Digital Technology helps you understand the devices you use every day, from how they store pictures to how they keep your information safe. You'll do real projects, learn to stay safe online, and think about using technology responsibly.
Why it's worth it
You use digital technology all day, but this badge shows you what's actually going on inside: how a photo becomes ones and zeros, how a file shrinks, how a QR code holds information, and how data gets from your phone to a server and back. You'll make three real projects and learn the rules about copying, sharing, and recycling that grown-ups often get wrong. It's a strong start for coding, design, and engineering.
Start this week
- Watch the digital safety video with a parent or guardian, and agree on one device rule together.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Digital Technology counselor, and contact them with a parent copied.
- Ask an older relative or neighbor what the first computer or phone they used was like, and write down their answer.
- Read the eight project choices in requirement 6 and circle the three you'd enjoy most, like a slideshow, a flyer, or a simple webpage.
Requirements · 9
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).
- Requirement 1
With a parent or guardian's permission, watch the Personal Safety Awareness "Digital Safety" video
Tip: Watch the video with a parent or guardian so you can talk together about what you learned and set some ground rules for your devices.
- Requirement 2
Digital technology then and now
Tips for this section: Ask a grandparent or older neighbor what computers and phones were like when they were young. Then imagine what devices might look like in 20 years.
Example for this section: Trace a timeline from room-sized computers to desktops, the web, flip phones, smartphones, and smart watches. Then predict one future device, like glasses that translate signs as you read them, and explain how it might work.
- Requirement 2a
Outline how digital technology has changed over time, and talk with your counselor about how the tech of your lifetime differs from what a parent, grandparent, or other adult grew up with
- Requirement 2b
Describe the computers or devices you think might exist by the time you're an adult
- Requirement 3
How digital devices work
Tips for this section: Compare the file size of a photo saved at high and low quality. It's an easy way to see compression in action.
Example for this section: Save the same photo at high and low quality and compare the file sizes, then zoom in to spot the blocky areas compression creates. Explain why music and video are compressed so they can stream.
- Requirement 3a
Tell your counselor how text, sound, and images are turned into digital data for storage
- Requirement 3b
Explain lossy vs. lossless data compression and give an example of when you'd use each
- Requirement 3c
Describe two digital devices and how their programming makes them more useful
- Requirement 3d
Compare computers, mobile devices, and gaming consoles: how they're alike and how they differ
- Requirement 3e
Explain what a computer network is and how a local area network (LAN) differs from a wide area network (WAN)
- Requirement 4
Software and stored data
Tips for this section: Look at the security settings on a family device with a parent. Scan a QR code and talk about what information it holds.
Example for this section: Scan a QR code on a cereal box or museum sign and explain that it's just encoded text, often a web address. Compare it with a barcode at a store and the RFID chip in a library book or toll tag.
- Requirement 4a
Explain what a program or app is and how a computer runs it using its CPU and memory
- Requirement 4b
Name four apps or programs that you or your family rely on and explain how each one helps
- Requirement 4c
Describe malware and explain how to keep your devices, and the information on them, safe
- Requirement 4d
Explain what barcodes, QR codes, and RFID tags are and what data they hold, with at least two examples of where each is used
- Requirement 5
Using the internet
Tips for this section: Practice searching for a school topic and checking whether each site is trustworthy. Look for the lock icon and https in the address bar.
- Requirement 5a
Describe at least two ways data can travel across the internet
- Requirement 5b
With a parent or guardian's permission, use a search engine to collect ideas from at least three websites for a campfire program or troop court of honor; present them to your counselor and explain how you searched
- Requirement 5c
With a parent or guardian's permission, open a secure HTTPS website in a browser; explain to your counselor how to judge whether its security certificate is trustworthy and what a secure connection means
- Requirement 6
Digital projects. Choose 3 of 8
Tips for this section: Pick three projects you'd enjoy, like a campout food budget in a spreadsheet, a flyer for a troop event, or a simple webpage for your patrol. Back everything up to a second place when you're done.
Example for this section: Three projects might be a spreadsheet food budget for your patrol's next campout, a flyer for a troop fundraiser that mixes text with a photo, and a five-slide presentation about your last campout. Back each one up to a second drive or cloud folder.
