C&RL News May 2021 214

In fall 2019, the University of Wyoming (UW) Libraries launched an information and 
digital literacy badge and certificate program in 
partnership with the Ellbogen Center for Teach-
ing and Learning (ECTL), housed in the UW 
Libraries main branch. ECTL crafts programing 
and provides support for graduate students, 
staff, and faculty who teach on our campus by 
employing instructional designers. 

The Information and Digital Badge and Cer-
tificate Program was created when ECTL rede-
signed their Teaching and Learning Certificate, 
and it features many services and resources that 
UW Libraries already offers (i.e., information 
literacy instruction and research consultations). 
This article will detail the redesign of the cer-
tificate program, how the current teaching and 
learning certificate was designed, and conclude 
with lessons learned from the first year of the 
program as well as future goals.

A total program redesign
The original Teaching and Learning Certificate 
was run solely by ECTL and focused heavily 
on the scholarship of teaching and learning, 
teaching philosophies, and teaching observa-
tions. The original program was open-ended, 
self-directed, and did not provide much struc-
ture or support for faculty, graduate students, 
or staff to complete the program. Consequent-
ly, this made it difficult for program partici-
pants to complete the certificate in a timely 
manner. While there were nearly 300 people 
enrolled in the program, only a small number 
of people graduated each year (approximately 
ten people). 

Additionally, ECTL also ran a smaller diver-
sity, equity, and inclusion certificate that was 
run by a different instructional designer and 
featured different protocols, while having 
many duplicate enrollees. 

In the spring semester of 2019, the instruc-
tional design librarian and student success 
librarian initiated a conversation with UW 
Libraries administration about providing 
teaching and research support by potentially 
integrating library services into the two ECTL 
certificates. The library administration was 
supportive of this plan as it aligned with the 
university-wide initiative at UW to create more 
badging programs. 

The librarians approached ECTL with the 
simple proposal of advertising library work-
shops to certificate participants. This would 
allow participants to gain points towards the 
certificate by bringing their class into the li-
brary. ECTL wanted to redesign the certificate 
program, and, subsequently, asked for librar-
ian help and support. At a second meeting, an 
ECTL instructional designer and the librarians 
used whiteboards to sketch out a template of 

Samantha Peter, Kristina Clement, Shannon Sheridan, and Hilary Baribeau

Feasible and flexible
Launching an information and digital literacy badge and certificate pro-
gram in collaboration with a teaching and learning center

Samantha Peter is instructional design librarian at the 
University of Wyoming Libraries, email: scook13@uwyo.
edu, Kristina Clement is student success librarian at 
the University of Wyoming, email: kclemen8@uwyo.
edu, Shannon Sheridan is data management librarian 
at the University of Wyoming, email: ssherid3@uwyo.
edu, and Hilary Baribeau, formerly of the University of 
Wyoming, is now scholarly communications librarian 
at Colby College, hbaribea@colby.edu

 © 2021 Samantha Peter, Kristina Clement, Shannon Sheridan, and 
Hilary Baribeau

mailto:scook13%40uwyo.edu?subject=
mailto:scook13%40uwyo.edu?subject=
mailto:kclemen8%40uwyo.edu?subject=
mailto:kclemen8%40uwyo.edu?subject=
mailto:ssherid3%40uwyo.edu?subject=
mailto:ssherid3%40uwyo.edu?subject=
mailto:hbaribea%40colby.edu?subject=


May 2021 C&RL News215

what would become the new Teaching and 
Learning Certificate and Badge Program. 

The Information and Digital Literacy 
Badge Program
In its new form, the ECTL certificate pro-
gram remains 
a self-directed 
program where 
p a r t i c i p a n t s 
complete a pro-
gram core and 
choose their 
preferred fo-
cus areas en 
route to earning 
badges and/or 
a full certifica-
tion. There are 
currently seven 
focus areas, of 
which informa-
tion and digital 
literacy is one. 
C o m p l e t i o n 
of the full cer-
tificate requires 
earning 100 
points: 25 points come from the program core 
and 75 points come from a combination of 
focus areas. Participants also have the option 

to earn badges in the 
focus areas without 
having to complete 
the full certificate. 
As part of the entire 
certificate, partici-
pants are required to 
watch a video about 
the information and 
digital literacy cer-
tificate and take a 
library pretest. Points 
are earned by writ-
ing short reflections 
(about one para-
graph) in the online 
certificate portal on 
activities undertaken, 
with one point equal 

to one hour of activity. For example, a par-
ticipant who attended a one-hour workshop 
would write a reflection on the experience and 
justify the significance and applicability of 
their experience to their badge subject area.1 

The Information and Digital Literacy Badge 
focuses on encouraging faculty, staff, and 
graduate students to intentionally incorporate 

Photograph of the whiteboards used to sketch out the new Teaching and 
Learning Certificate and Badge Program.

Graphic advertisement promoting the newly redesigned Teaching and Learning 
Certificate.



