Starting today the School of Data supports Open Badges to acknowledge and reward your efforts to use data effectively. Get them for learning, participating and special achievements and show what you are doing around the School of Data.

Open Badges are a fantastic way to track and reward all the informal learning you do around the web. At the School of Data we decided to use them as a main tool for you to keep a record what you’re doing. We are not alone: Around the world educational institutions and other groups are awarding badges for learning and engagement – the School of Data now joins in, allowing you to better show skills you gained and things you did.

You’ll ask yourself – so what exactly do I have to do to be awarded a badge? Depending on the badge you’ll have to:

• Attend a School of Data Workshop
• Participate in a Data Expedition
• Take the Data Fundamentals Course
• Write posts for the School of Data blog

More possibilities will come.

To display your badges you’ll need to sign-up to a backpack – don’t worry you can do so on the way. The backpack is a virtual accessory that collects all your badges and allows you to display subsections of it. If you’re proud that you participated in a Data Expedition e.g. you can select to show that badge off to everyone!

Now what are you waiting for? Get yourself some badges!