This post has been written by Dr Julie Hulme (NTF 2016, and CANTF Communications Officer)
Some time ago, in the distant past (or probably only a year or two ago), National Teaching Fellows should all have received a digital badge from Advance HE, which they could include in their email signatures, add to their LinkedIn profiles, or use on websites. I received mine – and thought I’d posted it in my email signature – but apparently I didn’t get it right. Did you know it’s a hyperlink? Or did you, like me, think it was just an image? From the correspondence we’ve received on the Committee of the Association of National Teaching Fellows, it seems I wasn’t the only one who didn’t quite understand.
Advance HE have kindly come to my rescue, and I thought I’d share with you some information on how to get the most out of your digital badge.
- If, like me, you want to sort out your badge, but can’t find the original email, do not despair! Digital badges are now hosted by Accredible, and it’s really easy to regenerate the email (and you can do it multiple times). Retrieve a copy of your digital badge email by clicking this link and entering your email; your badge will arrive in just a few short minutes.
- Once your badge is safely received, it’s time to decide who you want to share it with! Your professional email signature? Social media? LinkedIn? A webpage? You can also update your credentials on the Accredible site to allow your connections to find out more about your skills and knowledge. Advance HE have produced a helpful website and a step-by-step YouTube video to lead you gently through the process, so even if you’re not so confident about your techie skills, it’s really easy to do. Then anyone who sees your badge can click on it, and find out more about you!
If you want to see how it works, you can take a look at my own LinkedIn profile, scroll down to ‘Licenses and Certifications’ and click on ‘Show credential’ under my NTF claim.
And (please no?!) if you lose your original NTF certificate, you can also use the Accredible link to access a digital certificate, and print off a copy any time you like.
It took me around 10 minutes in total from clicking the link to ask for a copy of my digital badge email to having my email signature and LinkedIn profile set up properly – and I’m no techno-genius, trust me! I’m looking forward to playing with my profile and adding extra information to it – but for now, I’m happy to be functional! Good luck with your own badge – and if you have any useful tips or tricks for others in the NTF community, please do feel free to add comments and suggestions below.
