"An Open Badge is a visual, digital and reliable proof of a skill or competence that someone has aquired."

Principles and choices 

In the training course `Discover and reveal your 21th century skills’ clients get the chance to discover their competences and to get recognition for these competences. Big question is: when does someone ‘have’ a skill and when does someone earn a badge for this skill? Every situation and training is different so we cannot formulate hard requirements for each badge. 

In general we can say that someone masters a certain skill if he can use this skill in different situations and if the behavior associated with this skill has become a habit. 

In the training no new skills are taught, but clients become aware of the skills they already possess. The moment someone is aware of a skill, he can consciously use it in different situations and he can explain to someone else what he can do. Open Badges are proof of this ability. 

It is more and more important that employees not only have professional or job-related skills, but must also possess the skills that make them agile and resilient. This concerns in particular entrepreneurial spirit, creative capacity, desire to learn, social and cultural capital, communication skills, but also digital skills. And they do not only have to possess these 21St and entrepreneurial skills, but preferably also must be able to proof these skills.  

In the training course participants get the chance to discover their 21st and entrepreneurial skills and to get recognition and acknowledgement for these skills. We will do this by issuing Open Badges for the gained skills.  Open Badges are verifiable claims recognising a person’s achievements, competencies, talents, affiliations or aspirations.

Open Badges, developed by Mozilla Foundation, are visual tokens of achievement, affiliation, authorization, or other trust relationship shareable across the web. 

Open Badges always follow the same structure. There is always a main competence, with which an Open Badge is connected. The Badge Name shows the specific field in which knowledge has been gained. This goes along with some criteria for awarding the Open Badge to the individuals and maybe some other additional information.  

An Open Badge is more than just a virtual sticker. A badge holds digital information about the issuer and the criteria for its delivery. In addition, it can hold evidence supporting the claim. This information makes Open Badges verifiable by others, like future employers in order to identify someone's competences.

Digital Open Badges represent a more detailed picture than a CV, or résumé, as they can be presented in ever-changing combinations, creating a constantly evolving picture of a person’s lifelong learning. They represent skills, knowledge or achievement one person has gained within the personal and professional life. 

Regarding the visualisation and display of Open Badges, an important feature is the Open Badge holder can store all the acquired competences in one place. Unlike certificates, where you have several documents (high school diploma, course certificates, etc.). Open Badges, since it is a digital tool and system, can store all the evidence of acquired skills and competences in one place. It is easy to store on one hand and easy to compare and show what skills and achievements you have on the other. Additionally, as it is stored online, one can share the information on websites, blogs, social media profiles, online portfolios and CVs, therefore it can directly be shared with the benefit either to connect with potential collaborators, finding a (new) job or simply to make your own skills, achievements and knowledge visible.

In order to explain the participants Open Badges there are some materials which are helpful and you can use the texts and graphics found in the entr21-toolbox to explain what Open Badges are, what use they have during the workshops and to help participants getting started. There is animation available which explains what Open Badges are and what you can do with it. There is also an infographic to explain the different stakeholders and way to use Open Badges. 

In the workshops you’ll get the chance to discover your 21st and entrepreneurial skills. For these skills you can earn badges so you’ll able to show others what skills you have. In each workshop we will discuss the different skills that belong to the discussed topic and how we can connect badges to this. At the end you will not only have an idea about your skills but also have badges to proof your skills.  

—How do I earn Open Badges?  

Badges can be earned through an app, the Badge Wallet. As soon as you have put this app on your phone, you can start using it. The organisation where you are learning has prepared badges for you to earn. Each badge consists of tasks, for each task you can write a text or upload a file that must be approved by the organisation. When that is done, you have automatically earned the badge and it will remain in the Badge Wallet. From the Badge Wallet you can share the badges by email, WhatsApp or social media. The organization can also give you a certificate of one or more badges that you have earned.  

 — What should I do?  

• Make sure you have a good e-mail address, with which you want to apply later  

• Download the BadgeWallet app on your phone and register yourself 

• Scan the QR code of your organisation, so that you can access the badges  

• Start the challenge by clicking on a badge in the ‘projects’ folder  

• Don’t have a working phone? You can also register via www.badgecraft.eu 

— Before you start working with Open Badges as an organisation, you should create an organisational account on an Open Badges Platform. 

More information on how to create this account can be found at: http://sharebadges.eu/364-2/ 

— Open Badges for entR21-workshops

Tools

Course Manual — Open Badges — Toolbox