Digital Badging
Penn State Engineering is creating high quality learning experiences for students and working professionals and recognizing their achievements with digital badges
What is a Digital Badge?
A digital badge represents a range of achievements gained by a learner in both formal and informal learning experiences. The badge displays the learners’ achievements with meta-data, which is visible information that describes what the learners can do after earning a badge, what they had to do to earn it, and why employers or others viewing the badge should care about it.
An educational experience can be a variety of learning experiences, such as a micro-credential course, workshop, special event, project, internship and more.
Development of Educational Experiences
Digital badges are versatile, and the metadata contained within a badge allows it to represent achievement in a variety of educational experiences. At the same time, this versatility must be balanced with quality control. To do this, the College of Engineering will categorize educational experiences into one of the following areas:
Certified Microcredential
- Approval at the college level
- Academic review at the department level
- Offered to an external audience for a fee
Badged Learning
- Academic approval at the department level
- Offered to current Penn State students and employees
Certified Microcredential
These are educational experiences that have heightened quality assurance and academic review at the college level. In most cases, these are offered to an external audience for a fee.
All certified microcredentials will be prioritized based on the strategic goals of the college.
1. Submit Your Idea
Please fill-out and submit the Educational Experience Survey.
This will help us learn more about your idea for the educational experience.
2. Meet With Us
We’ll meet to discuss the details of your learning experience and the processes involved in development. Upon approval from your department head, we’ll provide this information to COE Strategic Committee for approval and prioritization.
3. Design & Development of the Educational Experience
Once selected for development, you will collaborate with an instructional designer for the design and development process. Timelines for this process vary and will be discussed during the initial meeting.
4. Create a Digital Badge
Write out the meta-data for your digital badge. Learn more about this in the next section called Writing Badge Metadata.
If you are ready now, fill out the PSU Engineering Badge Creation Form.
5. Peer Review
A peer faculty member with expertise in the topic area will review that the skills displayed on the badge align to the educational experience and assessment learners will undergo in earning the badge.
6. COE Committee Approval
The completed course will be submitted to the COE Review Committee for final approval.
7. Offer Your Certified Microcredential
After approval from the COE Review Committee, the certified microcredential is ready to run.
Fill out the Product Page form. This information contains the course summary and is displayed to the public on the COE course listings webpage. It’s required for course registration.
As learners successfully complete the microcredential, they will be notified of the Penn State badge they earned.
Badged Learning
These educational experiences have quality control managed at the faculty and department level. In most cases, these are offered to current Penn State students and employees.
1. Submit Your Idea
Please fill-out and submit the Educational Experience Survey.
This will help us learn more about your idea for the educational experience.
2. Meet With Us
Meet with us for an initial consultation to discuss the details of your learning experience, the processes involved, and the support available to you. Approval from your department head is needed to proceed to the next step.
3. Design & Development of the Educational Experience
The design and development process will vary with each learning experience. It’s recommended that you work with an instruction designer for this stage.
4. Create a Digital Badge
Write out the meta-data for your digital badge. Learn more about this in the next section called Writing Badge Metadata.
If you are ready now, fill out the PSU Engineering Badge Creation Form.
5. Peer Review
A peer faculty member with expertise in the topic area will review that the skills displayed on the badge align to the educational experience and assessment learners will undergo in earning the badge.
6. Offer Your Badged Learning Experience
Your badged learning experience is ready to run.
7. Issue Badges to the Learners
As students successfully complete the badged learning, they will earn the Penn State badge.
Issuing badges is a 3-step process:
- You’ll gather the required student information in a CSV file
- We’ll input the information into the Credly badging system
- Students will then receive an email from Credly with directions on how to claim their badge
For directions on how to gather student data, see Prepare the Credly CSV Template for Issuing Badges
Writing Badge Meta-Data
The information below describes how to write the meta-data for your badge. As you go through the information, think about how it could represent the educational experience you wish to create.
To see what others are doing in the college, visit the College of Engineering Badge Page.
