From Badge Platforms, Backpacks, Passports, LER, wallets, and other providers, there are a lot of different names and types of platforms that issue, display, and receive digital credentials. How and where your digital credentials are created and stored can vary, and it makes a difference. As these types of credentials gain popularity, the interoperability of these records becomes more and more important. If your digital credentials aren't interoperable, your students and staff may be unable to easily share or store their achievements outside of your specific LMS, wallet supplier, or digital ecosystem, greatly reducing their value to the learner or worker. Learn more by reading this blog post.
Table of Contents
Defining Your Purpose
- Why are you issuing digital credentials?
- What are your organizational priorities?
- What are your digital badge program goals?
- How will you measure if you have achieved your purpose?
- Who is your target audience or learner?
- Where will the learning take place to earn a digital badge?
- How will you know they have achieved the needed level of skill?
Functionality Considerations
- What type of solution are you looking for?
- Issuing Single Achievements, such as badges
- Multiple Achievements, allowing you to combine achievements into a single longitudinal record, such as an LER
- Wallets
- Transcripts
- What degree of agency or control do you want your learners to have over their digital credentials? Can they move credentials to a different platform? Can they add credentials from other platforms? Is this portability in a compliant standard format?
- What other systems do you want your digital credentials platform to integrate with? Are they going to be pushing or pulling data from those systems? (Ex: SISs, LMSs, Badge platforms, Curriculum Management systems)
- What manual processes do you currently have that you want to eliminate by using a platform?
- What access will a learner have when they are no longer actively enrolled with your organization? How will they access and authenticate who they are?
- What data or information do you want to be able to include or package within your digital credential?
- What design options do you have for the actual credentials? What do you want the actual credential (i.e., Badge Design) to look like? Will this align with your organizational requirements?
- Do you want your digital credentials to include pathways where credentials can stack to larger credentials? Do pathways need to be able to consider/recognize/consume credentials issued by other parties?
- Do you want your learners to be able to add their own knowledge and skills as self-assertions?
- Would you like to have the ability for an outside organization or person to endorse/support the credibility of the credentials?
- When can a learner get access to the credential? On-demand vs. Graduation
- Would you like the ability to auto-issue credentials at completion of requirements?
- Do you need the ability to revoke previously issued credentials?
- Do you need the ability to retroactively issue credentials for graduated/non-active learners?
- Will you include evidence within the credential to support learning? If so, where will the evidence be stored? (You can link to evidence, or store within the credential if your platform allows.) Will you allow learners to choose whether or not to include evidence in the credential?
- Are you looking for a system that includes additional functionality beyond issuing a digital credential? These additional functions will likely require additional interoperability. Some examples include:
- Connection to a talent marketplace: connecting learners with employment opportunities
- Show career pathways that make use of the data in credentials
- Connection to a skills library for alignment or clarification of what the credential represents
- Student progress dashboards
- Organizational reporting
- Other customizations
- Are there other institutional needs that this solution could support?
- Institutional Research/Effectiveness
- Career Services
- Student Life
- Academic
- How easily can you switch to a different solution for any reason? How can you move your data and information?
Learner Experience Considerations
- How will the learner access the platform? Web-based? App?
- Is the language used understandable by learners? What other languages are supported?
- Can the learner accept, decline, or remove digital credentials?
- Can the learner request a credential from your organization as an issuer?
- Can the learner select, package, and share multiple credentials with a recipient?
- Does the learner have control of the sharing of all digital credential data?
- Can the learner endorse someone else’s credentials or request an endorsement?
- Can the learner export their credentials in a compliant standard format?
Compliance Considerations
- Data Privacy, Security, and Access
- 1EdTech’s TrustEd Apps™ Data Privacy Rubric
- 1EdTech’s TrustEd Apps™ Security Rubric
- EDUCAUSE HECVAT
- SOC 2
- Compliant with UK Cyber Essentials regulations
- Compliant with EU & UK GDPR
- Privacy Commissioner of Canada
- FERPA
- FCRA
- Credential Engine’s Equity Advisory Council’s Report and Recommendations
- Accessibility
- 1EdTech’s TrustEd Apps™ Accessibility Rubric
- Digital Promise Inclusive Design and Learners' Journey LER Technology
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
- Section 508 compliant
Technology Considerations
- Does the solution align with any of the open standards for digital credentials? Learn more at Making Sense of the Key Data Standards for Verifiable LERs
- Are they certified by 1EdTech to meet the minimum requirements for Open Badges 3.0 or CLR 2.0? Check for certification in the 1EdTech TrustEd Apps Directory.