- Requirement 6a
With a spreadsheet or database program, plan the food budget for a weekend patrol campout OR build a troop roster listing each Scout's name, rank, patrol, and phone number and show you can sort it by rank, by patrol, and by name. Back up the files and share with your counselor
- Requirement 6b
Use a word processor to draft a letter inviting your troop's parents or guardians to a troop event. Back up the file and share it with your counselor
- Requirement 6c
Use a graphics program to draw a plan of your troop's campsite OR make a flyer for an upcoming troop event that combines text with a photo or illustration. Back up the file and share it with your counselor
- Requirement 6d
Use presentation software to build a report on a counselor-approved topic with at least five slides, each combining text with a photo or illustration. Back up the file and share it with your counselor
- Requirement 6e
Take a picture of a troop activity with a digital device and move it to a device where your counselor can see it. Back up the file and share it with your counselor
- Requirement 6f
Record your voice digitally, move the file to another device, and have your counselor play it back. Back up the file
- Requirement 6g
Start a blog that journals your Scouting activities online (meetings, discussions, campouts, other events) with at least five entries and two photos or illustrations; show your counselor and back it up. It need not go online, but get approval from a parent or guardian AND your counselor first if it does
- Requirement 6h
Build a webpage for your patrol, troop, school, or place of worship with at least three articles, two photos or illustrations, and one or more links your audience would like; show your counselor and back it up. It need not go online, but get approval from a parent or guardian AND your counselor first if it does
- Requirement 7
Intellectual property
Tips for this section: Before using a picture or song, ask yourself who made it and whether you have permission. Talk through a few real-life examples with your counselor.
Example for this section: Talk through cases: Is it okay to use a song you like in your video? A photo you found in a search? A font someone shared? Explain copyright, Creative Commons licenses, and when you need permission.
- Requirement 7a
Explain to your counselor what copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets protect and why each exists
- Requirement 7b
Explain when it's OK to accept software for free from a friend
- Requirement 7c
Discuss with your counselor an article, or an online report found with a parent or guardian's permission, about a recent legal case over intellectual property
- Requirement 8
Disposal and recycling. Choose 2 of 5
Tips for this section: Find out where your town takes old phones and computers. Many electronics stores and city recycling centers have drop-off programs.
Example for this section: Find where your town accepts old phones and laptops, and explain why batteries and circuit boards shouldn't go in the trash. Before recycling a device, help a parent back it up and wipe it.
- Requirement 8a
Explain why digital technology must be disposed of properly, and list at least three hazardous chemicals that may be used to make digital devices or found inside them
- Requirement 8b
Explain to your counselor why it matters to use a certified recycler for digital hardware and devices
- Requirement 8c
Search online for a group that collects old digital hardware or devices to reuse or recycle, learn what happens to the waste, and share your findings with your counselor
- Requirement 8d
Visit a recycling center that handles digital hardware or devices, learn what happens to the waste, and tell your counselor what you learned
- Requirement 8e
Find a battery recycling center near you, learn how it recycles batteries, and share with your counselor the right ways to recycle them
- Requirement 9
Careers and hobbies. Choose 1 of 2
Tips for this section: Talk with someone who works in technology, or try a related hobby like coding, robotics, or photography.
- Requirement 9a
Research a digital technology career: education and training, costs, job outlook, pay, duties, and advancement (by searching, interviewing a professional, or visiting a workplace, with a parent or guardian's permission); discuss your findings with your counselor and what makes the career appealing
- Requirement 9b
Explore how digital technology skills could support a hobby or interest: research training, costs, and groups that support it, then discuss possible short- and long-term goals with your counselor
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
An electronics recycling center
See how old devices are sorted and taken apart so metals and batteries can be reused safely.
How: Have an adult call your city or county recycling office and ask whether your patrol can tour the facility or drop-off site.
A library makerspace or technology lab
Try video editing, 3D design, or coding with equipment you might not have at home, often for free.
How: Go with a parent or buddy. Check the library's event calendar for teen tech nights or classes.
Where it can lead
- Software developerWrites the apps and programs people use every day.
- Network technicianSets up and maintains the networks that carry data; often trained with certifications.
- Video editor or digital media producerTurns raw footage, sound, and graphics into finished stories.
- Data analystFinds patterns in data to help businesses, hospitals, and governments make decisions.
- Electronics recycling technicianSafely takes apart devices and recovers valuable materials.
Ask yourself
- Which device do you use most, and what do you now understand about how it works?
- Which of your three projects are you proudest of, and why?
- Have you ever used someone else's picture, music, or words without thinking about it? What would you do now?
- What digital rules do you set for yourself that no one makes you follow?
- What would you like to be able to build with technology in five years?
Good questions to ask your counselor or someone who works in technology
- What did you build or break first that made you love technology?
- How do you decide which new tools or apps are worth learning?
- What happens to my data after I tap "send"?
- What's a mistake people make with copyright or privacy that you see a lot?
- What should I learn now if I want to work in tech someday?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Pair Scouts who are strong with tech with those who are newer so everyone learns from each other.
- Arrange a troop visit to a recycling center that takes old electronics, which Scouts can use toward the disposal requirement.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Scouting America (opens in a new tab) — Personal safety awareness and digital safety materials.
- Creative Commons (opens in a new tab) — Explains free licenses for sharing and reusing creative work.
- Public library — Books, computers, and often free tech classes or maker spaces.
- Code.org (opens in a new tab) — Free beginner coding lessons and projects.
- Computer History Museum (opens in a new tab) — The story of computers, from huge machines to phones, with online exhibits.
- U.S. Copyright Office (opens in a new tab) — Plain explanations of copyright and fair use.
- EPA Electronics Donation and Recycling (opens in a new tab) — Why and how to recycle or donate old electronics.
Pairs well with
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.