Digital Technology Merit Badge

Start the badge the right way Milestone

Meet your unit leader, get a counselor and a signed blue card before working with them. That process is the same for every badge and is set out on its own page.

Work to the requirements in force when you start Document

These requirements are republished yearly. A Scout who has already begun may finish under the ones they started with.

Usually comes after Start the badge the right way.

Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.

1. Watch the "Digital Safety" video, with a parent or guardian's permission Often forgotten Requirement

The Personal Safety Awareness "Digital Safety" video. It is requirement 1 of a badge that later has you use a search engine and open a secure site, and the order is deliberate.

Usually comes after Work to the requirements in force when you start.

THIS IS REQUIREMENT 1 FOR A REASON. It is the Personal Safety Awareness "Digital Safety" video, and requirement 5 then has you use a search engine and open a secure website. It also needs your parent or guardian's permission: the first of five separate times this badge asks for it.

2. How digital technology changed, and where it is going Requirement

Two parts: a history compared against an older generation's experience, and a guess at the future.

2(a). A brief history, compared with an adult's lifetime Task

Then discuss how the digital technology of your lifetime compares with that of a parent's, grandparent's or other adult's. That comparison usually means asking one of them.

2(b). What computers or devices might exist when you are an adult Task

Described, not predicted precisely. There is no wrong answer here that is argued well.

3. How digital things actually work, five explanations Requirement

Digitisation, compression, programming, device families and networks.

3(a). How text, sound and pictures are digitised for storage Task

All three, explained to your counselor.

3(b). Lossy against lossless compression, with an example of each Task

The difference, and a case where each would be used.

3(c). Two digital devices made more useful by their programming Task

Described. The programming is the point, not the hardware.

3(d). Computers, mobile devices and gaming consoles compared Task

Similarities and differences across all three.

3(e). What a network is, and LAN against WAN Task

The difference between a local area network and a wide area network. This is the same topic requirement 5(a) picks up, two requirements later.

4. Software, malware, and three ways of encoding data Requirement

Four explanations, one of which is the security one.

4(a). What a program is, and how a CPU and memory run it Task

A program, software application or "app", and how the machine executes it.

4(b). Four programs or apps you or your family use, and how each helps Task

Four, named, with what each one does for you.

4(c). What malware is, and how to protect your devices and data Task

Both halves: what it is, and the protection of the device AND the information stored on it.

4(d). Barcodes, QR codes and RFID tags, data and two uses each Task

What each is, what data it carries, and two or more examples of where each is used. Three technologies, six examples.

5. Going online, and two of these three need permission Often forgotten Requirement

Three parts. Two of them have you actually use the internet, and both say "with your parent or guardian's permission".

BOTH ONLINE PARTS NEED A PARENT OR GUARDIAN'S PERMISSION. 5(b) is the search engine and 5(c) is the secure website. Across the whole badge, permission is asked for five separate times: here twice, plus requirement 1, requirement 7(c) if the article is online, and requirement 9(a) if you interview somebody or visit. Getting all five agreed in one conversation at the start saves the badge stopping five times.

5(a). Two ways data can be transferred through the internet Task

At least two, described. Easier immediately after requirement 3(e), which is the same subject.

5(b). Use a search engine to find court of honor or campfire ideas Often forgotten Task

Three different websites, ideas presented to your counselor, plus an explanation of how you used the search engine to find them. Needs a parent or guardian's permission.

5(c). Open a secure site, and explain whether its certificate can be trusted Often forgotten Task

Connect to an HTTPS site, then explain how to tell whether the security certificate can be trusted and what the connection means. Needs a parent or guardian's permission.

6. THREE projects of eight, and every one gets backed up Often forgotten Requirement

The badge states the choice. It also states, once and above the options, that each completed project must be copied to a backup device and shared with your counselor.

EVERY PROJECT YOU COMPLETE HAS TO BE COPIED TO A BACKUP DEVICE. The badge states it once, in the sentence introducing the eight options, and never mentions it again inside any of them, which is exactly where a reader choosing between eight routes will read past it. It means a piece of hardware or an account: a USB stick, an external drive, a second computer, a cloud service. Decide which before you start, because three finished projects living on one laptop have not met requirement 6.

6(a). A spreadsheet or database: a campout budget or a sortable roster Optional May not apply Task

A food budget for a patrol weekend campout, or a troop roster with name, rank, patrol and telephone number that you can sort by rank, by patrol and alphabetically by name. The sorting is demonstrated to your counselor.

You have not answered "Requirement 6: which three projects?" yet.

6(b). A word-processed letter to parents and guardians Optional May not apply Task

A draft invitation to a troop event. The requirements page links a word processing tutorial video.

