Badges FAQ

Can I have two badges with the same name?

Yes! You might want for example to have two badges with the same name but with different completion criteria, one with manual and one with automatic.

How can teachers award site badges?

By default, teachers can only award course badges. Only users with capabilities to manage badges in the system are able to do this, so if you wish teachers to award site badges you need to create a new role as follows:

Go to Administration > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles and click 'Add a new role'
Leave 'Use role or archetype' as No role' and click the continue button
Give the role a name e.g. "Site badge awarder"
Tick the System box to allow the role to be assigned in the System context
Set the following capabilities to "allow": moodle/badges:awardbadge, moodle/badges:viewbadges, moodle/badges:configurecriteria
Click the button 'Create this role".
Assign the "Site badge awarder" role as a system role to the teachers you wish to award site badges.

Teachers with the role of "Site badge awarder" will see a link in the Administration block Site administration > Badges > Manage badges.

Can more than one teacher in a course award the same badge?

It's not the user who issues the badge, but a role. Users with multiple roles will have an option to use both of them to issue badges. If the badge is awarded twice by different roles, both roles are displayed and criteria (ALL/ANY) is given. In some cases it will be required for a badge to be awarded by several different roles. When there are, let's say, three teachers in the course and they go to award a badge as a teacher, each of them will see the list of users who already got the badge from a teacher, so they won't need to award the badge again.

What size is a badge?

A badge is displayed in Moodle with dimensions 100 x 100 pixels. However, we recommend that you upload a larger image, such as 300 x 300, as this is around the size the badge is displayed if users upload their badge to their backpack.

Can I award a badge based on a specific grade?

There are two ways of awarding a badge based on a specific grade.

Method 1:

Set a passing grade for the quiz in the gradebook, as explained in section 1.3 of Activity completion settings.

Method 2:

Create a page resource and set the restrict access conditions so that it only appears if the user obtains a certain activity grade or course total
Set the activity completion for the page as "view"
Set the badge criteria such that the page has to be completed (i.e. viewed)

How can I add badges I have earned to my backpack?

See Backpacks.

What's the difference between a backpack and a collection?

A backpack is an area that you can upload your badges to. You then organise them into collections (like separate little bags in your backpack) and you choose which to display on your Moodle profile. So a badge may be in your backpack and not in a collection, but it must be in your backpack before it can be in a collection (note the 'public' box must be ticked too). Collections allow you to control which badges you share with people.

Do I need a paid plan to use a Parchment Digital Badges (formerly Badgr / Canvas Credentials) backpack?

Not to store your own badges. Learners can keep using a free backpack to collect the badges they earn in Moodle and share them.

A paid plan is only needed if the site administrator wants to connect an issuer account to the backpack (Site administration > Badges > Manage backpacks > Connect to a Canvas Credentials issuer account), so that badges show your organisation as the issuer. The free issuer plan ended on 31 December 2025, and free issuer accounts were turned into view-only backpacks.

Moodle still uses the name Canvas Credentials on its screens. See Backpacks for how to set it up.

Why can't I add my badge to my backpack?

Check the following:

Email address - The badge is issued to the email address in your Moodle profile. If your backpack account uses a different address, the backpack may refuse the badge. Make sure the address the badge was issued to is also confirmed in your backpack account.
Region - Your backpack account is held in one region (for example Europe or the United States). Choose the same region when you connect to the backpack in Preferences > Backpack settings.
Backpack address (Open Badges v2.1) - If your site uses Open Badges v2.1, ask your administrator to make sure the backpack URL is https://badges.parchment.com and not https://badgr.com.
The provider's message - If a badge can't be added, Moodle shows the message sent by your backpack provider, which usually explains the reason.

If you still can't add it, download the badge from Preferences > Badges > Manage badges and upload it to your backpack manually.

Why did my backpack connection stop working when nothing changed on our site?

Parchment Digital Badges (formerly Badgr / Canvas Credentials) is an external service run by a third party, not by Moodle. Its owner can change its addresses, plans, sign-in process or the way its systems talk to other platforms at any time, without notice to Moodle. Some of these changes have stopped Moodle backpacks from connecting or receiving badges, even on sites where nothing was changed.

If a backpack connection stops working:

Badges earned in Moodle are not affected. They are still on the user's Moodle profile and can be downloaded at any time from Preferences > Badges > Manage badges.
Keep your site on the latest Moodle minor release, so that you get any fixes made for changes on the provider's side.
Check the Backpacks page for current settings, and search the Moodle tracker or the Badges forum for known problems.

Do I have to use my Moodle email for my backpack?

No, you can specify the email address associated with your backpack.

Which roles can see which badges?

See this forum post on viewing badges.

Can I change a badge image once awarded?

The short answer is 'no', but see this forum post on changing badge images for more information.

Can I revoke a badge once it has been awarded?

Yes - see the section on revoking a badge in Using badges.

How can I get badges with participants' profiles like on Moodle.org?

These are not badges. These are group avatars/pictures. When you create a group in your course - see the documentation on Groups - you can add a picture to represent that group. In places such as forums this picture is then displayed for each participant. If they are a member of several groups then several pictures will be displayed.

Do badges have a set language?

Yes. When a badge is created, you must state the language. This will determine the strings that will be shown when someone is awarded the badge. Once a badge has been created, you can not change its language.

Are badges a rising or a declining trend?

"According to the University World News, over the past decade, enrolments in full university degree programs have steadily declined in the United States while micro-credential form of learning (certificates, badges and licences) is on the rise. (A. Caballero, S. Gallagher, H. Shapiro and H. Zanville, 2022)"

Any further questions?

Please post in the Badges forum on moodle.org

Documentation