C&RL News May 2021 216

information and digital literacy into their 
work. In order to give participants an idea of 
the kinds of activities they could complete to 
earn points, the librarians designed a menu of 
items that features existing services that the 
UW Libraries offer. 

Examples of menu items include work-
ing with a librarian to design LibGuides or 
tutorials for a course, applying for an Open 
Educational Resources (OER) alt-text book 
grant, attending a library workshop, teaching a 
session with library resources or the collections 
at the American Heritage Center (the archival 
institution housed on our campus), creating 
data management plans, and much more. This 
menu incorporates all of the different services 
or spaces within the UW Libraries, including 
the American Heritage Center, UW Librar-
ies Special Collections, and the Makerspace 
housed within the libraries. 

Having participants complete activities 
within the program requires no extra work for 
librarians. Essentially, this is another way for 
the library to creatively advertise its services 
with the added value of participants earning 
program points. 

Four librarians contributed to the creation 
and content of the badge program: the instruc-
tional design librarian, the student success 
librarian, the digital scholarship librarian, and 
the data management librarian. Currently, all 
but the digital scholarship librarian manage the 
program. The instructional design librarian is 
the team lead, managing much of our online 
presence and acting as our main contact with 
ECTL. The student success librarian is co-lead, 
assisting the instructional design librarian 
when needed. The data management librarian 
provides subject-specific expertise and services 
to program participants.

One of the main goals of this certificate is 
to involve the entire library in the different 
programming. We are currently working to 
include our Resource, Discovery, and Manage-
ment Division, which houses our collection 
development, e-resources, cataloging, and 
technical services. The American Heritage 
Center is also an official partner in this badge 
program and has included the majority of the 

services they provide, including instruction, 
grants, digital content, and records manage-
ment as menu options for participants to earn 
points.

Another unique element to the badge pro-
gram is the creation of fast-tracks. Because 
there are many options for participants to 
earn points, we wanted to create easy ways for 
participants to earn the 25-point bronze badge. 
This creates a more structured way for partici-
pants to earn badges quickly. Each fast-track 
is centered around specific themes or skills. 
The first fast-track is centered around the 
UW Libraries OER initiative managed by the 
digital scholarship librarian. Participants can 
earn a badge by applying for and completing 
an OER grant and presenting on their OER 
implementation. Librarians are looking to 
incorporate more fast-tracks, potentially focus-
ing on instruction, research data, and archives, 
as we continue to develop the badge program. 

The first year
The first year of the Information and Digi-
tal Literacy Badge has been a period of rapid 
change and growth with positive feedback 
overall from both participants and organiz-
ers. There are currently 53 participants in 
the redesigned Teaching and Learning Cer-
tificate Program and 20 participants within 
the Information and Digital Literacy Badge. 
Currently, enrollment in the Information and 
Digital Literacy Badge represents 38% of to-
tal enrollment across the entire certificate and 
badge program. Half of the Information and 
Digital Literacy Badge participants are active 
(i.e., have submitted prequestions or reflec-
tions for activities). 

So  f a r,  n o n e  o f  t h e  p a r t i c i p a n t s  h a v e 
completed the program. However, the lead 
librarians have conducted consultations with 
41% of badge participants, indicating high en-
gagement between librarians and participants.

The program has had several successes 
over this first year. One such example was 
presenting twice at the Lunch and Learn series 
sponsored by ECTL. Once a week, presenters 
from around campus discuss different topics 
geared toward improving teaching and learn-



May 2021 C&RL News217

ing. Librarians cotaught two lunch sessions: 
“Data Management and Data Literacy in 
Research Assignment Design” and “Designing 
a Research Assignment with Information and 
Digital Literacies.” 

We promoted our badge program during 
both of the sessions and as a result saw increased 
enrollment and participation. Another oppor-
tunity for 
collabora-
tion is at 
the ECTL 
S u m -
mer Boot 
C a m p . 
This series 
consists of 
m o n t h l y 
h a l f - d a y 
workshops 
i n s t r u c -
t o r s  c a n 
a t t e n d . 
Each Boot 
C a m p  i s 
organized 
around a theme with presenters from across 
campus (including the Libraries). Another 
accomplishment from this first year is the posi-
tive feedback we have received on our menu of 
options for participants. Several participants 
have commented on how helpful the menu is 
because it provides guidance on a variety of 
activities and opportunities that count towards 
earning the badge and approximately how 
many hours one can earn from that particular 
activity. 

One aspect of the program we have found 
challenging is managing the self-directed na-
ture of the certificate program. This approach 
allows participants to structure their activities 
within their own schedules. However, there is 
no structured timeline for completion of the 
certificate and badges, other than a three-year 
time limit, so it is difficult to maintain con-
sistent contact with badge participants and 
encourage them to keep up their momentum. 
Consequently, we have begun to contact par-
ticipants and work to develop a plan for points 

to finish the program. We hope to continue 
facilitating these conversations as the badge 
program grows. 

