Background information [Sept. 19, 2012, 2:47 p.m.]
So many resources already!
People have been creating reference material and learning resources for Badges as a core piece of this project since it was started. Exploring these existing Mozilla Open Badges resources is an excellent way to building your understanding. This list of resources has been organized to aid in understanding and learning.
A laundry list of <a href="http://bananigans.tumblr.com/post/22586770579/how-to-learn-more-about-open-badges">sites and specific pages</a> to start your journey towards understanding badges.
This blog post details <a href="http://criticaltechnology.blogspot.ca/2012/05/open-badges-what-ive-learned-so-far.html>the introductory technical lessons</a> of using open badges. It also serves as a good list of resources.
The p2pu challenge titled <a href="http://p2pu.org/en/groups/the-world-of-open-badges/"> open badges 101</a> is a great way to jump into the community.