This presentation includes an explanation, exploration, and discussion of digital badges for use in community building, professional development, and skills/academic achievement. The first part of the presentation will define issuers, badges and criteria, and earners. The second part of the presentation includes a live demonstration and walk-through for creating and issuing a badge using the Cred.ly platform. Session attendants will earn a badge for their participation and have the opportunity to create their own badges during this part of the session. The third and final part of the presentation will include a panel discussion with representatives from instructional technology, human resources, and others to consider potential uses of digital badges and their overall credibility and desirability.

1. Badges, Badgers, Mushrooms,
and a Snake
High Ed Web Michigan | May 22, 2014

2. Introduction
Nicole Rhoads
@nniiccoollee
nrhoads@umich.edu

3. Introduction
 Digital badges explanation
 Walk-through demo of Cred.ly platform
 Panel discussion

4. What are digital badges?

5. Girl and Boy Scout badges

6. Law enforcement badges

7. And buttons! (AKA badges)
AKA “flair”

8. Digital badges only slightly different
 Convey similar meanings:
 Achievements
 Affiliations
 Attitudes

9. Only in digital form (for now)

10. Digital badgers badges
Note: From here on in the
presentation, when I say “badges” I
really mean digital badges.

12. Not new to gamers

13. U-M TnT
Membership (annual)
Meeting attendance
Project participation

14. OpenBadges.org

15. Open Badges Infrastructure
• Issuers
• Earners
• Display

16. More research...
 Great tutorial by Billy Meinke

17. Wrote and validated a json file
 { "recipient": "nrhoads@umich.edu", "evidence":
"http://umtnt.tumblr.com", "issued_on": "2013-10-10",
"badge": { "version": "1.0.0", "name": "BadgeBuildTest",
"image": "http://www.ns.umich.edu/btest/tnt-
badge.png", "description": "Has displayed expertise in
hand-made badge creation.", "criteria":
"http://umtnt.tumblr.com", "issuer": { "origin":
"http://umtnt.tumblr.com", "name":
"TrendsAndTechName", "org": ”Test Badge, 2013",
"contact": "trendsandtech@umich.edu.edu" } } }

18. Uploaded a png & baked it
 Use the Mozilla “baker” service:
Append your URL to the URL below:
http://backpack.openbadges.org/baker?assertion=http://your-json-url.json
 Enter this URL in a browser
 Mozilla’s baker service interprets the .JSON file, attaches that data to the .PNG
image designated in the .JSON file, in effect, binding the image and data.
 The end result is a new .PNG file for download.

19. Mozilla Backpack

20. Badge Widget Hack

21. Badging platforms

22. Purdue’s Passport

23. Cred.ly

24. Panel Members
 John Leasia
Manager, Learning Technology Incubation Group (LTIG);
Library IT
 Matthew Snyder (@mattesnyder)
Human Resource Communications Specialist, Human
Resources Strategy and Planning

25. Panel Members
 Patricia Anderson (@pfanderson)
Emerging Technologies Informationist, Taubman Health
Sciences Library
 Chase Masters (@billchase2edu)
Enabling Technologies Informationist, Taubman Health
Sciences Library

26. Badges, Badgers, Mushrooms,
and a Snake
Nicole Rhoads | May 22, 2014

27. References and resources
 Mozilla Open Badges: http://openbadges.org/
 Mozilla Backpack:
https://backpack.openbadges.org/backpack
 Badge Widget Hack (to display badges on a webpage):
http://badgewidgethack.org/

28. References and resources
 Badge Lab: https://badgelab.herokuapp.com/
 Badge options for schools:
http://blog.makewav.es/2013/08/05/open-badges-for-
schools-what-are-the-options/
 Badge platforms:
https://docs.google.com/a/umich.edu/spreadsheet/ccc?k
ey=0AsHml-
k4XnX7dHJQSDBrdUphYlprc1N0N09KMzFzckE&usp=sharing#
gid=0

29. References & resources: Tutorials
• Chris McAvoy (Mozilla): http://weblog.lonelylion.com/
• Billy Meinke:
http://billymeinke.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/open-
badges-want-to-make-your-own-badges-by-hand-heres-
how/