NNCO_SMB Starting your small business

What is a badge?

About this free course

This free course is an adapted extract from the Open University course .

This version of the content may include video, images and interactive content that may not be optimised for your device.

You can experience this free course as it was originally designed on OpenLearn, the home of free learning from The Open University –

There you’ll also be able to track your progress via your activity record, which you can use to demonstrate your learning.

Copyright © 2015 The Open University

Intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, this resource is released under the terms of the Creative Commons Licence v4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en_GB. Within that The Open University interprets this licence in the following way: www.open.edu/openlearn/about-openlearn/frequently-asked-questions-on-openlearn. Copyright and rights falling outside the terms of the Creative Commons Licence are retained or controlled by The Open University. Please read the full text before using any of the content.

We believe the primary barrier to accessing high-quality educational experiences is cost, which is why we aim to publish as much free content as possible under an open licence. If it proves difficult to release content under our preferred Creative Commons licence (e.g. because we can’t afford or gain the clearances or find suitable alternatives), we will still release the materials for free under a personal end-user licence.

This is because the learning experience will always be the same high quality offering and that should always be seen as positive – even if at times the licensing is different to Creative Commons.

When using the content you must attribute us (The Open University) (the OU) and any identified author in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Licence.

The Acknowledgements section is used to list, amongst other things, third party (Proprietary), licensed content which is not subject to Creative Commons licensing. Proprietary content must be used (retained) intact and in context to the content at all times.

The Acknowledgements section is also used to bring to your attention any other Special Restrictions which may apply to the content. For example there may be times when the Creative Commons Non-Commercial Sharealike licence does not apply to any of the content even if owned by us (The Open University). In these instances, unless stated otherwise, the content may be used for personal and non-commercial use.

We have also identified as Proprietary other material included in the content which is not subject to Creative Commons Licence. These are OU logos, trading names and may extend to certain photographic and video images and sound recordings and any other material as may be brought to your attention.

Unauthorised use of any of the content may constitute a breach of the terms and conditions and/or intellectual property laws.

We reserve the right to alter, amend or bring to an end any terms and conditions provided here without notice.

All rights falling outside the terms of the Creative Commons licence are retained or controlled by The Open University.

Head of Intellectual Property, The Open University

Contents

- What is a badge?

- What is a statement of participation?

- What are the requirements?

- Enrol on the course to collect your badges

- How do I access my badge?

- How do I access my statement of participation?

What is a badge?

Badges are a means of recognising certain skills and achievements acquired through online courses. Badges demonstrate your work and achievement on a course. As you will be achieving an SPN-branded badge, you will be able to demonstrate that you have successfully studied a course led by the Social Partnerships Network.

While SPN badges do not carry any formal credit and are not subject to the same rigour as formal assessment, you can share your achievement with friends, family and employers, and on social media such as Facebook or LinkedIn. You might like to include your badges or statement of participation on your CV as evidence of self-directed learning.

Badges are a great motivation, helping you to reach the end of the course. Gaining a badge often boosts confidence in the skills and abilities that are needed for successful study. So, completing this course might encourage you to think about taking other courses.

There are four badges you can collect from this course:

What is a statement of participation?

If you successfully collect all the badges, you will be able to access and download a statement of participation. This demonstrates your successful completion of the course, your interest in the subject and your commitment to your career. It also provides evidence of your continuing professional development. The statement of participation does not carry any formal credit towards a qualification as it is not subject to the same rigour as formal assessment.

You will be notified by email if you have received a statement of participation. Once it is available (as a PDF file), you will be able to see and download it from your OpenLearn Works profile.

It may take up to 24 hours for the statement of participation to be issued after you have completed the course.

If you experience any problems accessing your statement of participation, please contact spn-nnco-enquiries@open.ac.uk.

What are the requirements?

While studying Starting your small business you have the option to collect a series of digital badges by successfully completing the quiz at the end of each section. Quizzes can only be accessed while studying the course online.

To obtain your badges, you need to:

- enrol on the course

- achieve four out of five correct answers in each associated quiz (you do get more than one attempt!).

Please be aware that quiz questions are based on course content. You are encouraged to engage with the content prior to taking the quizzes.

On successful completion, you will receive your badge for that section. You will also receive email notification that your badge has been awarded and it will appear in your My badges area in your profile on OpenLearn Works. Please note it can take up to 24 hours for a badge to be issued.

You might like to go on and collect the full suite of badges for Starting your small business

Enrol on the course to collect your badges

To enrol on this course (and to ensure you can collect your badges) you will need to follow the simple steps below:

1. If you already have an OpenLearn Works account, just click on ‘Sign in’ to enrol and enter your user name and password.

2. If you don’t have an Open University account (for OpenLearn, OpenLearn Works, or your Open University student or tutor account), create your new account here.

3. Follow the instructions, and when you have finished registration by reaching the My Account page, simply close the browser window or tab.

4. Refresh this page by clicking on the refresh button in your web browser – this usually looks like a recycling icon that features one arrow in a circle pointing to its tail, or two arrows in a circle pointing to each other. This will update your status so you can enrol.

5. The enrolment button is in the top right-hand corner.

You are now enrolled and ready to start the course!

How do I access my badge?

From within the course:

- Go to My profile and click on My badges.

- To view the details of the badge or to download it, click on the badge and you will be taken to the Badge information page.

You will need to download your digital badges to your computer if you wish to share them with your employers or to add them to your CV and social media. You can also add the badge to your Mozilla Backpack, a software tool that allows you to collect your badges together in one place.

If you experience any problems accessing your badges, please contact spn-nnco-enquiries@open.ac.uk.

How do I access my statement of participation?

When you have successfully passed all the quizzes and collected all the badges, you will receive an email containing details on how to download your statement of participation.

You will also find your successful completion of the course in your OpenLearn Works profile, including a link to My statement, where you can download the statement of participation or share it to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Now return to the course homepage.