Glossary

BADGES

nouns/ adjectives

Active

• An active badge available for earning.

Application

• Earners submit badge applications together with any relevant supporting evidence. Assessors review badge applications, referring to badge criteria.

Archived

• A badge not currently active or available to earn.

Assertion

• An assertion is a JSON-structured representation of the data for a specific badge that has been awarded. The assertion for a badge includes various data items required by the Open Badges Specification.
• Required data items in an assertion include: a unique ID; the recipient; the badge URL; verification data; the issue date.
• Assertions can optionally also include: the badge image; an evidence URL; an expiry date.
• An assertion can be stored in a hosted file or can comprise a signed JSON representation returned from the issuer API.

Available

• An available badge is one earners can apply for.

Backpack

• A tool used to collect, share and display earned badges.

Badge

• A digital representation of a skill, learning achievement or experience. Badges can represent competencies and involvements recognized in online or offline life. Each badge is associated with an image and some metadata. The metadata provides information about what the badge represents and the evidence used to support it.
• Earners can display their badges online and can share badge information through social networks.
• Badge Class: A badge published by the issuer
• Badge Instance: An issued badge unique to the badge earner.

Claim code

• A code created by an issuer and given to an earner when the earner earns the badge. The earner can take the code and claim the open badge associated with that code.
• Claim codes can be unique to the earner or general so that many different earners can use a code to claim the badge.

Consumer

• The consumer is someone viewing a badge awarded to an earner
• Examples could include colleagues, peers and potential employers.

Criteria

• A definition of the requirements for earning a badge
• A badge may be associated with multiple criteria
• Criteria can be required or not
• Criteria must be associated with a description and indication of acceptable evidence.

Description

• Badges are accompanied by descriptions as part of the Open Badges specification.
• Each badge includes a description for earners and for consumers.

Directory

• An interactive listing of badges
• Includes templates, drafts, published and archived.

Draft

• A saved badge that's not yet active.

Earner

• A person who has met the necessary requirements to earn a badge.

Evidence

• Submitted proof that an earner meets the criteria for a badge they are applying for
• Can be links, text, images, and other media.

Feedback

• When an assessor decides whether or not an applicant has met the criteria for a badge, they can forward feedback regarding the decision
• Depending on whether the earner is under 13 or not, the feedback will be a set of pre-canned messages or come free-form.

Group

• A set of related badges.

Issuer

• Person or organization who offers badges and issues them to earners
• Sometimes the issuer is also the assessor.

Limit

• Optional maximum number of times a badge can be awarded.

Metadata

• Information contained within a badge that defines it
• Includes name, description, and links to other important details like the badge's criteria, evidence and issuer information.

Milestone

• When someone earns a specific set of badges, they can be awarded a milestone badge representing this collective achievement.
• This allows issuer to acknowledge higher-level experiences and skills. Conversely, a milestone badge allows issuer to create smaller, more granular badges that culminate in this badge.

Multi-use

• Claim code that can be used to issue a badge to multiple earners.

Options

• Each badge has a set of options regarding issue limits, claim codes, time limits and uniqueness.

Program

• Badge issuers can choose to organize groups of badges into programs. A program can include multiple badges grouped in a logical way.

Reviewer (also Assessor, Mentor)

• Person or software responsible for checking evidence to see if it meets badge criteria
• May involve a rubric
• Can be Expert / Peer / Self / Algorithmic.

Rubric

• A tool used to assess badge criteria in a standardized way
• Aids consistency in review
• Can also be used to check evidence to see if it meets badge criteria (if the badge requires evidence).

System

• A collection of different items (badges, criteria, rubrics, etc) connected by a plan/ goal/ idea that often yields a sum greater than its parts
• Multiple issuers can function within a single system, with each issuer potentially issuing badges under multiple programs.
• An example system could be a city running an education project in which various institutions act as issuers.

Template

• A generic badge used to initiate a new draft badge
• A template can be thought of as the blueprint for a new draft badge, you can use any of the elements within it and can edit it however necessary
• A template, like a draft, can be saved in any state of completion.

Time

• A badge can be associated with a time constraint for earning it.

Unique

• A claim code can be unique to a single earner.

BADGING

verbs

Apply

• Earner submits evidence to demonstrate that they have earned a badge.

Approve

• Earner is assessed as having met the badge criteria.

Archive

• Make a currently active badge no longer active
• Archived badges cannot be earned while they are in archived state.

Assess

• The process of reviewing evidence (when evidence is required) to decide whether an earner has met the criteria for a badge
• Assessment can sometimes involve a rubric, defined within the badge metadata.

Award

• Non-technical term for issuing
• Example: Mr. Foxy will award janedoe a badge for her outstanding work
• Alternatives include Present, Confer, Grant.

Claim

• Earner carries out necessary steps to connect an earned badge to their identity.
• Follows receipt of claim code.

Collect

• Earners can collect awarded badges and display them in backpacks.

Design

• When an issuer creates a new badge, they can configure the data associated with it and its visual appearance.

Issue

• Technical term for connecting a badge to a person via email, claim, evidence
• Example: openbadger will issue janedoe a badge via email for her work.
• Non-technical term = award

Publish

• Make a draft badge active
• Once a badge is active, earners can apply for it
• Some attributes may not be editable when a badge is in published state.

Re-apply

• Earners can re-apply for badges if an initial application is unsuccessful based on the badge criteria.

Review

• Assessor considers whether the evidence in the badge application meets the criteria for the badge
• sometimes based on a rubric.

Share

• Earners can share awarded badges through social media.
• Issuers can share draft badges for input from colleagues or other parties.

Verify

• Confirmation that a specific badge was awarded by the issuer to a specific person.

Visuals

• Issuers can determine the visuals for a badge by uploading an existing image or designing the badge using a set of standard controls.