Links & Resources

Photo: Ben Filio for The Sprout Fund

This curated list of links and resources can help you learn more about the history of badging, key insights about the theoretical framework that underpins the work, and a list of frequently updated sites that include currently available badging tools and platforms.

History

• History of Open Badges: The history of open badges, as told by the IMS Global Learning Consortium, the managers of the Open Badges Specification since 2017
• Chicago Summer of Learning: A video detailing the pioneering work of educators leading digital badging and Connected Learning initiatives in Chicago, with a special focus on Dr. Nichole Pinkard and the Digital Youth Network
• What is a badge? Approachable video that introduces the world of digital badging
• IMS Global Learning: Articles and blog posts from the manager of the Open Badges Standard

Theory, Research, & Practice

• Case Studies on Digital Badges in Action: Developed by The Sprout Fund and shared at the Summit to Reconnect Learning in February 2014 (Published February 2014)
• “Trust Principles”: Concentric Sky Blog post on “trust principles” involved with designing badges (Published January 2015)
• Digital Badges Annotated Bibliography: An annotated bibliography of articles, research, and other publications on digital badges (Published February 2013)
• Badges: New Currency for Digital Credentials: A series of videos from the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies exploring badges’ potential for credentialing learning (published December 2014)
• Digital Badges for Learning Research: A collection of scholarly research on digital badges from HASTAC (last updated October 2014)
• Digital Badge Design Principles for Recognizing Learning: A blog post from HASTAC with some key badge design considerations (published May 2013)
• Summit to Reconnect Learning Knowledge Bank: As hosts and organizers of The Summit to Reconnect Learning in February 2014, The Sprout Fund developed a lengthy list of links to key articles and press coverage related to digital badges. Though some of these scholarly articles are now years old, many contain useful information that can help guide new and experiences digital badge practitioners (published February 2014)

Tools & Platforms

• Open Badges Participating Platforms List: This is a live running list of available digital badging platforms and their features (published January 2017)
• Badge Alliance Participating Platforms: A list of digital badging platforms affiliated with the Badge Alliance (last updated June 2017)
• Digital Badge Platform Overview: A whitepaper from researchers at the University of Southern California’s Center for Scholarly Technology comparing digital badge platforms; an older article, but includes a nice framework for comparing badge platforms’ features (published November 2013)