- As you consider adopting a digital badge platform, it is essential to consider support for open and interoperable standards such as the Open Badges and Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR) standards from 1EdTech. Platforms that are certified as compliant with these standards guarantee that they are interoperable with each other. This means that when you choose standards-compliant vendors, the initial setup is made easier, and in the future, you can more easily switch vendors should you need to.
- Procurement Language that includes certifications: https://www.1edtech.org/certification/procure-certified
- Does the platform have a way to handle credentials issued in previous formats, such as Open Badges 2.0?
- Does the solution also align with other open standards that support interoperability across your ecosystem? Examples include:
- Can the metadata fields be automatically encoded with the relevant information for verification?
- If you are including evidence/artifacts, are the linked files stored in the platform, or do they only support links?
- How will training and support be made available to program administrators, learners, faculty, and staff? Will the badge technology vendor provide support and training, or must the institution offer it?
- Can the system integrate with your campus authentication (login) system?
- Do you have the ability to complete bulk or mass actions (i.e., edit groups, issue credentials)?
- Do you have the ability to import, export, or migrate credentials individually or in bulk?
- Do you have the ability to make credentials perpetual or expire? If they expire, are they deleted or archived?
- Do you have the ability to revoke credentials individually or in bulk?
- What ability does an organization have to create various sub-accounts and administrators?
- What reporting is available? Can you export the data for the creation of reports or to use in your own systems
- Track credentials earned, claimed, shared, and published
- Insight into additional value, referrals, and brand exposure
- Analytics events log - accurate engagement tracking and reports for credentials
- Track the number of clicks to the issuer’s website
- Social media analytics - accurately track digital credentials added and viewed across social media platforms
- Influencer analytics - track which recipients are creating the most engagement
Additional Considerations
- What is the reputation of the vendor?
- Research Track Record
- Customer Reviews
- Industry Recognition
- Roadmap
- Financial Health
- How engaged is the organization in a standards organization (i.e., 1EdTech)?
- Is the platform designed to accommodate future growth? How much functionality is currently available compared to planned development?
- What functionality is available as part of the solution, and what would be considered customization? Is there an additional cost for this functionality?
- What data sharing/informed consent MOUs may be required? Who is required to consent?
- What is the pricing model? For example, is it per user or per badge?
- Is the platform branded, or can you customize it?
Summary
In the world of higher education, procurement transcends simple product acquisition. Tight deadlines tied to specific fiscal years and funding sources create a budgetary maze. State regulations and requirements add further hurdles. Bridging the communication gap between procurement specialists and program champions can be tricky, as each prioritizes different aspects of a desired resource. Technology purchases require navigating IT security and ensuring smooth integration with existing systems, particularly the Student Information System (SIS) and the Learning Management System (LMS). Finally, compliance with regulations like the ADA and student data privacy laws (FERPA, FCRA) demands constant vigilance throughout the entire procurement process.
View the Full List of Questions for Consideration
Achievement is the term used in a comprehensive learner record (CLR) or an Open Badges microcredential to represent the accomplishment being recognized with the credential. A CLR contains from one to many achievements; an Open Badges microcredential contains one achievement assertion.
Digital credentials are a digital version of what we normally get as physical documents, such as certificates, results, diplomas, and awards. Digital credentials create opportunities for learners and workers to demonstrate qualifications, skill sets, claims, or achievements through digital certificates or documents. Unlike their physical counterparts, digital credentials contain electronically verifiable information, helping to ensure the trustworthiness of the credentials, and can be easily shared electronically.
Interoperability is the ability of systems to work together, exchange, and use information from other systems. In education, interoperability is the ability of a system to exchange education and workforce information with and use information from other systems without special effort on the part of the user. This means all individuals, including learners and employers, have appropriate access to education and workforce information, allowing them to make informed decisions in the workplace.
LER (Learning and Employment Record) is a broad term to describe a collection of credentials and other artifacts that may be related to education or employment. These records can be anything from transcripts, licenses, certifications, work permits, badges, microcredentials, and other credentials such as a resume or work history.
Microcredential is typically a type of competency or skills-based recognition that can be used to demonstrate mastery and is usually smaller than a traditional degree or certificate. Microcredentials are often expressed as Open Badges and can be combined with other credentials into a Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR).
Wallet is secure digital application for storing and managing verifiable learning credentials (e.g., certificates and badges). Some wallets are controlled by the issuing organizations, such as an education institution. Other wallets are learner-controlled. Learners control access and can easily share credentials with others. Wallets typically include functionality to unpack the digital credential to view data such as skills information.