You have not answered "Requirement 6: which three projects?" yet.

6(c). A graphics program: a campsite plan or an event flyer Optional May not apply Task

A campsite plan for your troop, or a flyer combining text with a photograph or illustration.

You have not answered "Requirement 6: which three projects?" yet.

6(d). A presentation of at least five slides, topic approved first Optional May not apply Often forgotten Task

On a topic your counselor has approved, with text and a visual on every slide. It is the only one of the eight routes needing approval before the work.

You have not answered "Requirement 6: which three projects?" yet.

6(e). Photograph a troop activity, and transfer the image Optional May not apply Task

Take it on a digital device, then send or transfer it somewhere it can be shared with your counselor. It needs a troop activity to be happening.

You have not answered "Requirement 6: which three projects?" yet.

6(f). Record your voice, and move the file to another device Optional May not apply Task

Then have your counselor play it back. Moving the file between devices is the requirement.

You have not answered "Requirement 6: which three projects?" yet.

6(g). A blog: five entries, two images, and approval BEFORE publishing Optional May not apply Often forgotten Task

An online journal of your Scouting activities: group discussions and meetings, campouts and other events, at least five entries and two photographs or illustrations. It need not be published, but publishing needs your parent or guardian AND your counselor to see it and approve it first.

You have not answered "Requirement 6: which three projects?" yet.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PUBLISH IT, BUT IF YOU DO, APPROVAL COMES FIRST. The requirement is met by a blog that never goes online. If you choose to publish, you must first share it with your parent or guardian AND your counselor AND get their approval. Both of them, and before it goes live rather than after.

6(h). A webpage: three articles, two images, one link Optional May not apply Often forgotten Task

For your troop, patrol, school or place of worship, with at least one link of interest to the audience. Same condition as the blog: it need not go live, but if it does, both approvals come first.

You have not answered "Requirement 6: which three projects?" yet.

THE SAME CONDITION AS THE BLOG. The webpage need not be posted to the internet. If you decide to post it, your parent or guardian and your counselor both have to see it and approve it first.

7. Intellectual property: three protections, one rule, one case Requirement

Three parts, the last of which needs a parent or guardian's permission if the article is online.

7(a). Copyright, patents, trademarks and trade secrets, and why each exists Task

Four protections, each explained along with the reason it exists.

7(b). When it is permissible to accept a free copy of a program from a friend Task

One question, and the shortest part of the badge.

7(c). Discuss a recent intellectual property case Task

An article, or a report on the internet. The online route needs a parent or guardian's permission.

8. TWO of five on disposal, and two of the five are visits Often forgotten Requirement

The badge states the choice. Three routes are desk work; 8(d) and 8(e) are real places that need getting to.

TWO OF THESE FIVE ARE VISITS TO REAL PLACES. 8(d) is a recycling centre that handles digital hardware and 8(e) is a battery recycling centre, both need finding, getting to, and probably a lift. The other three need nothing but a browser and a conversation. The badge presents all five as equivalent; your calendar will not.

8(a). Why proper disposal matters, and three hazardous chemicals Optional May not apply Task

At least three chemicals that could be used to create a digital device or used inside one.

You have not answered "Requirement 8: which two?" yet.

8(b). Why a certified recycler matters Optional May not apply Task

Explained to your counselor.

You have not answered "Requirement 8: which two?" yet.

8(c). Find an organisation that collects discarded hardware, and what happens to it Optional May not apply Task

An internet search for one that repurposes or recycles, then find out what actually becomes of the waste.

You have not answered "Requirement 8: which two?" yet.

8(d). Visit a recycling centre that handles digital hardware Optional May not apply Often forgotten Task

A real visit, and then what happens to that waste. It needs arranging and probably a lift.

You have not answered "Requirement 8: which two?" yet.

8(e). Find a battery recycling centre and learn what it does Optional May not apply Task

How it recycles batteries, and the proper methods for recycling them.

You have not answered "Requirement 8: which two?" yet.

9. A career, or a hobby or interest. Do ONE Requirement

The badge states the choice. Both are research and a discussion.

9(a). Research one career related to this badge Optional May not apply Task

Training and education needed, costs, job prospects, salary, job duties and career advancement. An internet or library search, an interview, or a visit, all with your parent or guardian's permission.

You have not answered "Requirement 9: a career, or a hobby or interest?" yet.

9(b). Explore a hobby or interest that uses this badge Optional May not apply Task

Any training needed, the expenses, and the organisations that promote or support it, plus your own short-term and long-term goals.

You have not answered "Requirement 9: a career, or a hobby or interest?" yet.

Counselor signs it off Milestone

The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.

Usually comes after 9. A career, or a hobby or interest. Do ONE.