As we continue to develop the Information 
and Digital Literacy Badge, we are considering 
different ways to incorporate the feedback we 
have received from the first year. We hope to 
continue to add to our menu of options by in-

c o r p o r a t -
i n g  m o r e 
l i b r a r y 
s e r v i c e s 
and offer-
i n g  m o r e 
f a s t - t r a c k 
o p t i o n s . 
T h e r e 
a r e  a l s o 
p o t e n t i a l 
p a r t n e r -
ships out-
side of the 
L i bra ri e s, 
which in-
c l u d e  t h e 
A r t  M u -

seum, the Geology Museum, and the College 
of Engineering Makerspace. 

We have also encountered problems with 
consistency between the reflections of various 
badge focus areas and the certificate core. The 
activity reflections often need some adjust-
ments after the participant’s initial submission 
in order for the participant to earn their points. 
For example, we have had participants only say 
they attended a workshop rather than properly 
reflect on how the workshop relates to infor-
mation and digital literacy and applies to their 
teaching and/or research. To create a higher 
and more consistent standard of work, we have 
developed an assessment rubric and sample 
reflections that are available to participants 
to help increase the awareness of expectations 
for this badge program.

Another challenge is getting the entire pro-
gram management team on board with creating 
certain standardized elements for the Teach-
ing and Learning Certificate. For example, 
our Information and Digital Literacy Badge 

Rubric given to participants detailing different elements to include in 
their reflections.



C&RL News May 2021 218

Program has implemented a pre- and post-test 
for all program participants to assess their growth 
and progress as they complete their badge. All 
participants answer five reflective questions about 
information and digital literacy when they start 
the badge program, and later answer the same five 
questions when they are ready to finish. Using the 
same questions for the pre- and post-test allows 
us to compare and assess what they have learned. 
We had hoped to create a standardized pre- and 
post-test across all of the different badges but have 
yet to get buy-in across the board.

COVID-19 
COVID-19 and the moving online of all services 
and courses in Spring 2020 through Spring 2021 
has had a major impact on the number of active 
participants in the Teaching and Learning Cer-
tificate. As with many other campuses across the 
world the University of Wyoming went to fully 
online services in March 2020 and the libraries 
shut their doors. This stopped many of the dif-
ferent workshops, instruction sessions, and pro-
grams that UW Libraries and the ECTL had 
planned. Additionally, graduate students, faculty 
and staff all had higher priorities with moving 
their classes online. This meant we saw a large 
drop in participation after March 2020. 

We had two graduate students who were on 
track to graduate from the Teaching and Learning 
Certificate in April 2020 with badges in Informa-
tion and Digital Literacy who have not completed 
their activities and have now graduated from the 
University of Wyoming. 

Summer 2020 to Spring 2021 brought renewed 
participation in the program. We jumped from 
33% of the participants being active (i.e. partici-
pating in the pre-tests or submitting reflections) in 
the Information and Digital Literacy Certificate to 
50% of the participants being active. 

The Instructional Design Librarian worked 
with ECTL to provide content for both week- and 
month-long courses in which a majority of faculty 
on the UW campus participated. Participants in 
the final day or week of the course worked with 
topics on open education, data management, in-
formation and digital literacies, and the support 
the libraries can provide in those areas. Videos and 
written content were created for these topics. This 

is where the focus has continued to be while faculty 
continue to adapt to the changing environment 
the COVID pandemic has brought. Participants 
can receive points within the Teaching and Learn-
ing Certificate for participating in these week- or 
month-long workshops.

Future goals
We continue looking towards the future of the 
Information and Digital Literacy Badge and 
how we can expand our program offerings. We 
are actively pursuing more fast-tracks akin to 
the one already in existence for OER. The data 
management librarian is currently creating a data 
management fast-track, which will consist of fol-
lowing research data through its life cycle, with 
activities including consulting with a librarian, 
creating a data management plan, and storing 
data in a data repository. 

Another fast-track in the works is for instruc-
tion, where an instructor can come and consult 
on assignment or syllabus design, work with a 
librarian to implement changes in their class, or 
incorporate new library services, such as special 
collection or course reserves. 

As this program continues to grow, we hope to 
increase the number of participants involved, ex-
pand the recommended activities for participants, 
further the awareness of our program through 
direct marketing, and welcome new academic 
partners to the program. We want to continually 
evaluate what parts of the program are successful 
and what areas can be improved to help partici-
pants finish the program to receive their badges. 

We also hope to have participants progress 
beyond the basic 25-point bronze badge and earn 
silver (50 points) and gold badges (75 points), 
eventually completing a full 100-point certificate 
in information and digital literacy. The Informa-
tion and Digital Literacy Badge has been a valuable 
collaborative experience and a model for other 
library collaborations across campus.

Note
1. A Menu of Activities for the Information 

and Digital Literacy Badge Program, along  
with pre- and post-test questions, are available 
in the University of Wyoming institutional 
repository.