An Overview of the Global Open Educational Badge Movement: Opportunities and Challenges [Abstract]

Abstract

Aim/Purpose: Educational stakeholders have little understanding of digital educational badg-ing. Background A current overview of the developing educational badging ecosystem, key terminology, advantages, challenges, and examples of badge utilization. Methodology: Illustrative case study Contribution: Creates a record of the developing digital badge industry providing insights to educational stakeholders. Findings: Highly dynamic industry, developing unique terminology, may improve access to higher education, reduce credential fraud, decrease concerns about vague transcripts, and support customized learning. The challenges include a crowded market with many providers, establishing standards, and determining the value proposition of the credential. Recommendations for Practitioners: Before engaging in a long-term badging strategy, understand the badging system as well as the advantages and challenges of this innovation. Recommendations for Researchers: Consider the profound shift offered by the badging system and the relationship that digital educational badges have on grounded theory related to credentials such as human capital development theory, signaling theory, and credentialism theory. Impact on Society: Digital badging marks a paradigm shift in how we think about formal human development; from one that is institution-centric and bounded to one that is learner-centric and unbounded. Future Research: As a new innovation, there is a wide range of needed research. Most current research involves motivational impacts on K-12 learners. Based on this investigation, research regarding impact on access, pedagogy, security, credential information granularity, case studies about choosing a badging platform, value proposition, and the development of standards is needed.