Common Mistakes of Digital Badging Programs

 

Digital Badges have the capability to integrate academic, co-curricular, and work-related learning to the competencies necessary in the modern workplace. Badges have the ability to help revolutionize where and how learning is valued by becoming an intrinsic component of an ecosystem where a student can be recognized for particular skills, competencies, and learning achievements through verified digital credentials. However, there are several common mistakes that businesses should avoid when it comes to distributing digital badges, which are listed below:

 

• Insufficient amount of verification:

 

It’s critical to make a list of all the factors that go into issuing and evaluating the badge that the learner is meant to obtain. The majority of the time, students are in denial, unsure if the badge they have earned is backed up by appropriate assessment and a reliable verification method. Put up a disclaimer for all the parameters that go into evaluating the performance to earn the badge, as well as the verification process, to avoid such a predicament.

 

• The process is not being automated:

 

It becomes difficult to manually maintain track of issuing digital credentials for hundreds of thousands of learners across multiple fields and levels when awarding badges. It’s vital to include technology and automation into your learning management system to streamline the entire process. This will reduce the number of manual procedures and human errors involved in issuing a digital badge.

 

• Difficulties in collecting the badge:

 

You can’t expect everyone to be tech-savvy or lack thereof when it comes to learners in general. Most of the time, learners finish a module or advance further in their learning program but are unsure whether or not they earned a badge, and if they did, where can they claim or access it. To avoid such complexity, make the learning pathway easier for students by reminding them of the badges they have earned, as well as their storage and accessibility.

 

• Issuing irrelevant Digital badges:

 

One of the most common screw ups made by businesses is distributing digital badges to individuals at arbitrary for insignificant activities that have no bearing on their professional exposure or advancement.  Make sure to only issue badges that will assist them stay relevant in the modern workplace and advance in their careers. Acquiring meaningless badges that have no relevance on their professional career will only make the learner dissatisfied with the badges and reduce their impact.

 

• Shareability:

 

Every learner would want to share the badges they have earned across various digital networks. As previously mentioned, learners would have had difficulty accessing and sharing badges if they do not have the appropriate method to access them. Make sure you have the correct portal set up for badge storage and sharing so that learners can easily share their badges across different digital platforms.