Use Cases of Digital Badges at a University from an Action Research Perspective

Digital badge initiatives are often costly and require much effort and resources. This paper presents cases of digital badges that are used through action research. It describes an overview of digital badges, the required components to create and issue them, the process involved, and their uses in a university setting. Specifically, the use cases demonstrate how chosen technologies were used, what events were involved, and how the entire process was carried out step by step. The author shares his own experience with the hope of encouraging others to try launching digital badges as a DIY project.

Introduction

According to the IMS Global Learning Consortium, there was an 80% increase in badges issued from 2018 to 2020 (IMS Global, 2020). Their 2020 Badge Count report shows that 43 million badges have been issued, and 475,000 badges can be earned (Aronovich, 2022). One of the reasons for such quick growth is that students need a robust way to demonstrate their competencies, accomplishments, and newly developed skills. Digital badges seem to offer a perfect solution that combines a student as a badge recipient, a school as a badge issuer, and an employer as a badge validator or reviewer. Asbury University is a case in point. Its webpage touts that “Badges often give more information to potential employers than a transcript because they show the commitment that adult learners and badge earners give to lifelong learning, including ongoing professional development” (Martin, 2023, para. 3).

Typically, digital badge initiatives in the higher-ed field focus mainly on three levels: individual courses, departments, and college/university. Most required a substantial budget, dedicated staff, and an intensive campaign to get faculty buy-in. Is there an alternative to this approach? Specifically, can a digital badge initiative be done on a smaller scale, with limited budget and resources, and cater to non-curricular activities? In other words, setting up and using digital badges can be a Doing-It-Yourself (DIY) project.

This paper aims to give an overview of digital badges and to share use cases of digital badges and my own experiences with digital badges. The focus is to look at the feasibility of the Doing-It-Yourself aspects of a digital badge project. This paper will provide an alternative to the costly digital badge platform. It can be done by an individual instructor, a group of instructors, or a department without a significant cost. This paper is organized as follows: First, it provides a context for launching a digital badge. Secondly, it describes the technologies in use. Thirdly, it presents the entire process from designing a badge to issuing a badge. Finally, it concludes with thoughts, lessons learned, practical implications, and future direction.

Background on Digital Badges

What are Digital Badges?

Badges have been common for representing special accomplishments or serving as symbols of authority, status, and identification. As technology advances, badges are designed and used in digital format. Like physical badges, digital badges can be viewed as a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality, or interest earned through completing a task, participating in an activity, or learning a topic. However, digital badges are more flexible, versatile, and robust than their physical counterparts due to their embedded information and easy accessibility.

Like its counterparts in physical form, digital badges’ main purpose is to showcase one’s skills, accomplishments, or recognitions. However, instead of gleaning through a line of text on a resume or showing an actual paper or badge, digital badges, in practice, are linked to much deeper information. For instance, from a digital badge, a reviewer can display a complete profile of a given badge, including its criteria, issuer, and relevance to a specific skill or accomplishment. Sometimes, it may also show a portfolio or work documentation. This information is verifiable and can be accessed, viewed, and verified at any time and place.

What are Needed to Create and Use a Digital Badge? What are the Components in a Digital Badge Environment?

Since a digital badge is essentially an image, the first component needed is an application to design and create an image. There are a wide range of graphic applications available from a simple app such as Paint to advanced professional applications such as Photoshop, from a choice of cloud-based SaS such as Canva to conveniently access mobile device apps such as Sketchbook. Any one of these choices is good for creating an image for a digital badge. The most common format for a digital badge is PNG because it shows with a transparent background. My recommended application is Canva ( https://www.canva.com/) because it offers a free account with sufficient capabilities to get started. Furthermore, Canva provides ready-to-use templates that users can adopt and use even without any prior skill or experience in graphic design.

The second component needed is a digital badge platform. The platform’s main functions are to turn a simple image into a digital badge, to set up and manage badges, and to integrate with other badge showcase venues. Among the popular digital platforms are: Credly, Suitable, Portfolium, OpenBadges.me, and Badgr. The platform presented in this paper is Badgr. More details will be presented in the subsequent section.

