Digital Learning in Credentials-Badges

WHY EARN A DIGITAL-CREDENTIAL BADGE?

A Boston Digital-Credential Badge represents recognisable competences gained through a variety of experiences, regardless of your age or background. It allows you to follow your interests and passions and unlock opportunities in life and work by standing out from the crowd. Nowadays, most employers expect their employees to continually seek out further learning opportunities. A Boston Digital-Credential Badge offers students and working adults alike a way to enhance their CV’s with field-specific skills.

Boston creates and issues Badges for you to earn, enabling you to build up your own unique collection and share them across the web and with employers. Each Badge you earn contains data about your newly acquired skills. This data can be viewed when you display and share your Badges, helping people find out more about you and your skills.

 

WHERE CAN YOU SHARE YOUR BADGES?

Tell the full story of your achievements and share your badges online! You select where and with whom you would like to share these:

• Blogs, websites, e-Portfolios, and professional networks
• CV’s and Job applications
• Social media sites such as Twitter, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram
• Even in your email signature!

 

CATEGORIES OF BOSTON’S DIGITAL-CREDENTIAL BADGES

Digital-Credential Badges are like certifications. At Boston, students or working adults can select from two Badge Categories across three tiers of proficiency to develop specific skills in certain fields.

 

BADGE CATEGORY 1: NANO-CREDENTIAL

This consists of a succinct course of study i.e. a teaching moment within a sub-domain of the specified field, for example “Advertising Techniques: The use of podcasts as part of Internet-based advertising campaigns”.

Choose your desired level of proficiency or competency:

• Knowledge Master – pass a theory test and earn the Boston Knowledge Master Badge
• Application Guru – complete a practical assignment and earn the Boston Application Guru Badge
• Specialist Practitioner – display application of knowledge in a work setting by submitting workplace evidence and earn the Boston Specialist Practitioner Badge

 

BADGE CATEGORY 2: MICRO-CREDENTIAL

This consists of a comprehensive course of study i.e. a series of teaching moments within a domain of the specified field, for example “Advertising Basics: Advertising Media – Broadcast, – Out-of-home; – In-store; – Websites, – Social Media, etc.

Choose your desired level of proficiency or competency:

• Knowledge Master – pass a theory test and earn the Boston Knowledge Master Badge
• Application Guru – complete a practical assignment and earn the Boston Application Guru Badge
• Specialist Practitioner – display application of knowledge in a work setting by submitting workplace evidence and earn the Boston Specialist Practitioner Badge

 

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

Earning a Boston Digital-Credential Badge can take anywhere from a few weeks to few months, depending on the skill being developed and expectations of the content and Badge Category.

ARE DIGITAL-CREDENTIAL BADGES IMPORTANT?

The world of work is becoming more competitive and therefore placing greater importance on gaining skills for continuous professional development/advancement. In surveys of human resource managers and digital learning participants across different industries the following data is noted:

For detailed information, please reference the below factsheets on the Micro-Credential Badges:

Advertising Basics (SAVD1181)
Brand Management Basics (SBRD1181)
Fundamentals of Applied Psychology (SAPS1181)
Fundamentals of Business Management (SBMN1181)
Human Resource Management and Functions (SHRF1181)
Introducing Entrepreneurship (SENT1181)
Introducing Socio-economics (SSEC1181)
Introduction to Counselling (SCOU1181)
Introduction to HIV Counselling (SHIVC1181)
Introduction to Marketing Management (SMKT1181)
Principles of Commercial Law (SCML1181)