More Than Metadata
Why Visible Recognition Matters in Lifelong Learning
If we want to create a lifelong learning mindset, we need to recognise learning, visibly, personally, and meaningfully and not just the big milestones.
What happens to the skills you pick up through your job, volunteering, or learning by doing? If there's no certificate, no badge, no credential, does it even count? Too often, the answer is no. And yet these informal, everyday learning experiences are the lifeblood of lifelong learning.
We’ve wrapped learning in systems and strategies, but it shouldn’t be a consumable product, it should be a mindset. A way of being. You don’t do lifelong learning like a checklist. You are a lifelong learner when you seek, explore, reflect, and keep going, often in ways that don’t fit into neat qualification frameworks. Think about some things you have learned recently, and then think about how you learned them, I’m guessing that a lot of them were outside of formal education.
If we want people to keep learning, we need to reward it. We need to recognise it, and that recognition needs to be visible, meaningful, and personal.
Why I still support paper certificates
Years ago, I was working with Credly on a digital badging project. They showed me a new feature: the ability for learners to print their digital badge as a certificate.
My first thought? Why are we going backwards? We were trying to move away from wall-hung paper certificates to digital, portable, verifiable credentials.
However when we were talking about it, the feature was very popular, especially in parts of Asia and India, where learners wanted something tangible as well. Not just to show employers, but to take home to their families and friends. To say, “Look what I’ve achieved.”
And it resonated. I remembered how proud I was when my daughter came home from school with awards and certificates. We pinned them to the fridge. That wasn’t just about grades, it was recognition and pride.
Recognition doesn’t have to be complex. But it must be felt.
Motivation is more than mobility
People learn to upskill and they learn to advance their careers. But they also learn because it connects them to others. Because it sparks curiosity. Because they want to grow. Sometimes, it’s just for the sheer joy of knowing something they didn’t know before.
When we focus only on the career outcomes of learning, we risk missing that satisfaction and social connection. The motivation to learn often lies in being able to share what you’ve learned. To say proudly, “I did this.” That’s why visible recognition matters.
And it’s why we need to rethink how we issue, describe, and reward digital credentials.
Making Recognition Visible and Meaningful
Here are some simple practical ideas that can enhance the human element in digital credentialing.
1. Make it easy for learners to describe their learning
Not everyone understands what a badge or microcredential is, and if learners can’t explain it, how can they show others it’s value.
Try this:
Provide a plain language description of the credential:
"This badge shows I completed a short course in cybersecurity awareness, learning how to recognise phishing attacks, protect my data, and keep digital systems safe."Encourage learners to add it to LinkedIn or their email signature with context, not just the badge, but why it matters.
2. Support learners to use and share their credentials
Many learners don’t know what to do with a badge once they receive it.
Support them by:
Giving a “Now what?” guide with their badge, e.g., how to add it to LinkedIn, how to include it in a CV, how to talk about it in an interview, how to download a certificate they can share with family.
Including sample language they can adapt for performance reviews, job applications, or social posts.
Encouraging peer recognition, perhaps through Slack/Teams shoutouts, internal newsletters, or digital walls of fame.
3. Rethink the ‘reward moment’
Is claiming a badge just a button at the end of a course? "Click here to claim your badge." Or could it something more?
We have graduation ceremonies, award nights, and employee of the month rituals because recognition is social. It’s emotional. It should be a moment.
Ideas for making the moment matter:
Include a personalised message from a trainer, educator, or team leader with the badge.
Host a virtual credentialing ceremony for a cohort or team.
Let people nominate each other for learning-based recognition, even for microlearning or volunteering.
Frame credentialing as the start of a story, not the end, e.g., “This badge marks the beginning of your journey into project leadership.”
4. Design credentials that tell a personal story
One of the most powerful badges I received allowed me to upload my own presentation. No one else has that exact badge. It’s unique, because it holds my evidence.
That’s a powerful idea: a credential that is machine-readable for systems but meaningful for humans.
Consider including:
Customisable elements like uploaded reflections, evidence, or artefacts.
Optional endorsements or feedback from peers or mentors.
Space to describe how the learning was applied on the job or in the community.
Final Thought: The Human Behind the Badge
In the race to make credentials portable, stackable, and machine-readable, we can’t forget that there’s a person behind every badge.
A person who wants to be seen. A person who might pin that certificate on the fridge. A person who learned something new, took a risk, or asked a hard question.
If we can design credentialing systems that reflect that, then we’re not just issuing badges.
We’re honouring learners.
And we’re making lifelong learning feel like what it truly is: a celebration of growth.
Next week I’ll be in Boulder, Colorado at the Badge Summit, looking forward to what I will see and learn there and sharing it in my next articles.