The last component in a digital badge environment is the showcase venues. After a digital badge is created and set up properly, it is ready to be issued. A digital badge can be issued manually or automatically once certain conditions are met. In this step, the digital badge platform normally would work with the badge showcase venues. These venues can be a website, a social media site, a content management system, or a student learning environment. In this paper, the issuance of a digital badge is set to connect to Moodle (a classroom content management system). Once a proper integration between a digital badge platform and a showcase venue is done, a digital badge will be displayed and accessed by users. Although a digital badge is an image, it has a link to all relevant information associated with the image. This drill down feature is one of the key capabilities that make digital badges far more superior than a resume. A digital badge can show more information, can be validated and verified, can offer links to a portfolio as well as other evidence of skill acquired, knowledge learned, or accomplishment earned.

Research Approach

My research approach used a similar methodology as the one in the previous paper entitled “Online Teaching With M-Learning Tools amid Covid-19: A Reflection Through Action Research” (Huynh & Khatiwada, 2021). This methodology could be classified as “action research” because I followed what Rufous Jones said about how “quiet processes and small circles [are where] vital and transforming events take place” (Quakers, 2013, p. 56). To observe and reflect on these processes, I embraced Stenhouse’s (1975, 1981, 1983) definition of action research as the systematic, critical inquiry made public. In the context of this study, action research happened when I was involved in researching my practice. The purpose was to improve the practice and to gain a better understanding of the practice situations. This is consistent with Feldman’s characterization of action research when I, as a researcher, acted within the systems in which I tried to improve and understand (Feldman, 2007, p. 242).

Guided by this action research, I developed a narrative describing what I had done in working with digital badges. It covered the entire process, from choosing the platform to the context, setting up a pilot run to subsequent trial runs, and finally, the actual project. What I learned from this process is reflected in the next use cases. The use cases include details of the background of the study, the research setting and methods, and the recounting of the technology used to support my DIY digital badge project.

Use Cases

Although there are a variety of platforms to choose from in setting up a digital environment, the underlying use of it is essentially the same. That is to create a badge, award it, and showcase it. In this paper, the environment consists of Canva, Openbadge, and Moodle, which were set up for experiment and use in the following events: BizWeek, BizConnect, and WOWED. The recounting of these use cases aimed at demonstrating the entire process. The process includes these key steps: creating a digital badge, setting criteria, issuing it, and showcasing the badge. These use cases were arranged in the progression of my digital badge initiative. I started the initiative as a pilot run, then developed it into a small-scale run, and later launched a full implementation for a writing program.

BizWeek

BizWeek is an annual event held by the College of Business at Southeastern Louisiana University during the fall semester. The main purpose of BizWeek is to bring speakers to the college and let them share their real-world experiences with students. Speakers are normally well-established alumni or successful professionals in the fields or business leaders in the community. The faculty invite them to their classes to interact with students. It is designed to integrate real-world context into classroom teaching and learning. These speakers can share their professional work, projects, career experience, or their life stories. At the end of the presentation, there is usually a time for questions and answers to allow students to connect with the speakers.

The Fall 2019 semester was the first semester that digital badges were introduced to students, mainly those enrolled in all sections of the OMIS 350 class. OMIS 350, as described in the catalog, is the Introduction to Management of Information Systems class. It is one of the core courses every business student must take. Although BizWeek is a college-wide event, it is not feasible for me to reach all students within the college. Therefore, I chose to focus on OMIS 350 because of the convenient access to these classes. I taught two sections of this class. I also knew all the other colleagues who taught this class. Hence, I was able to engage all students in all of the OMIS 350 sections. I administered a simple survey to all students in the OMIS 350 sections. The information obtained helped me to gauge their knowledge and interest regarding digital badges. The survey asked students about their awareness of digital badges, their perception of the usefulness of digital badges, and their interest in obtaining a sample digital badge.

BizConnect

BizConnect is another annual one-day event that takes place during the spring semester. The College of Business sponsors it. BizConnect is a mini job fair explicitly catered to Business students. Selected employers are invited to meet on-site with students for potential employment or internship opportunities. Each employer is assigned a table to display brochures, flyers, gifts, and other materials. Every year, an average of about 50 companies participate in BizConnect. All Business students and those from other colleges can come and interact with representatives from these companies. Some students are required to attend BizConnect as part of their class requirements. However, most just come to interact with potential employers, learn about the positions available, and about internship opportunities. This event will allow me to conduct a trial run of digital badges focusing on an activity outside of class. It is also extra-curricular oriented.

