Badges are artifacts awarded for the completion of a set of activities, such as the accomplishment of a series of prespecified or negotiated set of performance tasks at stated levels of competency. Badges symbolize achievements of disparate or integrated performance. Because the tasks they relate to may have many steps or vary substantially, a badge may represent a summary indicator of success. Badges can also reflect different levels of competency. This entry focuses on the range of badges used to credit performance and signify accomplishments of various types in multiple settings such as educational, leisure, and workforce settings. The topic has current relevance to technology as many badges are awarded through use of technology-based systems and badge topics may involve technology competencies. A developing trend ...