Badgr Knowledge Base

Creating and awarding badges

Creating badges as an issuer in Badgr

Before creating badges you wish to award, you must first create an issuer in Badgr. If you wish to edit a badge you've already created, click here to jump to the editing a badge section.

You may want to work with your team to define your set of badges and how you intend for them to work in your Canvas or Blackboard LMS before creating badges. For easy collaborative system design discussions, you can download and use the Badgr simple learning pathway worksheet (XLSX).

Creating a badge in Badgr

1. Log in to your account on your preferred server.

2. Select Issuers from the top navigation bar.

3. Create a new issuer or select the issuer you would like to create a badge for. Choose or create issuer

4. Select the Create badge button.

Basic information and criteria

Add a badge image:
1. Upload an image (see Recommended specifications for badge images).
2. Design a badge in Badgr — select the Design a badge link above the image dialog. Use the Randomize option or search for an image you'd like to use. Select a badge shape. Select Customize for more detailed editing options.

badge design

2. Enter the following:

1. Badge name. (e.g., "Founding Documents Badge")
2. Badge short description. What does this badge represent? (e.g., "Learn all you need to know about the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.")
3. Display on issuer and organization public pages. You can choose whether the badge will be publicly displayed.
4. Criteria URL or text. What must be done to earn the badge? (e.g., "https://badgr.io/public/badges/founding-documents-badge/criteria"
  
  or "Students must submit an essay that demonstrates...")

Note: URL is *not required* if you enter text into the criteria field. If a URL is included, it should be publicly accessible, not behind a login such as a Canvas course.

Additional info

Issuers can add optional details to the badge metadata (if appropriate) by selecting one or more options.

Alignment (to educational standards)

Consider adding this information if your content aligns with educational standards such as the Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or ISTE standards.

alignment

Expiration

Users may add an expiration date when authoring a badge. The expiration date is relative to the badge award date. For example, if the badge is created with a 1-month expiration and is awarded on January 1, the badge will expire on February 1. If the same badge is awarded on March 1, it will expire on April 1.

This feature is useful, for example, if you have a certificate program where the certificate is valid for two years and applicants can take an online test any day of the year to qualify. The day they pass the test, they can be awarded a badge that will expire in exactly two years.

For more information, see Creating and awarding badges with expiration dates in Badgr.

Badgr Pro badge features

The following features are only available with a paid Badgr Pro subscription and are all optional. To learn more about the differences between the free and paid version of Badgr please see our comparison article. To contact our Sales Team for more information on pricing for your organization, please fill out this form.

Emsi Open Skills/Indeed.com – Each skill in the Emsi skills library has a public page that describes the skill, highlights related skills and lists the top companies that include the skill in their job postings: Badges with Emsi skills include a link to job market data that will appear when the badge is viewed or shared (for more information, see Incorporating Emsi skills in badges)
Custom badge properties – Badgr Pro now allows issuers to add a custom badge property containing customized text or numbered values to their badges (for more information, see Custom badge properties)
Additional details – If you would like to add an additional description or further details about the badge and its earning requirements, you can enter a title and description (for more information, see Additional badge details)
Achievement type – Achievement type options include certification, membership, license and more (to learn how to enable this feature, see Achievement types)
Alignment – Badges can be aligned to a published educational standard by entering a URL that describes the standard and adding a title: One or more alignments can be added to a badge, and a description is optional

Assessment extensions

Assessment extensions allow grading rubrics to be incorporated within your badging program. For more information on enabling this feature, see Badge assessments and questions.

Print certificates

Select a default template or allow recipients to choose their certificate template after they receive their badge. For more information on defining default certificate templates, see Printing badges in certificate format.

Badge Certificate

Editing a badge

Use caution when editing badges!

Open Badges circulate in social networks and across many systems. If the badge metadata is edited after a badge is awarded and baked, the users who received it before your edits may have shared a version of their badge that does not automatically get updated. You may wish to consider creating a new badge using the updated metadata if you wish to continue awarding badges for future earners with a revised meaning.

How to edit a badge

Select Issuers from the top navigation.
Select the issuer that defined the badge you wish to edit.
Select the badge you want to edit.
From the badge detail page, select the box with the ellipses and select Edit badge from the drop-down menu.

5. Complete your edits and click the Save changes button at the bottom of the page.

Save changes