Why digital badges and assessments are imperative for today's youth

A few years ago, I was invited by the Urban Institute to participate in a panel discussion. The topic was about digital badges and their impact. As the founder of the IBM Digital badge Program, I had a good story to tell about how enterprises could use digital badges to improve business outcomes, improving everything from sales to customer support to marketing and employee retention.

After the panel ended, I stepped down off the stage and expected to mix and mingle with professors and business leaders from the Washington DC area. Instead, I was approached by three young African American teenagers. They walked up to me and asked, “How can we earn digital badges?”

In that single moment, my entire point of view on digital badges changed completely.

With the evolving landscape of education and employment, traditional transcripts and resumes just don’t cut it anymore.