Abstract:

Day by Day, society is becoming more digital in almost every aspect. Education is also increasingly becoming digitized, considering the acquisition of skills mediated by technology, both in formal and informal learning. In order to recognize the achievement of proficiency in a given competency, it is critical to adopt a digital credential model.

Digital credentials are a disruptive model of accreditation, more suited to the digital world we currently find, which can evidence learning through the issuance of a Badge, containing relevant information about the learner, the acquired skill, and the issuing institution.

Important aspects to be considered are the interoperability, recognition, and validation of digital credentials between institutions. Badge recognition should be as widely accepted as the scope of technology-supported or technology-based educational activities.

This paper presents a study on the main initiatives to implement digital credentials within Europe, considering the policies and guidelines of the European Commission. Based on the report of the experiences and results obtained, it is possible to point out the most relevant aspects and challenges related to the adoption of digital credentials.

One of the key lessons learned from this study is the importance of using shared and standard frameworks, whose quality is recognized by all EU member countries, aiming at credential interoperability.

Another relevant takeaway is the need to establish a digital credential ecosystem (Rossiter & Tynan, 2019), to overcome the challenges involved in managing, verifying, and sharing badges, considering all stakeholders involved in the digital accreditation process.

References:
[1] Rossiter, D., & Tynan, B. (2019). Designing and implementing micro-credentials: A guide for practitioners. Commonwealth of Learning.

Keywords:

Competencies, Digital credentials, Badges.