Educational Initiatives and Innovation

Educational Initiatives and Innovation

What is a Digital Badge?

A digital badge is a virtual representation of a skill, achievement, or learning experience you've completed. Think of it like a virtual version of a certificate of completion – except it's shareable digitally and packed with verifiable information. Each badge contains metadata (like who issued it, what was required to earn it, and when) so anyone who sees it can confirm it's legitimate. 

Representing your skills as a badge provides a way to share your abilities digitally in a way that is simple, trusted and can be easily verified in real time. Badges provide employers and peers with concrete evidence of what you had to do to earn your badge and what you’re now capable of.  

How to Earn a Badge

Earning a badge is straightforward! Here's the general process: 

  1. Complete the requirements – Each badge has specific criteria you'll need to meet, such as finishing a course, attending a training, or demonstrating a skill. 
  2. Submit your work – Depending on the badge, you may need to turn in an assignment, pass an assessment, or have someone verify your participation. 
  3. Get approved – A reviewer or issuing organization confirms you've met the criteria. 
  4. Receive your badge – Once approved, your badge is sent to you digitally. You'll get a notification with instructions on how to access it. 
  5. Share it! – Add your badge to your email signature, LinkedIn profile, resume, or anywhere else you want to showcase your accomplishment. 

Claiming and Sharing Your Digital Badge

Once you have completed the requirements to earn a digital badge, here’s how to claim it:  

  • You’ll receive an email from Parchment Digital Badges (noreply@badges.parchment.com) inviting you to accept your badge. 
  • Click the link in the email. 
  • If this is your first digital badge, create an account on the Parchment Digital Badges site. 
  • Accept your badge and start sharing. 
  • IMPORTANT: If your digital badge was issued to a school or work email address, we highly recommend adding a personal email address to your Parchment Digital Badges account to ensure continued access. 
  • Share your badge! You can share individual badges using links, social media, or HTML embed codes. Learn more.

Important: Maintaining Access to Your Digital Badges 

Badges are awarded to a specific email address and are permanently associated with that email. We strongly recommend adding a personal email as your primary email address in your Parchment Digital Badges account to maintain access to your account and badges in case you lose access to a work or institution email at a future date.

FAQs

  • Digital badges are a great way to recognize and showcase learning that doesn't fit neatly into a traditional degree or transcript. Here are some of the main benefits: 

    • Visibility — You can share badges on LinkedIn, email signatures, or personal websites, making your skills easy for employers and peers to see. 
    • Credibility — Because they're verifiable, badges carry more weight than just listing a skill on a resume. Anyone can click to confirm it's real. 
    • Specificity — Badges highlight focused skills or competencies (like "data visualization" or "grant writing") rather than broad qualifications. 
    • Accessibility — They're a low-barrier way to recognize learning that happens outside formal degree programs — workshops, training sessions, online courses, and more. 

    In short, digital badges help people demonstrate what they know and what they've done in a way that's portable, shareable, and easy to verify.

  • Sure can! There is a printable certificate file associated with your digital badge. Once you’ve accepted the digital badge in the Parchment Digital Badges platform, view it in your Backpack and select Print to save or print a PDF certificate of completion. Here are complete instructions.

  • No. This is a service we provide to you, at no cost.

  • Yes! Once you've earned a badge, it's yours to keep. Your badges are stored digitally and can be accessed and shared whenever you'd like. Be sure to add your personal email address to your Parchment account & make your personal email the primary address. This ensures you have access to Parchment, even if you leave the school or job where you earned the badge.

  • The Parchment Digital Badges Backpack allows you to view all your earned badges, share them, and organize them into collections.

    Badges awarded through Parchment Digital Badges are synced into your backpack, while badges from other sources can be manually uploaded. 

  • The Parchment Digital Badges website is a great resource for technical questions related to accepting and sharing badges or user account management. 

    You can also email the UM Badging Committee at ExtendedLearningSupport@umontana.edu.