Open Badges on the Rise: The Growing Impact of Micro-Credentials

Abstract

Open Badges have gained significant traction within Japanese academic and corporate sectors, resulting in a proliferation of innovative initiatives, especially in the domains of educational quality assurance and workforce development. The advent of Open Badges 3.0 has markedly enhanced the system’s flexibility, paving the way for its expanded utilization across a myriad of disciplines as a robust mechanism for validating learning achievements and proficiencies. This paper delves into the underpinnings of Open Badges, elucidates the advantages conferred by the latest standard, and presents concrete case studies of micro-credential implementation in Japan.