to share and display on digital platforms.
- Enhanced Professional page: Including digital badges on a resume or LinkedIn page can greatly increase a professional’s visibility to prospective employers.
- Motivation for Ongoing Learning: Since each badge gained is a tangible symbol of a person’s dedication to personal development, obtaining badges can encourage people to pursue further education and training.
- Professional networking: Digital badges improve chances of professional networking, as they frequently allow users to interact with people who share interests or abilities.
- Quick acknowledgment: Digital badges are awarded nearly instantly upon accomplishment, offering quick satisfaction and acknowledgment in contrast to conventional credentials, which may take some time to process.
Final Words on What Are Digital Badges
We live in a digitally connected world, and digital badges are becoming indispensable tools for validating professional skills. Educational organizations are also quickly adopting digital badges as engagement tools. They provide a vibrant, reliable means of showcasing lifetime learning and accomplishments in professional growth.
If you want to integrate digital badges into your organizational workflow, then myCred Credly is the best option. Elevate your employees’ professional credentials with myCred.
Digital Badges FAQs
Are digital badges worthy enough?
The importance of digital badges in professional and educational settings is becoming more widely acknowledged. They enable people to demonstrate their unique abilities and accomplishments in a way that can be easily shared on digital networks and is verified.
Digital badges can lower expenses related to traditional credentialing, improve engagement, and produce quantifiable results for organizations. Your objectives—such as developing new skills, improving a résumé, or training staff members—will determine whether or not they are worthwhile. How they are viewed in your industry or technical community determines their value.
Digital Badges: Do They Expire?
Specific digital badges have an expiration date, particularly those that attest to knowledge or abilities that must be updated frequently because of technological advancements or the industry. Depending on the type of abilities the badge symbolizes, the issuing organization determines whether a badge will have a time limit.
If their badge expires, recipients may need to retake an exam or pursue more education to reissue it. The badge’s metadata often contains expiration information.
Digital badges vs digital credentials – what’s the difference?
Third parties leverage digital credentials, which are types of digital proof, to attest to developing a skill or set of skills. Digital badges are virtual representations that serve as means of sharing that data.
