New digital tools to help earn merit badges
Merit badges introduce your Scout to the world while fostering confidence and valuable life skills. To help Scouts get the most out of working on merit badges, Scouting America has developed innovative tools to complement traditional merit badge pamphlets.
Say hello to our digital resource guides.
These free online pages for each merit badge house informational videos, downloadable resources and helpful links for extended learning. They are an additional benefit to enhance what Scouts learn from traditional merit badge pamphlets, which are available to download for free.
“The digital resource guides are an absolutely amazing tool that will help Scouts immensely in earning merit badges, especially something like Communication where they can use it for schoolwork too,”says Ben Ward, an assistant Scoutmaster and advancement chairman with Troop 555 of Mechanicsville, Va.
How they can help
Everyone learns differently. The goal of the optional guides is to make learning clearer, more engaging and more accessible. Scouts can listen, watch and read more about a certain topic as they progress through the requirements.
For example, the Aviation merit badge digital resource includes videos on how aircraft aid in law enforcement, firefighting and transport goods. The resource also provides detailed instructive video on how to build a model aircraft.
FAQs
What’s in a digital resource?
The digital resources contain multimedia tools, interactive study materials, and career and future pathway content. These include instructional videos and images, closed captioning, worksheets, suggested activities and supplemental resources about careers, scholarships, and more. Because they can be updated quickly when requirements or policies change, the digital tools feature the most current and accurate information.
How many are there?
So far, six guides have been published, including those for Aviation, Family Life, Communication, Hiking, Citizenship in the Community and Citizenship in the Nation. More are in the works and will be published on the Digital Resource Guides page.
What should I do as a merit badge counselor?
Check out the guides that are currently available, along with the reference materials inside each one. These free guides are accessible on a smartphone, tablet or computer. The additional resources should make teaching more effective, helping you to better connect with Scouts by providing variety to your instruction.