How to Create Award Badges and Certificates

This article will go over the creation process of award badges and certificates.

Introduction

Brightspace Awards allows instructors and organization leaders to recognize learner achievements through badges and certificates. Awards can be automatically issued when learners meet specific criteria or manually issued by an instructor.

In this article, we will be going over the step-by-step process for the creation of badges/certifications, along with: configuring award settings, adding release conditions, reusing existing awards, and manually issuing or revoking awards.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Create A New Badge/Certificate Award

1. Log in to Brightspace and access your course.
2. On the navigation bar, go to Class Progress and Awards.
3. In the dashboard, click on the Course Awards tab and click on the blue Add Award To Course button.
4. Once in the dashboard area, click on the grey Create button to get started.
5. On the editing page, give the award a name, a description, and the criteria it must meet.

6. On the Award Type, select between:
   • Badge: for completion of individual tasks.
   • Certificate: for completion of a course/organization.
7. For Availability, we recommend selecting "Make this award available to other award creators and their courses" and "Restrict award to [Course/Organization] and its child org units" if the award only pertains to that individual course/organization.

8. (Optional) Adjust Expiry settings if needed.
   • Never: no expiration.
   • Fixed Date: from the date of issue to the date you prefer for expiration.
   • Relative Time Period After Earning The Award: choose between # of Days/Weeks/Months/Years.
   • Relative Day Of Month: usually for the expected renewal date.

9. Choose Award Image (required for both Badges and Certificates)
   • From Existing Library: select from our D2L default icons
   • Upload New Icon: create your own icon through third-party tools and upload from your device.
10. Choose Certificate Template (if certificate was chosen):
    • From Existing Library: Preview our existing templates and use them as a reference for your template creations.
    • Upload New Template: Using either Adobe, Canva, or other editing software, see recommended formatting from D2L support: Create a Custom Certificate that uses Replace Strings | D2L Brightspace Community
11. After choosing the certificate template (if you are doing certificates), continue with the Issuer Information:
    • Issuer Name: your name or the department.
    • Issuer URL: either the department site or the Brightspace course/organization link.
    • Issuer Contact: your contact or the department's contact.

12. Once you are finished, ensure the "Use this award in [Course/Organization] now." option is enabled, then Save and Close.

Add Release Conditions

1. After you Save and Close you are brought back to the Course Awards dashboard.
2. Click on Edit Awards anytime you need to update the award settings.
3. Or if you ever need to delete an award, you can click on the Remove Award link with the trash can icon.

4. To add release conditions, click on Edit Properties.

5. Ensure the "Award hidden until earned" is either checked or unchecked for your preference:
   • Checked = hidden from students until requirements are met.
   • Unchecked = the award is showcased, so the student can view the requirements.
6. Next, click on the grey Create button to begin adding release conditions.

7. After selecting Create, you will be navigated to the Create a Release Condition dashboard.
   • To review the types of release conditions, please review Release condition types | D2L Brightspace Community.

8. Once you select a Condition Type, you may select Condition Details​​​​​, if needed. Then click on the blue Create button.
   • You may add more release conditions if needed; click on Create again to add one at a time.
9. Once you are satisfied with the conditions, click on the blue Save button to confirm changes. 
10. If you wish to delete a condition, you can go back to the Edit Properties settings and follow the light grey text. Then, click on the "X" to remove the condition.

Add Existing Awards

1. You can add existing awards from the public or reuse ones you have created.
2. Back to the Course Awards tab, click on the blue Add Award To Course.
3. Choose between the [A] Search Bar and [B] Show Only Awards I created to browse available awards or your own creations.

4. Once you have selected an award or multiple awards, navigate back to the top and click on the blue Add button.

Issue or Revoke Awards from Classlist Awards

1. To issue or revoke awards, go back to Class Progress and Awards.
2. Then, click on the Classlist Awards tab.
3. You can either search for individual students or organize by the right-hand side using the Awards Leaders drop-down menu.
4. Click on the box by the student names, and choose to [A] Issue or [B] Revoke at the top.

5. When issuing an award
   • Select an Award that the student completed.
   • Provide an Issue Date if needed.
   • Preview the Criteria.
   • Fill in the Evidence explaining why the award was issued for the student(s).

6. Once completed, click on the blue Issue button to send off the award.

7. To revoke awards, click on the grey Revoke button after selecting the student(s).
8. Under Select an Award, click on the award you wish to revoke along with a message under the Revoke Reason.

8. Once completed, click on the blue Revoke ​​​​​​button. The award should no longer appear next to the student's name.

Troubleshooting Tips

• The award is not being issued automatically
  • Verify that:
    • Release conditions are configured correctly
    • The student has met all required conditions
    • The award is active in the course
• Students cannot see their award
  • Check:
    • Award visibility settings
    • Release conditions
    • Whether the award has actually been issued
• The certificate template will not upload
  • Verify:
    • The file format is supported
    • The design meets D2L certificate requirements
    • Replace strings are formatted correctly
• The custom image does not appear correctly
  • Use a high-quality image with appropriate dimensions and minimal text.
• The instructor cannot edit an award
  • Verify the instructor has sufficient permissions within the course and was granted access to the award.

Additional Resources

About Awards | D2L Brightspace Community

Release condition types | D2L Brightspace Community

Create a Custom Certificate that uses Replace Strings | D2L Brightspace Community

Create and manage awards | D2L Brightspace Community

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What is the difference between a badge and a certificate?

A badge typically recognizes completion of a specific activity, skill, or milestone. A certificate is generally used to recognize completion of an entire course, training program, or organization requirement.

Q2: Can awards be issued automatically?

Yes. Awards can be configured with release conditions so that they are automatically issued when learners meet specified requirements.

Q3: Can I reuse an award in another course?

Yes. Awards can be made available to other courses and organizations and added through the Add Award to Course option.

Q4: Can I manually issue an award?

Yes. Instructors may manually issue awards from the Classlist Awards area, even if automatic release conditions have not been configured.

Q5: Can an award expire?

Yes. Awards can be configured to:

• Never expire
• Expire on a fixed date
• Expire after a specified period following issuance