Badge Name
Considerations:
- Use descriptors to show what competency the earner will possess after earning the badge
Examples:
- Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
- Fundamentals of Standards and Standardization
- Writing Technical Reports
Badge Description
Considerations:
- 500 character limit
- Articulate what the individual is capable of or competent in doing
- Consider what employers are likely to value
- Use consistent syntax when writing the badge description. For example:
- First sentence: “Earners of this badge have demonstrated…”
- Second sentence: “Earners are able to…”
Example:
Earners of this badge have a solid foundational understanding in standards and standardization and their importance to not only the graduating engineer’s skill set but also how standards/standardization are valuable to industry and society. The earner of this badge has a foundational level understanding of how standards and standardization enhance safety, increase quality, and lower costs.
Badge Skills
Considerations:
- Concise keyword phrases that describe general skills
- Aim for 3-7 primary skills
- Choose the most relevant keyword phrases
- Avoid lengthy skill tags of more than 3 words
- These skill tags will align your badge with labor market data
Examples:
- Data Analysis
- Scientific Writing
- Engineering Design
- Cost Benefit Analysis
- Technical Leadership
Badge Criteria
Considerations:
- Brief description of what the individual did to earn this badge
- Utilize action verbs to denote what earners need to do
Examples:
- Attend a workshop delivered by industry experts
- View 1 hour of films that address understanding audience analysis, organization, and language and illustration of reports in engineering and science
- Achieve a score of 80% or greater on three quizzes
- Develop a corrosion prevention strategy for a public asset like a bridge or highway
Badge Attributes (Optional)
Considerations:
- All attributes are optional and should be used if they clarify what a learner accomplished
- Attributes can help to create a taxonomy within your badging program
1) Mastery Level
- Foundational: Associate, Beginner, Foundations of Fundamentals, or Level 1.
- Intermediate: Professional, Intermediate, Proficient, or Level 2.
- Advanced: Specialist, Master, Mentor, Expert, or Level 3.
2) Time Commitment
- For example: 4 hours, 2 day course, 3 week webinar series, Semester-long study abroad, and 2 years of professional experience.
3) Cost
- Include the cost if there is a fee. If the educational experience is free, this field can be skipped.
4) Additional Information
- URL to Additional Information: This could be a link to your website where viewers can learn more about the program. It displays as a “Learn more” link below the badge description.
- URL to the registration page: For others to sign up for the educational experience the badge is associated with. It displays as a button that reads “Earn this Badge”.
- Standards: Link to any relevant third-party standards
- Recommendations: This appears as a next step that is specific to earners of this badge. Only the earner will see the recommendations, not outsiders looking at the badge. This could also be a link to an event or a survey.
When you are ready, fill out the PSU Engineering Badge Creation Form.
Restrictions
- Any educational experience developed outside of this process will NOT be granted a badge with the PSU logo.
- When bringing in guest speakers to present content, a Penn State faculty member must have oversight of the content AND of the assessment used to evaluate student performance.
Technical Requirements
Platforms
- Badges must be issued through Credly, which is the badging platform approved by COE.
- Online learning must be facilitated by a Learning Management System approved by COE, such as Canvas and EdX. (Note that not all educational experiences will have an online component.)
Badge Graphics
Styles for Certified Microcredentials
Styles for a single microcredential. Icons in upper-left are customizable.
1
2
3
Styles for a series completion badge.
4
5
6
Styles for Badged Learning
Styles for a single badged learning experience. Icons in upper-left are customizable.
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9
Styles for a series completion badge.
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QUESTIONS?
Contact us!
PSU Engineering Badge Examples
Engineering Badges Created
Issued to Learners
Need some help?
Get In Touch
Request Support or Connect with us in our Open Office Hours
About the Office for Digital Learning
Promoting innovative approaches to engineering education on campus and online, we offer a variety of degree and certificate programs, develop individual online courses, and work with faculty to enhance teaching and learning.
Need some help?
Get In Touch
Request Support or Connect with us in our Open Office Hours
About the Office for Digital Learning
Promoting innovative approaches to engineering education on campus and online, we offer a variety of degree and certificate programs, develop individual online courses, and work with faculty to enhance teaching and learning.