Digital Badges Guide

Award verifiable, shareable digital credentials that recognize skills and achievements

🏆 What are Digital Badges?

Digital badges are visual symbols of accomplishments that contain verifiable metadata. They're based on the Open Badges standard, making them portable and shareable across platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and email signatures.

Verifiable

Contains secure metadata proving authenticity

Shareable

Display on social media and digital portfolios

Stackable

Build progressive skill pathways

📊 Badges vs Certificates

Digital Badges

Micro-credentials for specific skills
Shareable on social media
Verifiable metadata embedded
Great for gamification
Quick to create and award

Best for: Skills, participation, milestones, engagement

Certificates

Formal credentials for completion
Professional PDF documents
Detailed achievement information
Printable and frameable
Traditional recognition format

Best for: Course completion, awards, official credentials

💡 Pro Tip: Use both! Award a digital badge for immediate recognition and a certificate for formal documentation.

🎨 Creating Digital Badges

1. Design Your Badge

Create a visually appealing badge design that represents the achievement

Design recommendations:

• Use square format (400x400px minimum)
• PNG format with transparent background
• Clear, readable icon or symbol
• Consistent brand colors
• Avoid small text (won't be readable when displayed small)

2. Define Badge Criteria

Set clear criteria for earning the badge

Include in criteria:

• What achievement the badge represents
• Specific requirements to earn it
• Skills demonstrated
• Issuing organization
• Validity period (if applicable)

Example: "Active Participant badge is awarded to meeting attendees who achieve an engagement score of 80+ through speaking, chat participation, and reactions."

3. Choose Awarding Method

Decide how badges will be awarded

Manual Awarding

You manually select recipients to award badges

Best for: Subjective achievements, special recognition, quality-based awards

Automatic Awarding

Badges awarded automatically when criteria are met

Best for: Completion milestones, score thresholds, participation metrics

Zoom App Integration

Real-time awarding during Zoom meetings based on engagement

Best for: Meeting participation, live engagement, instant recognition

Learn about Zoom App badge awarding →

🏅 Popular Badge Types

Skill Badges

Recognize specific competencies or skills acquired

Participation

Award for attending events or completing activities

Achievement

Celebrate reaching milestones or goals

Community

Recognize contributions to community or team

Mastery

Demonstrate expertise or advanced proficiency

Innovation

Award creative thinking and problem-solving

🌐 Sharing & Verification

Share Anywhere

Recipients can share their badges across multiple platforms

• LinkedIn profile and posts
• Twitter/X and other social media
• Email signatures
• Personal websites and portfolios
• Digital resumes and CVs
• Badge backpack platforms

Verification

Every badge includes verifiable information

• Unique badge ID
• Issuer information
• Issue date and expiry (if set)
• Criteria and evidence
• Recipient details
• Public verification URL

💡 Badge Best Practices

1. Make Criteria Clear & Achievable

Clearly communicate what's required to earn each badge. Make goals challenging but attainable to maintain motivation.

2. Design Visually Distinct Badges

Each badge type should have a unique, recognizable design. Use different colors, icons, or shapes to differentiate achievement levels.

3. Create Badge Hierarchies

Design progressive badge systems (Bronze → Silver → Gold) to encourage continued engagement and skill development.

4. Celebrate Badge Achievements

Publicly recognize badge recipients (with permission) to increase badge value and motivate others to earn them.

5. Keep Metadata Complete

Always fill in all badge metadata fields (criteria, skills, issuer) to ensure badges are valuable and verifiable.

🎯 Badge Use Cases

Online Learning Platforms

Award badges for completing lessons, quizzes, projects, or entire courses. Create badge pathways that guide learners through curriculum.

Example badges: "Module Completed", "Quiz Master", "Project Expert", "Course Graduate"

Meeting & Event Engagement

Use with Zoom App to reward active participation, questions, helpful contributions, and attendance.

Example badges: "Active Participant", "Great Question", "Problem Solver", "Attendance Champion"

Employee Training Programs

Track skill development, compliance training, and professional growth with stackable badges.

Example badges: "Safety Certified", "Leadership Skills", "Technical Expert", "Innovation Award"

Community & Social Learning

Recognize community contributions, peer support, mentorship, and knowledge sharing.

Example badges: "Helpful Member", "Mentor", "Top Contributor", "Community Builder"