In the Spring 2022 semester, after COVID-19 subsided, campus activities resumed. BizConnect was held again. It opened up an opportunity for me to experiment with digital badges for extra-curricular activities. Again, OMIS 350 classes were chosen. Two sections participated in the event. Attending BizConnect and interacting with employers were two main tasks students were asked to do to earn a digital badge. During BizConnect, students browsed around, met with employers, wrote notes about their meetings, and filled out a Google Form. Taking part in this event was optional. However, if students chose to do it, they would earn 5 extra points for participation credit and get a digital badge. I gave participants a survey and asked them about their awareness of digital badges, their perception of the usefulness of digital badges, and their interest in obtaining a sample digital badge, in addition to feedback for the WebApp used to support BizConnect.

WOWED

WOWED stands for Written Projects or Works of Excellence and Distinction. It is an extra-curricular writing competition offered by the College of Business. The primary purpose is to identify good writing and recognizing students’ outstanding work. The way that WOWED can achieve its purpose is to solicit the “best of the best” written individual and group projects/works/papers each semester. Faculty within the College choose and recommend any special writings. Then, the WOWED committee makes the final selection for the award. This activity typically occurs each semester. During the semester, the program coordinator calls for papers from the faculty. From the pool, exceptional writings are selected for recognition. At the end of a semester, there is a ceremony to celebrate and recognize these winners. This activity lends well with the use of a digital badge. In addition to receiving a trophy, WOWED winners also receive digital badges. A trial run of WOWED! The digital badge was set up and deployed in Spring 2022. It was a successful implementation, followed by a full launch of the digital badge for WOWED.

Learning and Using Digital Badges: Technology Platforms and Activities

Phase 1: Pilot Run

Canva ( https://www.canva.com/) is a cloud-based graphic design application. It is one of the most popular choices for a graphic design software application because it is easy to use and easily accessible from the web. With readily available templates and a robust image library, I was able to quickly create a graphic design for my badges. New AI-powered Magic Studio tools are also available, which makes it even better than many other competitive software. To add to my confidence in Canva, Canva won the PC Magazine Editors’ Choice award for graphic design software. It offers both free and paid versions. I used the free version and could design simple digital badges with the available templates. However, the paid version would give more features and access to templates and image libraries.

In my case, I used Canva to create graphic designs for my badges. Unlike Photoshop, which has many features and a high learning curve, Canva was simple. I picked a template to create a digital badge, made some changes, and added custom text. Once the designs were done, I saved them in PNG format, as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. An example of a digital badge.

I used the following tools for the Fall 2019 BizWeek pilot run: BizWeek App, Google Form, Badgr. Badgr was my chosen digital badge platform. With the Badge, I created a digital badge and issued it directly to students. Students could claim and display an earned badge through their Badgr accounts. If they did not have Badgr accounts, they still got a link to view a digital badge from their emails. This was our first pilot test of using digital badges.

Phase 2: More Trial Run: BizConnect and WOWED

After the successful pilot in the Fall of 2019, COVID-19 occurred. Schools were shut down. Classes were transitioned online. It was not until Spring 2022 that I could resume my digital badge initiative. The platform used in the Spring 2022 semester was Moodle and Open Badge. Moodle is a content management system similar to Blackboard Learn, Canvas LMS, Google Classroom, and TalentLMS. The platform has been used beyond the common tasks in classroom management, such as document repository, bulletin board, training facilitation, etc. With the growing popularity of digital badges, Moodle has also integrated the digital badge capability in recent years.

The 1EdTech Global Learning Consortium is the organization that develops and maintains the Open Badges standard amongst other educational standards for data interoperability. In 2020, 1EdTech certified Moodle 3.8 and Moodle 3.9 as Open Badges v2.0 Issuers (Verdaguer, 2020).