Technical Standards
1EdTech's Comprehensive Learner Record Standard™ (CLR Standard™) allows many achievement credentials to be bundled, with some additional associations between them defined. Individual component credentials are verifiable, and the wrapping CLR is also verifiable. CLRs can contain achievements from multiple issuers to show a learner's progression with various organizations or subdivisions of a large educational institution. A CLR may contain Open Badges. A CLR 2.0 is compliant with the W3C Verifiable Credentials recommendation.
1EdTech's Open Badges specification describes a method for packaging information about a single recognition or achievement, such as an earned microcredential, skill, competency, or degree. An Open Badge displays a visual token and has a rich, defined metadata structure. Open Badge 3.0 is compliant with the W3C Verifiable Credentials recommendation.
1EdTech's Competency and Academic Standards Exchange® (CASE®) standard facilitates the exchange of information about learning outcomes, competencies, and skills. By implementing CASE, it is possible to electronically exchange outcomes, skills, and competency definitions so applications, tools, and platforms can access the data and educators can act upon it. Links to CASE frameworks can be embedded in Open Badges and CLRs, providing additional context, including content and assessments of the earned credentials.
Verifiable Credentials (VCs) are a specification published by W3C that exchanges claims made on the web in a specific structure while keeping them cryptographically secure, private, and machine-verifiable. A VC can be an LER, but it can also have broader uses outside the employment and educational records domain, such as a digital driver's license, passports, or health records. 1EdTech digital credential standards are compliant with W3C Verifiable Credentials.
LER wrappers specify a universal cross-standards container for LERs to provide guidance to implement an LER using the more secure W3C Verifiable Credential structure. Think of it like a zip file of your credentials stored in your desktop folder. You're packaging your files in a well-known format that the receiver knows how to unpack so they can see your data, though this is true for technical standards as a whole. Technical standards build on each other in layers, and one can think of the VC as the "transport" or "package" layer. But what's in the package? Each type of content within the package has a specific technical format (standard) for its purpose; 1EdTech standards are designed for learning and workplace achievements.
1EdTech’s Badge Connect® API is a powerful and versatile tool for the secure and efficient transfer of Open Badges. Badge Connect API is a RESTful API with dynamic client registration using industry-standard protocols (OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code Grant). Badge Connect API is designed for easy integration and scalability, handling large volumes of badges. Badge Connect API also offers granular permission of API endpoints for issuing, managing, and verifying badges. Badge Connect supports the learner-initiated transfer of credentials, promoting personal self-sovereignty over a learner’s data and flexibility in wallet choices.
The Credential Handler API (CHAPI) is a browser-based web app that allows your digital wallet to receive Verifiable Credentials from an independent third-party issuer - or present Verifiable Credentials to an independent third-party verifier - in a way that establishes trust and preserves privacy.
The W3C Credentials Community Group Verifiable Credential APIs are a set of RESTful API definitions conforming with the OpenAPI 3.0 specification that support Verifiable Credential Lifecycle Management such as Issuing, Holding/Presentation/Exchange, and Verification for the roles of Issuer, Holder, and Verifier as described in the Verifiable Credential Data Model specification.
Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) allow individuals and organizations to be identified on the Internet without relying on any one organization's recognizable identifiers (such as student ID or institutional email, which may change over time). Verifiable Credentials such as Open Badges 3.0 and the Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR) 2.0 rely on DIDs to help ensure the longevity and access to credentials.
The Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) by Credential Engine is the family of standards for making descriptions of credentials and other resources available as data for search and discovery and cross-system interoperability. You can think of the CTDL as a large dictionary of terms that is at your fingertips for creating descriptions where you can use all of the terms or only those terms that meet your needs.
Resources
- Learn & Work Ecosystem Library: https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/
- SmartReport LER Ecosystem Map: https://www.smartresume.com/resources/smartreport-ecosystem-map
- AACRAO:
- ACE:
- CBEN:
- DCC:
- UPCEA:
- T3 Network:
- Learning Economy Foundation, A Hiring & Advancement Playbook Powered by Open Data Standards
- Jobs for the Future, Building a Skills-Based Talent Marketplace
- National Governors Association Resources For Skills-Driven States
- A National LER Infrastructure Executive Summary
- BCcampus Micro-credential Toolkit for B.C
- Credential As You Go Playbooks
- Microcredentials: An Introduction for Talent Leaders
- ARUCC MyCreds
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