Open Badges are information-rich visual tokens of verifiable achievements earned by recipients and easily shared on the web and via social media. The Open Badges standard describes a method for packaging information about accomplishments, embedding it into portable image files as digital badges, and includes resources for web-based validation and verification. Open Badges describe who earned it, who issued it, the criteria required, and in many cases, even the evidence and demonstrations of the relevant skills. The data is all inside! If you are new to Open Badges, check out openbadges.org for a complete primer.  

 

Open Badges 2.0 provides powerful new features such as endorsements, internationalization, and multi-lingual capabilities, versioning, improvements for accessibility, and full adoption of JSON-LD. Open Badges 2.0 is in Final status. 

 

Open Badges 2.1 adds a REST-based API to Open Badges 2.0. OB 2.1, often referred to as the BadgeConnect^® API, fully inherits the existing OB 2.0 data model. BadgeConnect supports learning mobility by enabling learners to move their credentials between systems. It is an essential element of interoperability and learner sovereignty.  Open Badges 2.1 is now in Final status.

 

Open Badges 3.0 (OBv3), the latest version of the standard, offers the benefits of OBv2, and includes enhanced features, such as layers of cryptographic proof that can provide security and privacy, alignment with the W3C Verifiable Credential Data standard, aligned with the Comprehensive Learning Record 2.0 standard, and supports a native API to allow for learning mobility.

 

Member Resources (login required)

• OB 2.0 Certification Suite
• OB 2.1 Badge Connect Reference Implementations
• OB 2.1 Badge Connect Certification Suite
• OB 3.0 / CLR 2.0 Certification Suite
• Digital Credentials Technical Project Group

 

Additional Background

Verifiable digital credentials such as Open Badges are an increasingly important means for educational institutions, employers, and other learning organizations to recognize a learner's skills, competencies, and achievements.

Designed based on learner-agency principles, Open Badges put learners in control of their credentials by enabling them to claim and display the badge on any platform. Open Badges are also portable rather than tied to one specific system (e.g., badging platform, learning management system, social media site). Open Badges contain rich metadata that provides information about the issuing organization, the recipient, and evidence that substantiates the earning of the badge.

Optional extensions to the standard allow Open Badges to include detailed information about assessments and additional information about an issuer’s accreditations relating to the credential. These elements help validate the rigor of the badge to audiences who review the credential, which may include fellow students, instructors, academic advisors, career center staff, and others within the institution, as well as potential employers and peer networks. In these ways, badge owners can own, display, store, and share their Open Badges across an open digital credentialing ecosystem.

 

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