How to Issue Digital Badges for Thinkific Courses: A Complete Guide

Introduction

Digital badges are a way to validate and recognize the skills and accomplishments of online course enrollees. They are visual symbols that can be displayed on social media, websites, resumes, and portfolios to demonstrate a person's qualifications and skills. Digital credentials can aid e-learning providers in boosting learner engagement, motivation, retention, and completion rates, as well as their brand reputation and visibility.

In this article, we will examine how Thinkific, a prominent learning management system (LMS) that enables anyone to create and sell online courses, enables e-learning providers to issue digital badges to their students through a simple and efficient process. We will also discuss the advantages of digital insignia for both learners and e-learning providers and how they can contribute to a more rewarding and impactful learning experience.

Thinkific inbuilt certificate addon

Thinkific allows you to create and sell courses to your learners. However, when it comes to issuing certificates of completion to your learners, Thinkific’s inbuilt certificate addon may not be the best option for you. Here are some reasons why you should consider using a dedicated digital credentials platform instead of Thinkific certificates:

Limited options: Thinkific’s inbuilt certificate addon allows you to alter the fundamental features of your certificate, such as the logo, background picture, font, and text. You cannot alter your certificate's layout, size, orientation, or appearance. You cannot include extra information such as learning outcomes, skills, competencies, or endorsements.

Digital certificates only: Thinkific’s inbuilt certificate addon only supports digital certificates, which are PDF files that can be downloaded or emailed to your learners. You cannot issue digital badges, which are graphical representations of your learners’ achievements that can be displayed on social media, websites, resumes, or portfolios. Digital badges are more engaging, shareable, and verifiable than digital certificates.

Lacking essential functionalities: Thinkific’s inbuilt certificate addon does not provide some of the essential functionalities that a digital credentials platform can offer, such as: - Verifiability: Digital credentials platforms use blockchain technology or open standards to ensure your certificates and badges are secure, authentic, and tamper-proof. Anyone who receives or views your certificates and badges can verify their validity and origin by clicking on them or scanning a QR code. Thinkific certificates do not have this feature, which means they can be easily forged or copied. - Ease of social sharing: Digital credentials platforms make it easy for learners to share their certificates and badges on various social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. They also allow learners to embed certificates and badges on their websites, blogs, resumes, or portfolios. Thinkific certificates do not have this feature, so learners must manually upload or attach their PDF files to share them online. - Wallet: Digital credentials platforms provide your learners with a digital wallet where they can store and manage all their certificates and badges from different sources in one place. They can also access their wallet from any device and sync it with other platforms, such as Mozilla Backpack or Credly. Thinkific certificates do not have this feature, meaning learners must keep track of their PDF files on their devices or cloud storage.

How to send digital badges with Thinkific

To create and send digital badges with Thinkific, you use can use a digital credentials platform that integrates with Thinkific, for example Certopus. These platforms allow you to design and issue digital badges that are verifiable, shareable, and engaging for your learners.

Here are the general steps to follow:

Step 1: Sign up for Certopus from https://app.certopus.com/

Step 2: In your Certopus dashboard, set up organization and badges in the events.

Step 3: Log in to your Thinkific account and go to the Manage Learning Content section. Click on Courses and select the course you want to integrate with Certopus.

Step 4: Make sure that your course is published and accessible to your students. You can check this by going to the Publish tab of your course. If your course is not published, click the Published option and Save.

Step 5: Copy the subdomain of your course from the URL bar of your browser from the Settings tab of your course. It is the part of the URL that comes before .thinkific.com. For example, if your course URL is https://mycourse.thinkific.com, your subdomain is mycourse.

Step 6: Log in to your Certopus account and ensure you have set up an event with Certificate/Badge design and email content saved.

Step 7: Go to the Integrations section and click the Sign In button under the Thinkific box. Enter your course subdomain in the text box and click on Continue

Entering thinkific course subdomain in Certopus

Step 8: You will be redirected to Thinkific, where you need to sign in if not already signed in and give permission to Certopus to access your course data. You will see a screen like this:

Step 9: Click on ACCEPT & INSTALL.

Step 10: Go back to Certopus and click Sign In again in the Thinkific section. You will see a screen like this:

Certopus-Thinkific integration configuration

Step 11: Select the event and the recipient category you want to link with your course from the dropdown menus. Click on Save. Auto Generate: If you want the credentials automatically generated when the meeting ends, you can set this option on. If this option is turned off, only data of participants will be added to the recipient section. Auto Publish: If you want the credential email to be automatically sent when the meeting ends, you can set this option on. If this option is turned off, you must manually schedule the email from the Mailing section.

Mapping Thinkific Coruse to Certopus Event

That’s it! Now, whenever a student completes 100% of your course on Thinkific, they will automatically receive their certificate or badge via email.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between a digital certificate and a digital badge?

A digital certificate and a digital badge are a form of recognition. Certificates are little formal form of recognition. Digital badges, on the other hand, are visual symbols representing achievements or skills, primarily in education and professional development, allowing individuals to showcase their qualifications.

What benefits do Certopus badges offer for learners and e-learning providers?

Certopus badges offer learners shareable and verifiable proof of their accomplishments, while e-learning providers can enhance their brand reputation and engage learners more effectively.

Can I add a logo to a digital badge?

Yes, you can add your logo to a digital badge. Certopus allows you to customize your badges with your branding and design. You can upload your logo and choose from different shapes, colors, and fonts to create a unique and professional badge. You can also preview your badge before issuing it to your recipients.

Need More Information?

Schedule a demo to learn more about Certopus for your business use case, or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We would be delighted to assist you. Finally, if you're on social media, follow us to remain informed about our latest developments and learn more about digital credentials like certificates, badges, and micro-credentials.

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