Here is the process to set up digital badges from Open Badges, and Moodle is used as a venue to showcase earned badges. The first step is to get a course badge. A Moodle administrator could do this. At our university, to be able to add a course badge, it was necessary to ask the IT department to add the Open Badge to Moodle. Once this is done, users could have many possibilities to set up badge initiatives. After the badge module had been installed on Moodle, the next step was to add a course badge. When course badges were enabled in Site administration > Badges > Badges settings, instructors could add badges from Course navigation > More > Badges > Add a new badge.

At this point, I needed to experiment with trial runs. As described above, two events suitable for my experiment were BizConnect and WOWED.

Use Moodle to Add and Issue a Badge

Once a badge image had been created, my next step was to log on to Moodle and add a badge. Again, the whole process was relatively straightforward. All a user needed to do was follow the instructions from Moodle. For instance, here was a typical sequence to do in the Moodle version. The process follows: Log on to Moodle, click on My Course, select a desired course, scroll down to Course Dashboard, and click it. A similar screen, as shown in Fig. 2, would appear. The icon Badges is the place to manage badge creation and issuing processes.

Fig. 2. Course dashboard in Moodle with badges option.

The process of creating and awarding a new badge is summarized as follows:

• Click the Add a New Badge option, and type in basic information such as Name, Version, Language, and Description. Insert image to display a badge at 100 × 100 pixels or larger size. Next, specify the badge expiry.
• Then, click the option Create badge. Add badge criteria that determine how the badge is awarded. For example, criteria may include course completion, activity completion, competencies, or manual issues by role.
• After completing the Create badge, Use the Manage badge option to make any modifications. Other important information such as Messages, Recipients, Endorsements, and Alignments may need input wherever needed.
• The next step is to enable a Digital badge. Once it is enabled, a user cannot edit it. Once a badge is issued, no changes can be made.
• The last step is to issue a Digital badge. Most criteria will enable the badge to be awarded automatically, except for manual issues by role. To issue a badge, the sequence uses the Manage badges option in the Actions column, selects the Trophy icon and then awards a badge, as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3. Awarding a badge.

Once the badge is set up, it is possible to schedule the date and time for the badge issuance. The badge would be automatically sent to a recipient’s email at the scheduled time. Fig. 4 is an example of such an email from Moodle Issuer.

Fig. 4. An example of a badge award email message from Moodle.

To access the badge, a user must log on to Moodle and go to the Badge Icon to view all the badges earned. A link to this badge can also be created so a user can share the badge with others. To view a digital badge on Moodle, log on to Moodle, go to Dashboard, and click Badges. It would show something similar to this example in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5. A student’s view of badges earned on Moodle.

Conclusion

In this digital and competitive environment, having online space to showcase accomplishments, skills, and knowledge is crucial for today’s learners and job seekers. Digital badges offer such a robust and evidence-based showcase of credentials. It is also important for educational institutions, employers and organizations to be able to verify these credentials as legitimate and trustworthy quickly. Moreover, digital badges can offer deeper insights into the candidate’s knowledge and experience with links to portfolios and other documentation.

Creating and issuing digital badges requires investments from instructors and schools. However, such initiatives do not have to be expensive. During budget crunch, it is hard to fund these initiatives. However, with some effort, time, and support, schools and instructors can offer digital badges through DIY projects, as demonstrated by the use cases in this paper. Although what I shared is not perfect, it shows feasibility. The technology and the process I used are not the only options for implementing digital badges. The key is to look at the existing environment and to adapt, add, or integrate one chosen digital badge platform into the awarding process. It will make a difference.

From my experience working with digital badges, digital credentialing eliminates the need for traditional paper-based credentialing. It also offers an efficient way for schools to manage student certifications and accreditation and motivate students to become more engaged and productive in their learning. Technology is readily available. It is the right time for schools and instructors to embrace and experiment with digital badges. Issuing, managing, and verifying credentials in an entirely digital format is affordable and pervasive. In this paper, I have introduced Moodle Badges as an exciting motivational aid to my students. Badges are currently being used in a few modules, but they are predicted to become vital to my university. Hopefully, it will bring positive benefits to both teaching and learning. Students love earning badges and showing them off on their profiles; the fact that it can be accessed via Moodle is an even greater motivator, giving students the ability to make their achievements public. In the future, I hope to explore the possibility of making badges an important aid for recruitment and job seeking.